Contact: Lydia Palmer
STARKVILLE, Miss.—The College of Education at Mississippi State University congratulates Professor Missy Hopper for her outstanding work with the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi as national president-elect, president and past president.
Phi Kappa Phi is a multidisciplinary collegiate honor society that initiates approximately 25,000 new members each year with chapters on over 325 college and university campuses. It is the oldest and most selective of its kind in the nation.
Before her terms in presidential roles from 2018-2022, Hopper was named a Distinguished Member in 2014 for her work with MSU’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter and service on the national board. She said her work with the MSU chapter prepared her for the subsequent leadership roles.
“I would not have been active at the national level if it were not for my work with the MSU chapter,” Hopper said. “I came from a campus without a Phi Kappa Phi chapter, and when I moved here in 2005, I was happy to get involved.”
She served in various PKP offices including president of the MSU chapter from 2006-2011. The university has a prestigious chapter that often is designated as a “Chapter of Excellence” by the national headquarters.
Hopper began working at MSU in 2005, her first time as part of the MSU community since earning her bachelor’s degree at the university. She is a professor of English education in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education, and she serves as the program area graduate coordinator.
This summer’s issue of PKP’s publication Forum profiles Hopper as a “great leader” during her time as president and past-president, helping the society weather COVID-19’s impact.
Her relationship with and service to the organization has not gone unnoticed. Hopper played a key role in establishing and setting the criteria for a $10,000 dissertation fellowship. During PKP’s recent biennial convention in Orlando, Florida, the society unveiled the new name for the fellowship—the Dr. Missy Hopper Dissertation Fellowship Award.
This award is one of 15 that PKP gives annually to assist doctoral candidates. Hopper said she is very appreciative the fellowship she helped design was named in her honor.
“My hope is that this fellowship will help students complete their graduate degrees with less financial burden,” she said. “I believe in the society motto, ‘Let the love of learning rule humanity.’”
Established in 1903, MSU’s College of Education is home to six academic departments, one research unit and numerous service units. For more about the college, visit www.educ.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Click here to view more news.