Phi Theta Kappa - Honor Society

Phi Theta Kappa Announces Increases in Scholarships, Recognition for All-USA and All-State Academic Programs

Students nominated for the 2009 All-USA/All-State Academic Teams will be eligible for a total of $500,000 in scholarships and awards and more recognition than ever before.

"Thanks to the generosity of USA TODAY and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation the scholarship dollars available to students through this one application process have tripled this year," said Phi Theta Kappa's Executive Director, Rod A. Risley. He noted that the scholarship offerings and awards have increased from $150,000 to $500,000 through two recognition programs, USA TODAY's All-USA Academic Team and Coca-Cola's All-State Academic Team. These programs share a common application and eligibility criteria.

Twenty students will be selected for the national team, and will each receive a $2,500 stipend, obelisk, and medallion. These students will be featured in an April issue of USA TODAY and honored at Phi Theta Kappa's Presidents Breakfast held during the Annual Convention of the American Association of Community Colleges Convention (AACC) in April of 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona. AACC also serves as a sponsor of the All-USA program.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation recently established the Coca-Cola All-State Academic Team program, providing up to $450,000 in stipends. As in previous years the top scoring student from each of the 50 states will be named a New Century Scholar and will receive a $2,000 stipend. New Century Scholars will be recognized at the AACC Convention.

The new Coca-Cola All-State program will name 50 Gold Scholars, who each will receive $1,500; 50 Silver Scholars,who receive $1,250 each, and 50 Bronze Scholars, who will receive $1,000. A state may have multiple Gold, Silver, or Bronze Scholars. All scholars will also receive special medallions and will be listed in an April issue of USA Today. An additional 150 national finalists selected from multiple states will each receive a $1,000 stipend.

Nomination materials were mailed to community colleges this fall. The deadline for 2009 nominations to be received at Phi Theta Kappa is December 1. All-USA/All-State contacts are listed online.