With this first issue of 2023, Forum begins a series of editions aimed at celebrating the seasons of the year. This issue, devoted to the theme of spring, has special resonance with me because spring is a particularly active season in the life of Phi Kappa Phi. It’s the time of year when many of our chapters initiate new members, a joyous occasion on campuses across our Phi Kappa Phi community.

As colleges and universities limited physical gatherings during the worst days of COVID-19, our traditional initiation ceremonies were understandably impacted, and we initiated fewer students than we typically do.

Now, with most students back on campus, Phi Kappa Phi is in a much better posture to grow its membership, and our recent trends in that regard are encouraging. This sense of renewal, which has always been at the heart of spring, has an even deeper meaning for me right now as I reflect on the resilience our Society is continuing to demonstrate in rebounding from the pandemic.

Here in our national office, a spirit of renewal is also touching our stewardship of Phi Kappa Phi’s membership and the Society’s resources. Our staff is implementing a new Association Management System, or AMS, that will enable us to better connect with our members and serve their needs. We’ve also realigned our staffing to better serve our chapters. A wall map at our national office prominently displays the location of every one of our active chapters – approximately 325 in all, extending across the United States and its territories, Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as the Philippines. That map is a daily reminder to us of the breadth of the Society’s community – and our obligation to meet the needs of our members at the grassroots level.

Beyond the chapters where they were initiated, our members live around the globe, making us an international community. At a time when civic disengagement is widely lamented, I’m heartened – as I hope you are, too – by Phi Kappa Phi’s global network of scholars and volunteers who are doing so much good in the world.

I hope that this spring is a time of renewal and bright possibilities for each of you. Speaking of renewal, should you need to renew your membership or explore other ways to sustain Phi Kappa Phi’s mission through giving opportunities, feel free to visit our website, phikappaphi.org.

Should you have any suggestions, I encourage you to reach me at bnewcomer@phikappaphi.org.