Elaine Mooney Awarded $8,500 Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship 

July 1, 2025. University of Memphis Elaine Mooney has been awarded an $8,500 Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship to support her graduate studies in psychology at the University of Memphis, which she will begin this fall. Mooney is one of fifty-four recipients nationwide to receive a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship.

Mooney earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Science in May 2025. She served as a Student Marshall, the most prestigious distinction of any undergraduate student, for the College of Arts and Sciences at her commencement ceremony.

She actively participated in the Helen Hardin Honors College and the Department of Psychology honors program, earning her degrees with “University Honors with Thesis” and “Honors in Psychology” designations.

Mooney’s honors thesis focused on understanding mental representations that automatically occur during language processing and those that occur effortfully during imagination. She plans to publish her research in the 2025 volume of QuaesitUM, the UofM’s undergraduate research journal.

Mooney has received many awards during her undergraduate years at the University of Memphis, including the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Outstanding Senior Award, the Milton C. Addington Award for Excellence in Psychology, and the Honors College’s Director’s Award for Outstanding Performance in an Honors Curriculum.

“I am honored to be awarded this prestigious Phi Kappa Phi graduate fellowship.” said Mooney. “It is an achievement that reflects the excellent guidance and encouragement I received at the University of Memphis, the Department of Psychology, the Language and Behavior Lab, and the Helen Hardin Honors College. Thank you all for your dedication and service to student success.”

Since its creation in 1932, the fellowship program has become one of Phi Kappa Phi’s most visible and financially well-supported endeavors, allocating $615,000 annually to outstanding students for first-year graduate or professional study. This year’s program awarded 54 fellowships of $8,500 each, six at $20,000 each, and two awards at $35,000 to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Each active Phi Kappa Phi chapter may select one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for Society-wide awards.

This is the sixth consecutive year that an Honors College student has received a graduate fellowship in the national Phi Kappa Phi competition. For more information about the campus nomination process, contact Dr. Beverly Bond in the History Department (Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship Chairperson) or honors@memphis.edu.