of the ideals of the Society . Honorary members shall be persons outside the field, excluding those who are employed in the field, who have made distinctive scholarly and research contributions to the study, use, or promotion of foreign languages and the ideals of the Society.. Membership in the Society is open to qualified candidates including persons with disability, without regard to age, color, gender, national origin, race, religion, and/or sexual orientation. Phi Sigma Iota pledge "We believe that a discerning and sympathetic understanding of the peoples of the world is essential to the welfare of humanity; that peace among nations and international amity are dependent upon an altruistic willingness to appreciate the character, the ideals, and the culture and civilization of other countries; that the study of foreign languages is one of the best means of contributing to such global understanding; that a broad study of international cultures is also essential to an adequate comprehension of all races and peoples; that it is our duty as world citizens to learn all that we can about the peoples of the world and to strive to judge their achievements objectively, fairly, and tolerantly; that it is our obligation to disseminate our knowledge and informed judgment as widely as possible in order to further international understanding; that it is incumbent upon us to attempt to inspire in others an interest in the language, literature, and other cultural manifestations of all races and peoples; and finally, we believe that we ourselves should continue the study of language, literature and culture in order to extend the horizons of our own understanding." History Phi Sigma Iota was founded in 1922 at Allegheny College by Dr. Henry W. Church, members of his department of languages, and advanced students who were meeting to discuss linguistic and literary matters. became a national society when its Beta chapter was established at The Pennsylvania State University in April 1925. Less than a year later, a Gamma chapter at the College of Wooster followed them. With these three chapters as the nucleus of the national organization, the first convention was held in May 1926, at Allegheny College. Since that time expansion has been steady. In November 1935, Phi Sigma Iota was merged with Alpha Zeta Pi, a similar society west of the Mississippi. The merger took place at a National Convention held at Bloomington, Illinois. Dr. Etienne Renaud and his associates