FLORENCE, AL - The University of North Alabama has recently been recognized as a Phi Kappa Phi Circle of Excellence Silver Chapter. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The award is given to chapters that exceed expectations in chapter operations and who demonstrate sustainability and vitality as a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.

The Circle of Excellence program was introduced in 2018, and, this year, 108 programs were recognized, including 39 with the Silver distinction. Phi Kappa Phi has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and Philippines.

"The Circle of Honor program recognizes Phi Kappa Phi chapters that have gone above and beyond to promote academic excellence on their campuses," said Dr. Mary Todd, Society Executive Director.

The Circle of Excellence Silver honor is given to chapters who scored a 90-94 out of 100 on a criteria scale that evaluates chapter health indicators. By receiving the Silver distinction, the UNA chapter is recognized as a thriving organization that has annual initiations, upholds the Society Bylaws, regularly attends chapter training opportunities, and submits a chapter-oriented nominee to the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship Program.

"Thanks to the great work of our past president, Stephanie Montgomery, Senior Lecturer of Communications, and our other awesome, hard-working chapter officers, the UNA Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 132 for the second year has been awarded the Circle of Excellence Silver status," said Dr. Wayne Bergeron, chapter president and chair of the Geography Department.

Chapters that achieve the Circle of Excellence Silver distinction receive:

• A commendation letter from the Society sent to chapter officers and campus

  administration;

• Special recognition on the Phi Kappa Phi website;

• Specially designed logo for use in chapter communications

• Choice of a $100 cash award or applicable event registration grant.

About Phi Kappa Phi

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. 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. Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham, and YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards nearly $1 million to qualifying students and members through graduate and dissertation fellowships, undergraduate study abroad programs, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information, visit www.phikappaphi.org.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I's ASUN Big South Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/