Two local students recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

Students from Franklin County joining the honor society are Emili Crummie and Charles Gordon, both from Russellville and both current students at the University of North Alabama.

According to Phi Kappa Phi, Crummie and Gordon are among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into the honor society each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter.

The top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership.

Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of an undergraduate student named Marcus L. Urann, who had a desire to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Today the society has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines.

Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated into Phi Kappa Phi. Some of the organization’s notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham and YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.

For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.phikappaphi.org.