BATON ROUGE, La. — Nine local residents recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. They include the following individuals, along with the schools where their initiation took place.

Francesca Davenport of Westfield, Sacred Heart University; Lauren Donohue of Westfield, Kean University; Jamie Frank of Scotch Plains, Florida State University; Charlene Higgs of Cranford, Kean University; Marina Signorelli of Scotch Plains, Kean University; Olivia Speranza of Scotch Plains, Kean University; Amanda Toupence of Scotch Plains, Kean University; Kirsten Williams of Cranford, Florida State University; Ryan Zatorsky of Cranford, Kean University.

These honorees are among approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only 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 also may qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of undergraduate student Marcus L. Urann, who had a desire to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Based in Baton Rouge, La., the Society today has chapters on more than 325 campuses in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. Its 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.”

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. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards $1.3 million to outstanding students and members through graduate and dissertation fellowships, undergraduate study-abroad grants, funding for post-baccalaureate development, and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.phikappaphi.org.