The University of Toledo Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi will hold its initiation ceremony for new members Saturday, April 26, at 1 p.m. in the Student Union.
More than 75 undergraduate and graduate students and three UT faculty members will be inducted into the honor society this year.
Dr. William S. Messer, UT vice president for research, will present the keynote address.
Inductees into the honorary must be among the top students as juniors, seniors or in their graduate program to qualify for membership.
In addition to inducting new members, the society will honor three $500 scholarship winners. The winners were selected based upon academic performance, an essay, and letters of recommendation from faculty members. They are Elizabeth Cummins (Toledo), Samuel Park (Toledo) and LaVelle Ridley (Toledo).
Cummins is a senior majoring in speech language pathology. She is active in many organizations related to her academic interests, including the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, the Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Project and the UT Perceptual Motor Development Program. In the essay that was part of the scholarship application, she wrote about the research she conducted on the history of the Opportunity Home, a school and rehabilitation center for children with the polio that existed in Toledo from the 1930s to the 1950s. During this research, she spoke with people who had contracted polio that left them permanently disabled. The research impacted her decision to help persons with disabilities in her future career. One of her faculty nominators stated, “Elizabeth demonstrates the qualities of quiet leadership and effective organizational skills.”
Park is a senior majoring in applied mathematics. In his essay, Park wrote about how his high school freshman geometry teacher turned him from someone who hated math into someone who loved it. Park stated, “I hope to serve that role in other people’s lives as a math tutor for children.” One of his faculty nominators noted, “While most students are satisfied with any formulas given to them and start applying them to solve problems, Sam is different. He tries to understand more where a formula comes from and why it is true. He is excited to learn new mathematical ideas and would like to explore beyond what he is taught in the classroom.”
Ridley is a junior and has a dual major in English literature and Africana studies. As a student in the Jesup Scott Honors College, Ridley had the chance to conduct in-depth research into the life of nationally known poet and UT alumnus Herbert W. Martin. His research will be published in The University of Toledo Journal of Undergraduate Research. He also has presented his research at a national conference. Ridley is president of the Beta Rho chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, an honorary for English majors. As one of his faculty nominators stated, “He hopes to be an English professor himself someday, and since his first semester, he has worked doggedly to improve his writing and thinking, and to amass more knowledge of the field and its objects of study.”
In addition to the undergraduate and graduate students who will be inducted into the honor society, three UT faculty members will be inducted. They are Dr. Page Armstrong, lecturer in the Honors College; Dr. Ronald Opp, associate professor of educational leadership; and Dr. Susan Purviance, professor of philosophy.
For more information, contact UT Chapter Phi Kappa Phi President Wade Lee, associate professor of library administration, at 419.530.4490.
