36 Inductees Installed into FSU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi

May 10, 2023 8:00 AM

Group Composed of Undergrads, Grads, Faculty and Distinguished Alumni

The Frostburg State University chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi inducted 36 new members during a ceremony held May 6 at FSU’s Gira Center. The Society is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

New members include 23 undergraduate students, 10 graduate students, one faculty member and two distinguished alumni.

Undergraduate students installed into Phi Kappa Phi were Brayden Bowman, Colby Bray, Autumn Cavender, Nicole Chew, Joshua Clark, Ashley Cutter, Ciera Davisson, Carolyn DeSena, Eyrusalam Gebremedhine, Taylor Glascock, Keri Horine, Dawson Hormuth, McKenna Houser, Emily Imgrund, Elizabeth Jenkins, Jenna Keller, Mariah Marshall, Madison Martin, Alivia Melius, Jacob Pryor, Jessica Putnam, Sarah Smith and Max Summerfield.

Graduate inductees were Taylor Buffenmeyer, Katlyn Cook, Matthew Cunningham, Miranda Ford, Adam Hertz, Vicki Maust, Jaime Striplin, Elisa Trucco, Laura Weinberger and Heider Weller.

Dr. Xunyu Pan, associate professor of computer science and information technologies, was inducted for his achievements in research. Additionally, FSU alumni Wayne Scott ’89 and R. Kevin Turley M’06 were nominated for induction by Dr. Sudhir Singh, dean of the College of Business. Scott currently serves as the manager of corporate audit for JetBlue airlines, and Turley is the vice president of operations for UPMC Western Maryland.

Officers for the 2022-23 academic year were Dr. Linda Steele, president; Dr. James Saku, vice president; Dr. Eric Moore, secretary; and Dr. Matthew Crawford, treasurer. The outgoing student vice president is Syully Koroh.

These honorees are among approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Chapter 348 at Frostburg State University was chartered in March 2018, recently celebrating its five-year anniversary. “We were honored to have Dr. Bradley Newcomer, Phi Kappa Phi executive director, join us as our keynote speaker this year,” said Steele. “It was a special occasion marked by the induction of our first alumni members as well. We look forward to continued growth for our chapter in the years to come.”

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi has chapters on more than 325 college and university campuses in the United States, its territories and in the Philippines. It’s mission is “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.” For more information visit the Phi Kappa Phi web site.