Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi University of Green Bay Chapter:
National History

Phi Kappa Phi is an academic honor society dedicated to the recognition and promotion of academic excellence in all fields of higher education. The Society was founded in 1897 when a group of 10 students at the University of Maine decided there was a need for an honor society on broader lines than currently existed.  They established the Lambda Eta Society.  A year later, the name was changed to the Morrill Society, in honor of the sponsor of the Congressional Act which provided for land-grant colleges.  In 1900 the Morrill Society became national when members joined from the University of Tennessee and Pennsylvania State College (now Penn State).  The Society was renamed Phi Kappa Phi, from the initial letters of the Greek words forming its adopted motto: Philosophia Krateito Photon, roughly translated as "Let the love of learning rule humanity."  Today there are nearly 300 chapters of The Society across the United States, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards more than $700,000 in national and local scholarships to students.