State University Phi Kappa Phi is a national honor society established in 1897 to recognize and promote academic excellence in all disciplines of higher education.
Membership is by invitation only.
Phi Kappa Phi was founded at the University of Maine in 1897 by a group of students who wanted an honor society that would represent a broader diversity of disciplines than any currently existing society. The original name for the society was Lambda Sigma Eta. In 1898, the name of the society was changed to the Morrill Society in honor of the sponsor of the land-grant college act. Interestingly, NCSU was one of the land-grant colleges established by the Morrill Act of 1864. In 1900, the presidents of the University of Maine, the University of Tennessee, and Pennsylvania State University gathered together to change the Morrill Society into a national honor society, renamed Phi Kappa Phi.