Dr. Kathleen Allison

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. and BATON ROUGE, La.— Dr. Kathleen Allison, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Science, Lock Haven University, was presented with a Love of Learning Award worth $500 by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. This honor counts Allison among 80 members nationwide receiving the Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award to help fund post-baccalaureate studies and career development.

The selection process for the Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award is based on 1) the impact on the applicant’s career or educational goals; 2) academic achievement; 3) leadership and service on the campus and in the community; and 4) a personal statement of educational perspective, purpose and objectives. Allison will use the award monies for qualitative research software.

Dr. Allison was initiated into PKP at Texas Woman’s University. This is her 9th year at Lock Haven University, where she is currently the treasurer for our local Phi Kappa Phi chapter.

Dr. Allison will use the award money to purchase NVivo, qualitative analysis software. She is currently engaged in a qualitative research project using photovoice technology. The software will enable her to further examine the written word and the photos taken by the African American women participating in the program. The research project was influenced by the need for data on minority retention, a committee on which she participates.
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. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually more than 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has 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.

Since its founding, more than 1 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization’s more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, writer John Grisham and Netscape founder James Barksdale. The Society has awarded approximately $13 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, more than $700,000 is awarded annually to qualifying members and non-members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad scholarships, member and chapter awards and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. The Society’s 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.”

For more information on Phi Kappa Phi, please call 800/804-9880 or visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org