SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society, recently extended an invitation of membership to Slippery Rock University following a yearlong evaluation. SRU accepted and will initiate a chapter in the fall.Phi Kappa Phi, founded in 1897, has chapters at 300 universities.Election to membership adds prestige and gives students and job-seekers a distinct advantage, according to humanities Dean Dr. William McKinney, who petitioned Phi Kappa Phi for inclusion. Graduate school admission committees, like employers, know Phi Kappa Phi members represent the very best that higher education has to offer, he says."Membership with this kind of origination sends a signal that Slippery Rock University is what we've always known it to be, a quality academic institution," McKinney says.In evaluating SRU, Phi Kappa Phi examined academic programs, credentials of faculty, library holdings, admissions standards and the success of graduates. The honorary sent two national leaders to campus for two days of interviews with Interim President Dr. Robert Smith, Interim Provost Dr. William Williams, college deans, department chairs and students.Students eligible for membership include last-term juniors in the upper 7.5% of their class and seniors in the upper 10%. Outstanding graduate students, faculty and staff will be eligible as well. At initiation, members will receive gold keys and certificates of membership.Phi Kappa Phi is but one indicator of mounting academics at SRU; 29% of this year's freshmen came from the top 25% of their high school classes -- up 20% over a year ago, Smith reports. The class showed a 32-point increase in SAT scores over the year before, and brought with it a 3.29 grade point average.Earlier this year, Princeton Review rated SRU as one of 98 great schools to consider in the mid-Atlantic region, a ranking based on interviews with students.Visit Slippery Rock University: www.sru.edu"