Phi Kappa Phi Records

The collection contains the records of the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi. It is arranged in five series: I. National office records; II. Papers of national officers; III. Research material for In Pursuit of Excellence; IV. Records of Phi Kappa Phi Journal; and V. Records of individual chapters. Series I, II, IV and V are further divided into several sub-series.

Series I: National office records

This series, the largest in the collection, primarily documents the activities of the executive director and staff of the national office. This office is responsible for running the daily operations of the society, and the executive director, who serves as secretary and treasurer of both the society and the Phi Kappa Phi Foundation, works closely with the officers and committees of the society, oversees financial activities, and provides services and information to local chapters. In addition to providing insight into the office's day-to-day operations, the series gives information on the society's governance and its conventions, fellowships, and financial arrangements.

This series is divided into 12 sub-series:

Sub-series 1: Governance and procedural records

This sub-series consists of the articles of incorporation, 1972, the constitution and bylaws, reports and triennial reviews of the officers and executive director, and handbooks for operation of the society.

Sub-series 2: Records of Board of Directors

This group contains material prepared and maintained by the national office for meetings of the board. It consists primarily of meeting minutes from the late 1960s through 1999, as well as correspondence and memos to the board from the executive director and reports of the regional vice presidents.

Sub-series 3: Correspondence

This sub-series begins with early correspondence of Abram W. Harris, president of the University of Maine and first president of the society. Correspondents include George W. Atherton and Charles W. Dabney, and letters concern setting up the society and establishing its constitution, rituals, etc. Most correspondence from the 1920s to the 1950s is that of Roswell C. Gibbs, who served as fellowship supervisor from 1933-1963. Frequent correspondents include Lawrence R. Guild and Roy S. Swinton. A small selection of Gibbs's professional correspondence is also included. Gibbs was a physicist at Cornell and the correspondence concerns his work on a directory of existing tables of constants and numerical data. It also documents his service in 1956 on a committee advisory to the Office of Ordnance Research for the Army while at the National Research Council. Correspondence from the 1950s and 1960s is largely that of Archie Solberg mainly to society presidents. Solberg, then at the University of Toledo, served as vice president of the east central region and director of fellowships before becoming executive director.

Correspondence beginning in the 1970s is largely that of Executive Directors Archie Solberg and George Robinson. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent, the letters are mainly to officers of the society and editors of the Journal. A group of letters from the national office, 1992-1995, ends this sub-series.

Sub-series 4: Financial

This section contains auditor's reports for both the society and the Phi Kappa Phi Foundation, 1969-1998, as well as memos from the executive director to the board concerning budget preparation, finances, etc. Removed from the collection were quarterly statements on the society's investment earnings.

Sub-series 5: Committees

This sub-series documents the work of the six standing committees of the society: Budget, Communications, Extension, Fellowship, Investment, and National Forum, as well as of several ad hoc or special committees formed to work on a particular event or activity. Records include meeting agendas and minutes, memos, correspondence, handbooks used by the committees, reports, etc. The Centennial Planning Committee and the Promotion of the Pursuit of Excellence Committee are the best represented from the ad hoc group.

Sub-series 6: Conventions

This large sub-series contains information on meetings held by the society from 1929 to 1998. Included is material on pre-convention planning and site selection, reports presented by the officers, lists of delegates, minutes of meetings, conference evaluations, etc. Of particular interest is coverage of the 1997 centennial celebration in New Orleans, which includes videotapes of many celebratory events. Information from mid-triennial regional conventions, 1975-1997, is also included.

Sub-series 7: Fellowships

This section includes correspondence, 1933-1996, of Roswell Gibbs and others concerning selection of fellowship winners, reports of the fellowship supervisor, and statistics and summaries of information about applicants and awards. Biographical information about awardees and nominations of Artist and Scholar Award applicants provide detail about these programs.

Sub-series 8: Membership

This small sub-series contains sample forms, policies for various types of membership, and microfiche copies of membership lists, 1975-1985.

Sub-series 9: Records of Phi Kappa Phi Foundation

This sub-series contains articles of incorporation and bylaws of the foundation, annual reports, minutes of meetings, information about fund-raising and a capital campaign feasibility report.

Sub-series 10: Office administrative files

Arranged alphabetically, these subject files document the activities of the national office in support of the objectives and activities of the society.

Sub-series 11: Chapter records, general

This sub-series contains correspondence and reports of the society's regent, the officer charged with coordinating the development of new chapters and monitoring the continued strength of existing ones. It also includes copies of local chapter annual reports to the national office, which list yearly activities, financial information, awards, and public relations efforts. Policy documents concerning petitioning for and establishing new chapters are also found here.

Sub-series 12: Chapter records, specific

This large sub-series is arranged alphabetically by college or university. It contains petitions prepared as part of the process of establishing a society chapter, the regent's report concerning a visit to the campus prior to deciding upon admission, and information about the installation ceremony after a chapter charter has been granted. Some files also contain items sent to the national office about local chapter activities through the years.

Prior to processing, these files also contained much routine correspondence from local chapters to the national office about purchasing emblems, certificates, placards and other supplies as well as outlining problems with or changes needed in individual memberships or collection of dues. This material was not added to the collection, but a sample of typical files was retained at the end of the sub-series.

Series II: Papers of national officers

This series includes material from presidents J. Kenneth Munford (1968-1971), Albertine Krohn (1972-1977), Walter V. Hohenstein (1983-1986), Ilona Herlinger (1989-1992), and Lawrence M. Sommers (1992-1995). Since each president also served a term as president-elect prior to assuming the presidency and as past president after leaving office, these papers often include information on those offices as well. Additional presidential material can be found throughout Series I, especially in the records of the board of directors and the correspondence, committee and convention records. This series is divided into five sub-series:

Sub-series 1: Papers of J. Kenneth Munford

In a letter of June 30, 1977, to "The Archivist, Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi," Munford described the arrangement of the papers he was giving to the society and noted that they detailed "my involvement with the society from my earliest recollections of it and receiving freshman honors, through initiation, participation as a chapter officer, and as a regional and national officer." He also prepared a narrative and included supporting materials for each section.

Munford was a faculty member at Oregon State University from 1939-1977. He was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi in 1934 and served in various capacities on the local and national level culminating in the presidency in 1968. He received the Society's Distinguished Member Award in 1986.

Sub-series 2: Papers of Albertine Krohn

Krohn, a professor of chemistry at the University of Toledo, was the first woman to become society president. She served as an officer in the University of Toledo chapter, was vice president of the east central region, 1968-1971, president-elect, 1971-1972, and assumed the presidency in 1972 at the resignation of President Theodore W. Zillman.

The Krohn papers appear to have been received at Fogler Library in 1986 from the archives of the William S. Carlson Library at the University of Toledo. They contain primarily correspondence from Krohn's tenure in various national offices of the society. They also include photographs and information about the University of Toledo chapter as well as an obituary of Dr. Krohn, who died in 1986.

Sub-series 3: Papers of Walter V. Hohenstein

The Hohenstein papers came to Fogler Library in 2002. They reflect Hohenstein's involvement in the Phi Kappa Phi chapter at the University of Maryland and his service as regent, president-elect, president, and past president of the national organization. Included is correspondence, committee records, photographs and memorabilia. A few materials also document his professional life at the University of Maryland where he joined the faculty in 1956, served in various teaching and administrative positions, and retired as Director of Articulation. Dr. Hohenstein died in 2000.

Sub-series 4: Papers of Ilona Herlinger

These papers were received from Ms. Herlinger in several donations, the most recent arriving in 2006. Herlinger, a professor of music at the University of Puget Sound, was the second woman to serve as president of the society. She held several positions in the society, including offices in the chapter at the University of Puget Sound, vice president of the western region, national vice president, president-elect, president, and past president. She was instrumental in starting the Phi Kappa Phi Artist Award in 1983. The Herlinger papers consist primarily of correspondence, reports on the state of the society, Herlinger's speeches and articles, and miscellaneous publications, newsletters, etc. from the society.

Sub-series 5: Papers of Lawrence M. Sommers

Sommers, a professor in the Department of Geology at Michigan State University, served as vice president of the north central region before becoming president. His papers, received from the national office in 1996, are primarily correspondence, 1992-1995, on such topics as participation in chapter ceremonies, regional conferences, committees, etc. They also include copies of his speeches and articles during the time of his presidency.

Series III: Research material for In Pursuit of Excellence

This series consists of research material used by Edward Schriver in writing In Pursuit of Excellence: The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 1897-1971, planned to coincide with the society's 75th anniversary celebration held in Orono in 1971. Schriver, an assistant professor of history at the University of Maine, used the records of the Maine chapter as well as materials from the national office, the Iowa State University and Pennsylvania State University archives, and articles from the Phi Kappa Phi Journal in compiling his book.

The materials include Schriver's correspondence, research notes, and various chapter histories sent in response to his requests for information. Also included are photocopies of Louis H. Pammel's correspondence from the 1920s about his service to Phi Kappa Phi. The series also contains index cards and photographs used in the book's preparation, drafts of the book, and the printer's proof.

Series IV: Records of Phi Kappa Phi Journal

This series primarily contains materials generated during the editorship of Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. and his successor Stephen W. White. Lightfoot, from the Cullom-Davis Library at Bradley University, served as editor from 1969-1977, with White, from East Tennessee University, becoming editor after Lightfoot's retirement.

The series is divided into four sub-series:

Sub-series 1: Editor's correspondence

This sub-series contains primarily Robert Lightfoot's correspondence arranged alphabetically by subject and concerning appointments of manuscript readers for various subjects, letters to and from authors accepting or rejecting articles, etc. It also includes Lightfoot's correspondence with local chapters about articles on chapter installations and initiations as well as articles from faculty at various institutions submitted for possible publication in the Journal. A few of the letters date from Stephen White's editorship and are primarily to prominent scholars soliciting articles for the publication.

Sub-series 2: Lightfoot administrative files

This sub-series includes Journal office files from Robert Lightfoot's tenure as editor. Arranged alphabetically by subject, they cover interactions with the national office and various officers of the society as well as manuscript selection, financial matters, and Journal policies and procedures.

Sub-series 3: White administrative files

Containing the office files of editor Stephen White, these materials are arranged chronologically and then by subject within each time period. They include the same kinds of information as found in Sub-series 2.

Sub-series 4: Issue-related material

Dating from the 1970s and 1980s, these files reflect the change in the Journal's content to a focus in each issue on some subject of current interest to readers. Ranging from the aging society to women in the professions, files include memos to authors, editorial changes recommended, and pamphlets and other information on each subject.

Series V: Records of individual chapters

This series contains chapter records generated by several local chapters. Most prominent are those from Chapter 001 at the University of Maine. Also included are small groups of records from chapters at the University of Tennessee, Washington State University, the University of Michigan and the University of Toledo. Records from the Parsons College chapter, sent to the national office when the college closed in 1973, are also included.

The series is divided into six sub-series:

Sub-series 1: Chapter 001: University of Maine

This sub-series contains much historical material about the society's first chapter, including minutes of chapter meetings, treasurer's records, correspondence, and membership lists and roll books. Of particular interest is a report entitled, "Historical data on the establishment of Phi Kappa Phi at the University of Maine," probably written in 1934 and containing original letters from founding members as well as photographs of the chapter's early members and activities.

Sub-series 2: Chapter 002: University of Tennessee

Documents in this sub-series date from 1899-1977 and include chapter bylaws, committee minutes, membership rosters, and the chapter secretary's notebook.

Sub-series 3: Chapter 018: Washington State University

Included are chapter bylaws, a handbook, reports, correspondence, news releases, and information on nomination and selection of members. Most materials date from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Sub-series 4: Chapter 039: University of Michigan

Dating primarily from the 1960s, materials include chapter executive committee correspondence and meeting minutes, financial reports, and membership nominations.

Sub-series 5: Chapter 042: Parsons College

These records include minutes of meetings and chapter rolls from the first meeting held in 1928 through the last meeting in 1973 when the college closed. Also included is petition material from 1927 and correspondence from the 1970s.

Sub-series 6: Chapter 061: University of Toledo

This small group of material includes the petition for membership in 1951, chapter constitution and bylaws, minutes of meetings, correspondence, and a chapter history written in 1970.