of Music and Performing Arts, 308-865-8608
Phi Kappa Phi, the prestigious all-discipline international honor society, has inducted new members at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The organization, which describes itself as the oldest, largest and most selective honor society for all academic disciplines, recognizes and rewards academic success.
Only juniors and seniors enrolled at a college or university with a Phi Kappa Phi chapter are eligible to join the honor society. Juniors must have completed at least 72 credit hours and rank scholastically in the top 7.5 percent of their class, while seniors and graduate students must rank in the top 10 percent of their class.
Membership is by invitation only. New members inducted into the UNK Phi Kappa Phi chapter this semester are listed below, alphabetically by hometown, with
their majors included.
Arnold – Megan Strasburg, elementary education
Axtell – Jason Jacobs, criminal justice
Bertrand – Brooke McGee, political science
Brunswick – Allison Doerr, art history
Cairo – Ericka Hadenfeldt, exercise science
Chadron – Jonathan Dailey, music
Franklin – Brittany Kahrs, elementary education
Fullerton – Kristina Davis, elementary education
Gering – Jaime Wendt, psychology
Gothenburg – Sarah Blecha, business administration
Grand Island – Jennifer Bernth, recreation and park management; Damon
Watson, German; and Leslie Westover, middle grades education
Kearney – Heath Dooley, telecommunications management; Trisha Dunn-Rinke,
English language arts; Ashley Hellerich, music education; Christine
Suchsland, communication disorders; and Sarah Westesen, history
Keystone – John Auwerda, mathematics education
Lincoln – Sara Bom, Spanish translation
Lindsay – Candace McPhillips, communication disorders
Madison – Kristie Bonner, music; and Stacey Bonner, biology
Meadow Grove – Jill Schwarting, communication disorders
Milford – Elisa Eberspacher, elementary education; and Kelsey Muller,
exercise science
Miller – Megan Saathoff, biology
Naponee – Lindsay Schluntz, journalism mass media
Ruskin – Jerod Petersen, social work; and Stacy Simonsen, psychology
Scottsbluff – Martin Demoret, psychology
Spencer – Colby Fletcher, exercise science
St. Libory – Holly Bader, elementary education
Superior – Kassandra Swanson, business administration
Tilden – Kyle Petersen, journalism public relations
Wayne – John Jensen, political science
Weeping Water – Melanie Spilinek, English
Wood River – LeAnn Vinecourt, biology education
IOWA
Winterset – James Watson, middle grades education
KANSAS
Garden City – Kerri Myers, mathematics education
Norton – Amber Norman, chemistry
JAPAN
Aichi ken – Kenta Kajimoto, pre-veterinary medicine
Matsumoto – Ryo Tamura, chemistry
Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction may also be eligible for membership into Phi Kappa Phi.
Four UNK professors, Dr. Ting-Lan Chen, assistant professor of music and performing arts; Dr. Herbert Craig, professor of modern languages; Dr. Kate Heelan, associate professor of HPERLS; and Dr. Theresa Wadkins, associate professor of psychology, are also new Phi Kappa Phi inductees.
The UNK chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was installed in May 2002. Officers for the group include: Dr. Nathan Buckner, associate professor of music and performing arts, president; Jamie Babutzke, a UNK senior majoring in psychobiology, vice president; Dr. Suzanne Maughan, associate professor of sociology, secretary; Dr. Christopher Exstrom, professor of chemistry, treasurer; and Glennis Nagel, UNK senior writer/editor, public relations.
Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 at the University of Maine by 10 senior students, two faculty members and the school president. The founding members sought to create an honor society that recognized and honored excellence in all academic disciplines. Today, there are nearly 300 Phi Kappa Phi chapters in colleges and universities in the United State, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.
