Phi Kappa Phi Forum

By Mary Todd

In my last column I mused about Big Questions. Our current theme of innova-
tion prompts me to think
about something called Better
Questions — questions at the
heart of the process of
change and innovation.

Innovation is a primary focus of Phi Kappa Phi these days, as we prepare to open the competition for our new Excellence in Innovation Award in September. Unlike our other awards and grants — those made to members and students on member campuses — the innovation award is available only to accredited institutions of higher learning. The genesis of this initiative came from our strategic plan, one goal of which is to increase Phi Kappa Phi’s presence and voice in the national conversation on higher education.

As we considered steps we might take toward the achievement of that goal, we sought a substantial project that would underscore our mission to recognize excellence. It was right in front of us — why not do what we’re best known for, what we already do well? The Society has been in the awards business since it established the fellowship program in 1931.

And so the Phi Kappa Phi Excellence in Innovation Award was created as a means of recognizing the transformative, systemic innovations for which higher education is often known.

In his recent book, A More Beautiful Question:
The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
(Bloomsbury, 2014), Warren Berger poses a
simple formula: Q (questioning) + A (action)

= I (innovation). Berger would surely share Robert Kennedy’s fondness for George Bernard Shaw’s claim, “Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say, why not?”

Why is the innovator’s obvious first question, Why Not her next, followed by What If, and finally, How Her critics will ask their own questions — just what does she think she’s doing? (We’ve never done it that way before, you know.) Change can be challenging, even threatening, to individuals, organizations, and institutions. Most people don’t like change, yet like it or not, over the course of their lives, they’ve not only seen but benefited from the remarkable changes introduced by technology and research, all of which began with innovations sparked by the curious mind of an inveterate questioner.

We can’t wait to learn about the projects that colleges and universities will submit to our award competition as their best examples of the innovative work being done on their campuses. To be clear, the award is not seed money to encourage innovation, but recognition of achievement in innovation. We’re looking for projects accompanied by assessment metrics and measurable outcomes. We are excited at the prospect of acknowledging powerful, positive solutions to difficult challenges, and we look forward to sharing those stories.

Speaking of innovations, look for a change
in our winter edition, which for the past sever-
al years has been dedicated to announcing all
Phi Kappa Phi award recipients for the year.

The Forum Advisory Council, in its February

2015 meeting, recommended that the Forum publish four full editions each year, and that awards be announced in a different venue, such as the website. To that end, the winter issue, mailing in November, will be a themed issue focusing on patterns.

The winter issue will also be the debut of our new editor, Beth Colvin. Beth brings experience in features, editing and design to Phi Kappa Phi from her ten years at The Advocate, Baton Rouge’s daily newspaper. As the Forum begins its second century, it will have its first female editor in Beth, who we are pleased to welcome to the masthead. We’re eager to see what innovations she will introduce in these pages in future issues.

Since the publication of the centennial issue, the Forum has been well served by the team of interim editor Marla Elsea and her husband Tim, a graphic designer. Many thanks to them both for their excellent work on the summer and fall issues.

We don’t often ask anything of our readers, but if you are or were affiliated with a regionally accredited four-year college or university that you believe might be a candidate for the Excellence in Innovation Award, please share with them the announcement on the back cover of this issue or point them to our website. After all, this award is an innovation itself.