Chapter Bylaws of the Auburn University Chapter
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

For the purpose of promoting high scholastic standards at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama; maintaining a chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (to be referred to as "the Society" or "Phi Kappa Phi") chartered and installed at Auburn University on May 15, 1914; and furthering the ideals and objectives of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi; the members of Auburn University chapter do hereby adopt the following Bylaws for its government.

Section 1. The name of this organization is the Auburn University Chapter #013 of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Section 2. The 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 and to do so in such a manner and through such methods permitted by Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 3. This organization is governed in accordance with the Bylaws of the Society, as adopted by the Biennial Convention on August 4, 2018.

Section 1. Functions of the Chapter

• 1.1 Recognize outstanding academic achievements through invitation to membership.

• 1.2 Hold at least one initiation ceremony annually.

• 1.3 Sponsor programs and activities that support and recognize scholarship and/or service.

• 1.4 Send a delegate to Society convention.

• 1.5 Participate in other relevant meetings or workshops for officer leadership development.

• 1.6 Publicize and promote Society awards and programs, including endorsement of one candidate who meets the criteria in the annual fellowship competition.

Section 2. Adoption of Chapter Bylaws

• 2.1 Each chapter will adopt bylaws that align with the bylaws of the Society and submit them to the national office.

• 2.2 If the chapter amends its bylaws, the chapter will file any amendments or revisions with the Society within 60 days of the date the amendment or revision is approved by the chapter.

• 2.3 When chapter bylaws are updated solely to reflect changes in Society bylaws as approved by a convention, the chapter bylaws affected by those national changes may be amended without a vote of the general membership.

• 2.4 When the Society bylaws are changed in such a manner that necessitates revision of chapter bylaws, if any chapter has not sent updated bylaws to the national office within 90 days of receipt of those revisions, the Society will make the necessary revisions and send the updated version to the chapter.

Section 3. Chapter Governance

• 3.1 The elected officers will include at minimum an executive committee composed of a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary, a Vice President for Finance, Vice President for Communications, Vice President for Membership, and one Student Vice President. Student members may hold any chapter office with the exception of President, President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer. Chapter officers must maintain active membership in order to hold office (see Article III.2.1).

• 3.2 The terms of chapter officers shall be for two (2) years, except for the student vice presidents who terms shall be for one (1) year. Chapter officers may be reelected. When an election occurs, a report will be sent promptly, and in no case later than August 31 of each year, to the Society.

• 3.3 The management of the chapter will be vested in the executive committee.

• 3.4 At conventions or times the Society deems necessary, the chapter will appoint one delegate to vote on behalf of the chapter.

Section 4. Chapter Fees and Reporting Responsibilities

• 4.1 The Vice President for Finance will transmit any fees a new member pays directly to the chapter.

• 4.2 The chapter’s Vice President for Finance will file a financial report with the Society within 60 days of the close of the fiscal year.

• 4.3 The chapter’s President is responsible for filing an annual report with the Society by August 31.

• 4.4 The chapter’s Vice President for Finance is responsible for filing an annual 990 report with the IRS in accord with federal timelines.

Section 5. Chapter Management and Meetings

• 5.1 The management of the chapter will be vested in the executive committee.

• 5.2. At least a majority of the executive committee will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any regular or special meeting.

• 5.3 In all matters not specified by these Bylaws or the Society Bylaws, the procedures set forth in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order will be used.

• 5.4 Chapter meetings will be held upon call of the President or the Executive Committee or upon the written request of ten active members of the chapter. All active and affiliated members shall be duly notified of chapter meetings by the Secretary.

  • 5.4.1 Regular/business chapter meetings will be held during the Fall and Spring semesters for the purpose of selecting new members and transacting other chapter business.

Section 6. Chapter Officers and Responsibilities

• 6.1 The President will preside at all meetings of the chapter and of the Executive Committee, appoint chapter committees, vote on behalf of the chapter on ballots and other materials sent by the Society Headquarters, and fulfill the other usual responsibilities of the office of the President.

• 6.2 The President Elect will preside at meetings in the absence of the President and will succeed to the presidency in the event of death, incapacity or resignation of the President. The President Elect will perform any other duties as are assigned to him/her by the President.

• 6.3 The Secretary will keep and publish minutes of chapter meetings.

• 6.4 The Vice President for Finance will receive, deposit, and account for all monies received by the chapter from dues and other sources; pay all bills approved by the Executive Committee; arrange for the investment of all funds not required for current operation; prepare an annual budget and arrange for an annual audit of the record books; prepare the chapter Finance Report; submit Form 990 or Form 990-N to the IRS by November 15; and prepare and submit reports required by Society Headquarters.

• 6.5 The Vice President for Communications will disseminate news of chapter activities to the various media, submit news items to Society Headquarters, and maintain the chapter’s website.

• 6.6 The Vice President for Membership will prepare lists of eligible candidates to be selected by the chapter and prepare materials and documents required for the initiation of candidates. The Vice President for Membership shall preside over the selection of new members at the Business Meetings.

• 6.7 It shall be the duty of the chapter student Vice President to perform duties as assigned by the President.

• 6.8 It shall be the duty of the immediate Past President of the chapter to serve as a member of the Executive Committee.

Section 7. Committees

• 7.1 The Executive Committee will include at a minimum the chapter officers of President, President-Elect, Secretary, Vice President for Finance, Student Vice President, Vice President for Communications, Vice President for Membership, and the Immediate Past President.

  • 7.1.1 The Executive Committee will supervise annual and long-range planning of chapter activities, advise and assist chapter officers and committees, and have jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the chapter.

  • 7.1.2 The Executive Committee will elect a delegate to the Society’s biennial convention and other meetings of the Society.

  • 7.1.3 The Executive Committee will appoint members to all standing committees and other committees as necessary to carry on the total program of the chapter for the year. In the event of the loss of any chapter officer by reason of death, incapacity or resignation, the Executive Committee shall appoint a temporary officer to serve until the election of new officers.

• 7.2 The Membership Committee members will consist of a Phi Kappa Phi member who is a representative of the Society from each of the academic colleges and schools. The Membership Committee will select undergraduate students, professional students, and graduate students for members.

• 7.3 The Non-Student Membership Committee will be appointed by the Executive Committee and be composed of three affiliated members of the Auburn University Chapter. Members will hold staggered terms of office so that one new member is appointed each year, and the eldest in point of service will become the chair. The Non-Student Membership Committee will seek nominations for non-student members, and it will screen and recommend non-student candidates for membership according to these Bylaws.

• 7.4 The Scholarship Awards Committee will consist of five members appointed by the Executive Committee. Members will be appointed for a three-year term and will hold staggered terms of office so that one new member is appointed each year; the eldest in point of service will become the chair. The committee will seek nominations for and recommend candidates to the chapter for the following: 1) Graduate Fellowship Award, 2) Susan Stacy Entrenkin Yates Award, 3) Current Garcia/Phi Kappa Phi Award for the Humanities, and 4) the Phi Kappa Phi Most Outstanding Senior Award.

• 7.5 The Investment Committee will consist of five members, with the Chapter President and Vice President for Finance serving as two of the members. The Executive Committee will appoint the Yates Agent, as required by the Yates Agreement, who will serve as chair. The remaining two members will be appointed each year by the Executive Committee. It will be the duty of the committee to manage all chapter fiscal assets. It will meet at least once a year and issue a report each semester coinciding with the regular chapter meetings.

• 7.6 The Communications Committee will consist of five members appointed by the Executive Committee. All members will ll be appointed for a three-year term and will hall hold staggered terms of office so that one new member is appointed each year. It will be the duty of the Communications Committee to develop strategies for and implement activities related to chapter communication including but not limited to the chapter Website and/or a chapter newsletter.

• 7.7 At least one month before the regular business meeting held in the Spring Semester of odd numbered years, the president shall appoint a committee for the nomination of officers. The Nominating Committee will recommend a slate of chapter officers to be elected at the Spring Business meeting of the chapter.

Section 1. Membership in the Society is open to scholars from all academic disciplines without regard to race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, genetic information, or sexual orientation. Members are expected to behave with integrity and high ethical standards.

Section 2. The following membership categories are authorized:

• 2.1 Active members are those who have paid Society dues for the current year. Those who pay both Society dues and chapter dues are also active members of the Society and the chapter. Active members have access to all available benefits offered by the Society and may be eligible to serve on Society committees and hold Society office.

• 2.2 Inactive members are those who fail to pay Society dues for the current year. Inactive members do not enjoy the privileges of member benefits, voting, serving on committees, or serving as chapter or Society officers.

• 2.3 Life members are those who have been invited and initiated and have paid the life membership fee or have been accorded this status by the action of the Society’s Board. Life members of the Society who wish to remain active chapter members must continue to pay chapter dues.

• 2.4 Special memberships, distinguished or honorary, are nominated by a chapter, member or the Board. Special memberships are conferred upon approval of the Society’s Executive Director, Society President and appropriate Divisional Vice President.

  Appropriate fees are due from the chapter once the nomination has been approved. There are two types of special memberships:

  • 2.4.1 A distinguished member is one who has served the Society in an outstanding manner and has shown a sustained record of leadership within the Society. The individual will receive a life membership in Phi Kappa Phi and a distinguished member certificate.

  • 2.4.2 An honorary member is one who is not an alumnus/alumna, employee, or student of the chapter's institution but is an individual who has achieved eminence in some academic, creative, intellectual or other career endeavor. The individual will receive a life membership in Phi Kappa Phi and an honorary member certificate.

• 2.5 Members who have served their chapters may be awarded meritorious service recognition. This recognition does not require Society approval.

Section 3. Student eligibility for membership in the Auburn University chapter will be determined separately for each college or school. Academic achievement is the only criterion by which eligibility may be determined.

Students must be invited in compliance with the following standards:

• 3.1 Undergraduate students are selected each academic semester by the individual colleges and schools at Auburn University. Undergraduate students are selected when they have completed at least 24 semester hours or the equivalent, and

  • 3.11 who, in their junior year, rank academically in the upper 7.5 percent of the class after completing at least two academic years or 72 semester hours or the equivalent and after having completed at least 36 adjusted GPA hours at Auburn University at the time of invitation, or

  • 3.12 who, in their senior year, are considered to rank academically in the top 10 percent of their class after having completed at least 45 adjusted GPA hours at Auburn University at the time of invitation

• 3.2 Graduate students are eligible for membership the semester they are graduating and are considered to rank in the top 10 percent of their class.

• 3.3 Professional students are eligible for membership in their third and/or fourth years, and they must rank scholastically in the top 7.5 and top 10 percent, respectively.

Section 4. Non-student members are members of the institution's faculty, administration, professional staff, alumni, or community leaders who exhibit excellence and high ethical standards who may be invited to membership.

• 4.1 Members of Auburn University’s faculty, administration, and professional staff (including research, library, and extension staffs) whose scholastic records and/or outstanding achievements have rendered them worthy of membership.

• 4.2 Alumni who are graduates from any class of five (5) years’ standing or more. These should be persons who achievements since graduation have been outstanding and whose scholastic records while at Auburn University were high, with an increasing emphasis on the former as the period since graduation becomes longer.

• 4.3 The number of members initiated in any year by the Auburn University Chapter from the alumni of Auburn University shall not exceed four (4) percent of the number of undergraduates and graduate students invited by the chapter that year.

Section 5. Membership Expectations

• 5.1 Members should conduct themselves at all times in a manner consistent with integrity and high ethical standards.

• 5.2 If at any time it becomes known to the Society that, after initiation, a member has failed to behave with integrity and high ethical standards, the person's membership may be revoked by either the chapter's Executive Committee or by the Society's Board of Directors. Grounds for revocation of membership include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • 5.2.1 a charge of academic integrity resolved against the member

  • 5.2.2 an institutional code of conduct charge resolved against the member

  • 5.2.3 a criminal conviction of a felony or misdemeanor that reflects that the member failed to act with integrity and high ethical standards

  • 5.2.4 failure to follow the Society’s Code of Ethics

  • 5.2.5 any other conduct where a member fails to act with integrity or high ethical standards.

  • 5.3 If his or her membership is revoked, the member has the right to appeal to the president.

Section 1. Society Fees, Dues, and Assessments

• 1.1 The following types of fees and dues will be collected by The Society.

  • 1.1.1 Initiation fees

  • 1.1.2 Membership dues

  • 1.2 The Society’s Board of Directors established the amount of fees, dues, and assessments.

• Section 2. Chapter Fees and Dues

  • 2.1 The following types of fees and dues will be collected.

    • 2.1.1 A chapter initiation fee

    • 2.1.2 Chapter membership dues

  • 2.2 All active chapter members, other than those who are newly-initiated members, shall pay to Society Headquarters local annual dues. Dues payments shall be made to Society Headquarters in response to the annual dues statement sent to each member.

Section 1. These chapter bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote submitted by two-thirds of the chapter executive committee, provided the proposed amendment or amendments have been provided to active chapter members thirty days prior to the date of the vote.

Section 2. All amendments to these Bylaws shall be in harmony with the Bylaws of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Inc.

Section 1. The motto of the Society is Philosophia Krateito Photon, interpreted to mean, “Let the love of learning rule humanity.

Section 2. The badge of the Society is a globe, girded by a band bearing the initials of the motto in Greek, PKP, and with the rays of the sun surrounding the globe in the fashion of a corona, depicted in eight groups representing the eight original academic disciplines.

Section 3. The seal of the Society consists of the badge surrounded by a crenellated line symbolizing the walls of Troy, above which are three stars representing the original chapters and below which is the inscription "Founded 1897."

Section 4. The ribbon of the Society is white, bearing in a contrasting color the letters of the Society and a meander pattern common in ancient Greek art.

Section 5. The specifications for the official ritual of initiation and insignia are preserved by the Executive Director for appropriate use. Purchase or consignment of insignia is available only through the national office.

Section 6. All insignia are trademarked and may be used only for official Society business.

Section 1. The chapter shall encourage and recognize superior scholarship and academic achievement of Auburn University’s students.

Section 2. Outstanding Undergraduate Student Awards

• 2.1 Outstanding First Year Award. The first year student achieving the highest scholastic record in each academic college or school will be selected at the Fall Semester Business Meeting and recognized at the Fall Semester Initiation. Outstanding first year students will be selected using these criteria: 1) admitted as a new freshman in the previous academic year, 2) completed a minimum of 30 semester hours at Auburn University during the previous fall semester, spring semester, and/or summer term, and 3) obtained the highest unadjusted GPA average in his or her respective academic college or school. Recognition of outstanding first year students will take the form of Phi Kappa Phi certificates of Scholastic Achievement.

• 2.2 Outstanding Second Year Award. The second year students attaining the highest scholastic record on a University-wide basis will be selected at the Fall Semester Business Meeting and recognized at the Fall Semester Initiation. Outstanding second year students will be selected using these criteria: 1) admitted as a new freshman in the academic year two prior years ago, 2) completed a minimum of 60 semester hours at Auburn University during the previous two academic years, 3) completed all academic work at Auburn, and 4) obtained a 4.00 unadjusted GPA average. Recognition of the outstanding sophomore man and woman will take the form of Phi Kappa Phi certificates of Scholastic Achievement.

Section 3. Outstanding First Professional Year Awards. The professional program students completing their first year of course work with the highest scholastic record in nursing, pharmacy, or veterinary medicine will be selected at the Fall Semester Business Meeting and recognized at the Fall Semester Initiation. Recognition of outstanding first professional year students will take the form of Phi Kappa Phi certificates of Scholastic Achievement.

Section 4. Scholarship Awards

• 4.1 Susan Stacy Entrenkin Yates Award. Presented to outstanding junior students enrolled at Auburn University with a minimum 3.69 GPA. Criteria for the award are outstanding students 1) who are considered juniors in their curriculum and have outstanding scholarship, activities, and character and 2) who have completed a minimum of 61 credit hours by the end of the Fall semester preceding the Spring semester in which the award will be given. Two letters of recommendation by faculty members who have taught the student must accompany the nomination. One of these letters may be from the nominating faculty. This award is presented at the Spring semester initiation.

• 4.2 Current-Garcia Phi Kappa Phi Scholar Award. Presented annually to the outstanding senior student in Humanities at Auburn University with a minimum 3.69 GPA. For this award, humanities are defined as including English, foreign languages, history, philosophy, music, drama, and visual (but not communications) arts. Criteria for the award are scholarship, activities, and character. This award is presented at the Spring semester initiation. Graduates for preceding Summer term, Fall semester, and the current Spring semester each year are eligible. Two letters of recommendation by faculty members who have taught the student must accompany the nomination. One of these letters may be from the nominating faculty.

• 4.3 Phi Kappa Phi Most Outstanding Senior Award. Presented annually to the outstanding senior student at Auburn University with a minimum 3.69 GPA. Criteria for the award are scholarship, activities, and character. This award is presented at the Spring semester initiation. Graduates for preceding Summer term, Fall semester, and the current Spring semester each year are eligible. Two letters of recommendation by faculty members who have taught the student must accompany the nomination. One of these letters may be from the nominating faculty. This award is funded by the Auburn University chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.