Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at UT Dallas
I wish to extend Phi Kappa Phi a warm welcome to our campus. With its long and distinguished history as the country's oldest, largest, and most selective multidisciplinary honor society, Phi Kappa Phi first and foremost exemplifies academic and personal excellence. The UT Dallas chapter joins only 315 others across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to have such honors bestowed upon our faculty, staff, alumni, and students. As part of UT Dallas' larger goal to reach Tier One status in the state of Texas, I view the establishment of our chapter as a remarkable opportunity to nurture a new community of scholars that will substantially add to our University life as our educators, students, professionals, community leaders, alumni, and lifelong students of learning come together. This forum will be rich with traditions, creativity, and the diversity that our membership will bring. It is an honor for me to be part of the leadership team of our chapter and to help build this new legacy at our University.
With the foundation of our chapter, there are a number of unique opportunities that immediately become available for our members as well as the greater UT Dallas community. At the national level, Phi Kappa Phi annually awards an impressive $700,000 of fellowships and scholarships to support academic achievements, advanced learning, the arts, and community-based educational endeavors. While our local chapter is in its infancy, I hope that before the end of my two-year term we will also have local scholarship support available to our students in some form. With the support and enthusiasm of UT Dallas administration and the 22 founding charter members, I anticipate that we will sponsor and plan numerous academically-related events as our chapter matures- both in conjunction with other honor societies or academic units and independently. Our first tradition will be launched this spring when we sponsor the Phi Kappa Phi Honors Convocation Speaker, Mr. Chip Pitts, the former head of Amnesty International and an accomplished legal scholar. This annual sponsorship at the Spring Honors Convocation will bring world-recognized humanitarians, scholars, and leaders to our campus.
Without question, the greatest strength of UT Dallas is our people. Our culture is one that embraces and highlights scholastic achievement, creative talents, and diverse pathways to success—the same values that define Phi Kappa Phi—and which I believe guarantee the longevity of our chapter. I look forward to meeting many new people across our campus and community in the months to come as we welcome new inductees into our chapter and expand our activities. Thank you for visiting our website and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can answer any questions.
Sincerely yours,
Denise Paquette Boots, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Criminology
President, UT Dallas Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi
About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Its chapters are on more than 300 campuses in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Each year, approximately 30,000 members are initiated.
Since its founding, Phi Kappa Phi has initiated more than 1 million members into its ranks; all of these members have received emblems and certificates of membership. However, Phi Kappa Phi is much more than an emblem and a line on a résumé. It is a global network comprised of the best and brightest from all academic disciplines - a community of scholars and professionals building an enduring legacy for future generations.