KU News Release

KU senior wins national $2,000 Phi Kappa Phi award

LAWRENCE — Todd Christopher Crawford, a senior at the University of Kansas, has won a $2,000 national Phi Kappa Phi Award of Excellence.

The honor society presents 40 Awards of Excellence to members entering their first year of graduate or professional study. Each chapter selects one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for the awards.

KU’s chapter recently selected Crawford to receive the $1,500 Blackiston Memorial Graduate Fellowship, nominating him for an Award of Excellence.

Crawford is a candidate for a degree in finance and plans to study medicine at the KU School of Medicine. He is the son of Jeff and Kim Crawford of Leawood and a graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School.

Aside from the Blackiston fellowship, he also recently received an Agnes Wright Strickland Award. The honor includes lifetime membership to the KU Alumni Association and recognizes graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence in academic achievements and in campus leadership.

Crawford has been president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and is vice president of the Board of Class Officers and treasurer for Mortar Board honor society. This year, he served as a teaching assistant for a business course titled Financial Modeling and Risk Analysis.

Phi Kappa Phi has about 300 chapters nationally. It was established in 1897 to recognize academic excellence in all disciplines. Only the top 10 percent of seniors, the top 7.5 percent of last-term juniors and the top 10 percent of graduate students are invited to join.

Phi Kappa Phi’s primary objectives are to promote the pursuit of excellence in all fields of higher education and to recognize outstanding achievement by students, faculty and others by election to membership and through various awards for distinguished achievement.

-30-

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.