[231] MTSU Honors College Initiates 55 New Members Into Phi Kappa Phi

Note: News release contains names of students from your hometown or area.

Release date: Dec. 11, 2009

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Phi Kappa Phi contacts: Dr. Bill Badley, 615-904-8416 or wbadley@mtsu.edu
Kathy Davis, 615-898-2152 or kdavis@mtsu.edu

MTSU Honors College Initiates 55 New Members Into Phi Kappa Phi

(MURFREESBORO) — Fifty-three MTSU students and two honorees were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi during Dec. 3 ceremonies in the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room.
“The 2009 initiates to Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society are the select of MTSU’s students and gain election to membership only by invitation,” said Dr. Bill Badley, president of the MTSU chapter, interim vice provost for academic affairs and director of general education. “The initiation ceremony is a recognition of students’ past extraordinary scholarly and personal efforts and an encouragement to continue to strive for excellence throughout their lives.”
Badley added that the “qualifications for membership are very stringent, selecting only those who are in the top 7.5 percent of the junior class and the upper 10 percent of the senior class.”
“However,” he continued, “unlike other honor societies, Phi Kappa Phi invites excellent students from all disciplines in higher education, and students remain Phi Kappa Phi members for life.”
Phi Kappa Phi members from public service include former President Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Al Gore (chapter #246 MTSU), U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Badley said. Two special honorary initiates were inducted for community and staff endeavors: Dr. L. Diane Miller, MTSU’s interim executive vice president and provost, and Murfreesboro City Manager Robert J. Lyons.
The primary objective of the national Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the recognition and encouragement of superior scholarship in all academic disciplines.
Sixteen faculty members also were recognized as influential faculty by the student initiates. They included Dr. Lisa Sheehan-Smith and Stephanie Bush, human sciences; Drs. Gloria Hamilton, Stuart Bernstein, Thomas Brinthaupt, Monica Wallace and William Compton, psychology; Dr. Brian Manning, biology; Dr. Lynn Parsons, School of Nursing; Rodney Robbins, Continuing Education and Distance Learning student services; Brandi Snow, political science; Dr. John R. Vile (Honors College dean and political science); Drs. Vatsala Krishnamani and Jacob T. Klerlein, mathematical sciences; Dr. Ken Hollman, Martin Chair of Insurance; and Elizabeth Lanphier-Smith, speech clinic.
A full list of student honorees, by home county and city, follows:
• Cannon County: Lori Jackson, insurance/ risk, of Auburntown;
• Coffee County: Carla Trail, nursing, Manchester; and Samuel Brace, accounting, and Jessica Evans, English, both of Tullahoma;
• Davidson County: Nancy Edmondson, education, Monique Richard, behavioral science, and Gabriel Zurita, economics, all from Antioch; Tiffany Watkins, nursing, of Cane Ridge; Charles Agin, liberal arts/humanities, Hermitage; Minh Le, marketing, Elizabeth Michels, organizational communication, Ausra Naujokaite, economics, and John Rives, business, all of Nashville; and Dana Parsley, psychology, of Old Hickory;
• Franklin County: Paul Bauer, biology, Belvidere;
• Hamblen County: Jennifer Dickens, occupational health/therapy, Talbot;
• Hamilton County: Jason Du Ban, aerospace, Ooltewah;
• Marion County: Scott Baskette, recording industry, Jasper;
• Rutherford County/Murfreesboro: Michelle Drury, psychology; Angela Fairchild, special education; Rachel Lampley, biology; Melanie Landerfelt, psychology; William Lanier, finance/banking; Rachel Leathers, education; Brittany Mauney, communication disorders; Brittany Mimms, education; Matthew Naylor, English; Austin Purvis, political science/government; Robert Teesdale, philosophy; Dmitry Terekhov, actuarial science; Danielle Thompson, literacy studies; Kyle Tornquist, engineering systems technology; Evan Totty, economics; Beverly Wallace, finance/banking; and Bonita Woitkowiak, liberal arts;
• Rutherford County/Smyrna: Amber L. Gray, aerospace; Caitlin Orman, psychology; Emily Strecker, special education; and Sean Urrutia, history;
• Sumner County: Hope Foley, marketing, and Seth Foley, psychology, both of Hendersonville;
• Washington County: Michael Boggs, mass communication, of Johnson City;
• Warren County: Chelsea Beaty, communication disorders, and Summer Mink, psychology, both of McMinnville;
• Williamson County: Sara Haywood, behavioral sciences, Brentwood; Claudia James, education, Lindsey Perry, psychology, and Karen Wimmer, liberal studies, all of Franklin;
• Wilson County: Michelle Atkins, accounting, and Sara Gideon, history, both of Mt. Juliet.
Out-of-state initiates included Sean Barrett of Liberty Lake, Wash.; Eleanor Franey, geography, Summerville, S.C.; and Lisa Morris, nursing, Fort Campbell, Ky.
###

With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.

For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.