Montco college president to help fund honor society membership fee

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Helping honor students

BLUE BELL Montgomery County Community College president Karen A. Stout announced on Monday that she has pledged $30,000 to establish a Phi Theta Kappa Annual Challenge Fund through the college's foundation.

Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society for two-year colleges. Since only 14 percent of PTK-eligible students nationally join the organization, the current membership fee of $60 is seen by some as a likely barrier for many eligible students.

So the Karen A. Stout Phi Theta Kappa Challenge Fund will help qualified students by defraying half the cost of a membership.

Students must be eligible for Pell Grant funding and PTK membership to qualify. Members of PTK must maintain a 3.5 grade point average and have completed at least 12 credits.

"By working with their peers and faculty advisors, PTK members examine real-life issues facing their communities while gaining leadership skills through the organization's Honors in Action programming," the school said in a statement.

The Karen A. Stout Phi Theta Kappa Challenge Fund is part of the foundation's fund-raising campaign, Futures Rising: The Campaign for Montgomery County Community College. Its goal is to raise $9 million for student scholarships. For more information, go to mc3.edu/futures.

- Inquirer staff