The Fresno State chapter of the Honor society of Phi Kappa Phi will initiate 131 new student members and six honorary members and will award three student scholarships at a ceremony Wednesday (April 15) at 6 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union.

The chapter will present a local chapter scholarship to Jessica Gartrell and Maxwell Hill, and has selected Esther Verrinder for its national Graduate Fellowship Nominee.

Gartrell is a junior from Madera studying engineering, Hill is a junior from Fresno studying biology and Verrinder, who is seeking a master of arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, is from LeGrand.

Special recognition initiates are:

  • Faculty – Dr. Kenneth R. Magdaleno, director of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, and Dr. Rudy Sanchez, associate professor of management in the Craig School of Business and director of Academic Technology and Innovation.
  • Staff – Dr. Adrian Ramirez, director of the Title V – Hispanic Serving Institution grant.
  • Administrator – Michelle Nelson, longtime assistant to the president and currently  administrator in Human Resources, and David Tyckoson, associate dean of the Henry Madden Library.
  • Alumna – Armen Bacon, author and retired administrator with the Fresno County Office of Education.

Over 800 students, faculty and staff are current members of the Fresno State chapter.

Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society with chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify.

In 1953 Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 62 was installed at Fresno State. Phi Kappa Phi has since initiated over 7,500 individuals and served as the university’s honor society, recognizing superior academic achievement by students in all academic fields.

For more information, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org