Phi Kappa Phi Welcomes CSUDH's Largest Class of New Initiates

On March 15, the California State University, Dominguez Hills chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi added 136 students and 18 faculty, staff and alumni to its membership for 2007. The event was held for the first time in Loker Student Union Ballroom, with outgoing chapter president Mary Lou Cappel presiding.

According to Cappel, who also is coordinator of the Recreation and Leisure Studies Program in the Division of Kinesiology and Recreation, this was the largest initiation since the chapter was established in 1984. She emphasizes the importance of membership, particularly to students, who are invited to join based solely on academic achievement.

“We want students to feel valued,” she says. “The more things we can give them to crystallize their value, the better. Last year, I decided we should give out scholarships. Our chapter has never done that before. We broke the bank on that, but we were able to give a substantial amount of money to these students, which will enhance our profile on the student front.”

Graduating seniors Karen Perez (Spanish) and Elizabeth Navarro (English literature) each received a $250 undergraduate scholarship. Perez plans to pursue her doctoral studies in Spanish literature and has been accepted to programs at the University of California campuses at Santa Barbara, Irvine, and Riverside. Navarro has applied to the teacher education at UCLA, and is also considering the education programs at the University of Southern California and CSUDH.

A $1,000 undergraduate scholarship was also awarded to senior Joseph Cascio (kinesiology), who will pursue his master’s in the CSUDH teacher education program, with a physical education option. Graduate student Ruby Ramirez (interdisciplinary studies) also received a $1,000 scholarship.

Established in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is now the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society, with one million members throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, jazz legend Dave Brubeck, and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Now concluding her third year as chapter president, Cappel has been working to increase the society’s profile on campus. Recent accomplishments for the CSUDH chapter include a chapter Web site, designed by PKP member Douglas Borcoman, instructional design specialist. There is also now a chapter newsletter and more visible advertising on campus.

Cappel, who ended her term this year, handed the chapter over to president-elect Laura Robles, dean of Graduate Studies and Research, and says she hopes that students will start to benefit from their Phi Kappa Phi membership while they are still at Dominguez Hills.

“Most students graduate within the same semester as they are initiated, and this inherently causes a roadblock to participation,” she notes. “Students are eligible to hold the position of student vice president on the chapter board of directors and provide direction and feedback from new student initiates. The national organization provides benefits for leadership, scholarship and career guidance, and our chapter could provide similar activities in conjunction with Student Development and other departments. Now that we have more than 60 staff and faculty members on campus who belong to PKP, I would like to begin a mentoring program, pairing up new initiates with a member. This might be the most valuable assistance the honor society could provide for students.”

For a photo gallery of the Phi Kappa Phi Initiation, click here.

For more information on the CSUDH chapter, click here.

- Joanie Harmon-Whetmore

Photo above: Mary Lou Cappel, outgoing chapter president and coordinator of the Recreation and Leisure Studies Program in the Division of Kinesiology and Recreation; Karen Perez, senior (Spanish); Elizabeth Navarro, senior (English literature); Joseph Cascio, senior (kinesiology); Ruby Ramirez, graduate student (Interdisciplinary Studies); Laura Robles, incoming chapter president and dean of graduate and research studies; and Boice Bowman, interim president of CSUDH.