A significant step toward academic excellence was taken at UT Martin on May 21, 1971, when Chapter 127 of the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi was organized. This was a result of almost a decade of preparation.
In 1962, UT Martin Chancellor Paul Meek asked Dean William H. Baker of Business Administration to contact the Phi Kappa Phi national headquarters. The national headquarters denied the initial request for a UT Martin chapter but suggested a local honor society with similar standards be formed, which led to the creation of Phi Sigma Phi. Six years later, President Jimmy Trentham of Phi Sigma Phi received notification UT Martin would have its own chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.
On May 21, 1971, Dr. Albertine Krohn, Regional Vice President of Phi Kappa Phi, presented a charter for Chapter 127 to 11 petitioners. Eighteen members of other chapters promptly affiliated, and 86 faculty and 53 students were initiated. It is notable that of about 2000 colleges and universities in the United States, UT Martin was the 127th to have a Phi Kappa Phi chapter. Dean William H. Baker became the chapter's first president.
Officers
| President | Dr. Dan Pigg |
| Past President | Dr. Carrie Humphreys |
| President-Elect | |
| Treasurer | Dr. John Glass |
| Secretary | Dr. Anton Garcia-Fernandez |
| Public Relations Officer | Dr. Lionel Crews |
| Student Vice Presidents | Savannah Pham |
Committee Chairs
| Program | Dr. Erik Nordberg |
| Membership | Dr. Christopher Brown |
| Awards and Grants | Dr. Ann Gathers |
| Hospitality | Dr. Michelle Merwin |
| Banquet |