The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

The 2010 Phi Kappa Phi Convention marked the debut of the Council of Students, an advisory panel for the Society. The Council of Students stems from a 2007 bylaws transformation that called for establishing two Student Vice Presidents from each of the Society’s five regions so that the lifeblood of Phi Kappa Phi is involved in issues of governance. Two from the Council of Students are elected by their peers at each convention to be voting members on the Society Board of Directors.

The 2010-12 Vice Presidents for Students serving on the Board are Jeffry Harrison, a junior business administration major at Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville, and Rodney Hughes, a second-year doctoral student in higher education at Pennsylvania State University.

It feels so incredible to be a part of history,” said Harrison. “I hope to bring a student’s perspective and energy to the board,” he said, citing increasing enrollment, promotions and networking as some objectives.

I hope to learn about students’ goals and successes and advocate effectively on behalf of students,” said Hughes. “We also need to be complete board members,” he continued, and work on behalf of the entire membership.

Because students are our focus on excellence, it seemed important to include their voices on policy issues and other matters,” said Phi Kappa Phi Executive Director Perry A. Snyder, adding that other honor societies provide students leadership roles. The Council of Students offers “a pool from which student ideas can be generated and communicated,” he said.

Students are the heart and soul of Phi Kappa Phi — the reason for the Society’s existence, the glory of its past, and the hope of its future,” said Society President William A. Bloodworth, Jr. “With the emergence of the Council of Students and students as members of the board, that future is brighter than ever.”

Click here to meet the 2010-12 Council of Students.

--The original version of this story ran in the fall 2010 edition of Phi Kappa Phi Forum.