Phi Kappa Phi Announces 2020 Literacy Grant Recipients

by Alyssa Perez

Baton Rouge, LA (07/08/2020) — The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society, today announced its 2020 Literacy Grant recipients. The grants of up to $2,500 were awarded to 12 Phi Kappa Phi members across the nation.

The Literacy Grant Program, established in 2003, is part of the Society's robust awards program, which gives nearly $1 million each year to outstanding students and members through study abroad grants, graduate fellowships, funding for post-baccalaureate development and member and chapter awards. Drawing from a multidisciplinary society of students and scholars from large and small institutions, the grants help fund projects ranging from traditional reading initiatives to those fostering learning in cultural, digital, financial, health, historical literacy and beyond.

The 2020 recipients and their respective projects are:

Kathryn Accurso, REAL Talk! A book club about Race, Education, and Language
Maria R. Barefoot, Little Free Laundromat Libraries for Southwestern PA
Brenda L. Beverly, Tele-coaching for home early literacy practices: Impact on early literacy skills and parent engagement
Christina Chester-Fangman, Books: Candy for the Mind
Ralph David Frantzreb, The Love of Reading
Shelby Garner, Innovation in Digital Learning through an E-Café to Improve Health Literacy among Nursing Students in India
Karla Guinigundo, Near-Peer Mentoring
Anna Handte-Reinecker, Readers to Leaders: Supporting Literacy in the TCI
Tracee Matthias, BRIDGES Book Club
Liberatus J. Rwebugisa, The Student Success Center (SSC) Project: Helping Every Child Succeed Educationally
Judy Stiles, Joplin NALA Read Student Success and Retention Program
Melissa Webb Walton, Playing to Read: Teachers and Students Engage With Reading Through Play

"One look at the list of recipients of this year's grants reveals an ever-expanding definition of literacy. Going forward, we should perhaps more correctly speak of literacies, plural," said Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd. "We are delighted at the variety of projects Phi Kappa Phi has been asked to support through these funds."

The winning literacy projects were selected for a grant based on a number of criteria including the project's scope, student and community involvement, impact, duration and ability to achieve success.

To learn more about this year's recipients and projects, please visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org/Literacy.

About Phi Kappa Phi

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni annually. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in the United States 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. The Society's mission is "To recognize and advance excellence in all fields of higher education and society." For more information, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.