2020 Annual Initiation Ceremony

The 2020 MSU Chapter 041 Annual Initiation and Awards Ceremony scheduled for March 28th, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus.   However, the chapter had a total of 75 new members join this year.

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New Initiates

In accordance with national standards for membership in Phi Kappa Phi, student candidates must have completed 24 semester hours, or the equivalent, at Michigan State University. Students are selected from the upper 10% of the senior class; the upper 7.5% of students with junior standing upon completion of 72 hours; and graduate or professional students who rank in the upper 10% of all enrolled graduate students at Michigan State University.

In addition to students, the Chapter is permitted to elect annually a small number of outstanding faculty, professional staff, and alumni chosen on the basis of academic record, professional achievements, and service to higher education. These persons are nominated by chapter members and, as with the student candidates, are discussed and voted on by the members. The Chapter is also permitted to nominate persons for distinguished and honorary memberships. These prestigious distinctions require the review and approval of the Society's national Board of Directors.

View List of 2020 Student Initiates

2020 Excellence Award in Interdisciplinary Scholarship Recipient

The MSU Chapter's "Excellence Award in Interdisciplinary Scholarship" recognizes the outstanding interdisciplinary work of scholarly teams, in teaching, research, service, or a combination of these activities. This year's award recognizes the Sustainable Community Development in Tanzania 2019 project.

Sustainable Community Development in Tanzania (SCDT) 2019 was a six-week education abroad program offered in the College of Social Science at MSU. The Tanzania Partnership Program (TPP) of the Office of International Studies and Programs funded it. SCDT 2019 was a collaborative program between MSU and Tanzanian universities, namely University of Dar es Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture, and Dar es Salaam University College of Education. The faculty leader of the program was Jonathan Choti (linguistics and languages), assisted by two PhD students, Ja’La Wourman (rhetoric and writing) and Pauline Wambua (education policy). The faculty leader of the Tanzanian team was Victoria Moshy (resources assessment), assisted by Emiliana Mwita (education) and Iddi Kimera (veterinary medicine). Two graduate students in the Tanzanian team were Barakaeli Matulu and Francis Mkasiwa (resources assessment). Seven MSU and seven Tanzanian undergraduate students participated. They represented a wide range of disciplines, such as environmental economics and management, food industry management, environmental studies and sustainability, leadership and integrated learning, human development and family studies, education, global and international studies, zoology, horticulture, and veterinary medicine.

The curriculum of SCDT 2019 consisted of teaching, research, and service. Teaching included Swahili lessons, presentations, discussions, lectures, and field trips. Besides, the team helped complete a dining pavilion at Naitolia Primary School. Research activities involved four teams, i.e. Agriculture, Water Access and Safety, Education, and Energy/Environment. Each team addressed a pressing issue in Naitolia Village. The teams determined project scope, research objectives, methodology, data collection and analysis, interventions, and recommendations. Agriculture Team investigated food issues and livelihoods while Education Team examined the gap between education stakeholders (i.e. teachers, students, education officers, school committee, and parents) at Mswakini Primary School. Energy/Environment Team studied biogas production using cow dung. Water Access and Safety Team studied the impact of the rehabilitated pond and rainwater harvesting in the village.

2020 Phi Kappa Phi National Graduate Fellowship Nominee

Every year, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awards fifty Fellowships of $8,500 each, six at $20,000 each, and two at $35,000 each to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Each Phi Kappa Phi chapter may select one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for the Society-wide awards.

Nathan Wicks is a senior at Michigan State University, majoring in criminal justice and psychology with a minor in law, justice, and public policy. Wicks’ interest in the criminal justice field began in high school while he was taking a business law class and participating in mock trials along with the debate club. Wicks has continued to gain experience in the criminal justice field by working as an intern at Wixom Police Department. He is currently volunteering as a tutor at the Refugee Development Center, helping refugees understand and learn the English language. Wicks has accepted an offer to get his master’s to study criminal justice with a focus on crime analysis at Boston University. He was also accepted to Michigan State University, Florida State University, and the University of Nebraska–Omaha. Wicks hopes to become a federal law enforcement officer and help keep communities across America safe.