How
Does a Student Qualify to Join Phi Beta Kappa?
A student candidate for PBK membership must be either
a liberal arts and sciences major or a major in a
professional field who has completed a minor in a
liberal arts and sciences area.
In addition, the candidate must display integrity,
tolerance, and a broad range of intellectual interests.
The candidate must also have demonstrated breadth
of academic study in the liberal arts and sciences,
have completed at least three full semesters of
course work at Alfred University, and be registered
as a full-time student for a fourth semester.
If the candidate is a senior, he or she must have
a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5. If the candidate
is a junior, he or she must have a cumulative GPA
of at least 3.75 and have completed either 90 credit
hours or three-quarters of the hours required for
his or her undergraduate degree.
Preference will be given to candidates who have
completed non-introductory college math courses
and more than two semesters of college-level foreign
language study.
Each year the members of Alfred's chapter meet
to select students whose academic and personal
achievements qualify them for membership. To become
members, students must accept the chapter's invitation,
participate in an initiation ceremony, and sign
the chapter's roll.
Alfred's Chapter History
PBK awarded Alfred University its chapter in August
2003. In March 2004 John Churchill, Executive Secretary
of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, travelled from its
Washington headquarters to install the chapter.
Marvin Bell, AU alumnus and Poet Laureate of Iowa,
spoke at the ceremony.
Alfred University received the Alpha Gamma Chapter
of New York in recognition of its historical dedication
to liberal arts education and its rigorous curriculum
today. Since the school's founding, the liberal
arts and sciences have been central to its mission
and its humanist values visible in its remarkably
egalitarian environment for women. President Kenyon
exhorted the graduating class of 1856: "men and
women are demanded of great intellects, of disinterested
philanthropy. . .In your reliance upon yourselves-you
have become independent thinkers and actors." Jonathan
and Abigail Allen fought for human equality throughout
their fifty years of service to Alfred. They believed
that education itself should be radical and reforming.
Abigail Allen wrote, ". . . keep abreast of the
world's advance movements; in one word, be radical,
radical to the core."
Alfred continues its commitment to these founding
principles through its support of individual student
aspirations, research opportunities for undergraduates,
a challenging intellectual environment, and a strong
Honors program.
Why Does Membership Matter?
The PBK key is a symbol of scholarly excellence
as well as of membership in the oldest and most
prestigious academic honor society in the United
States. If you choose to purchase one, it will
be engraved with your name, year of initiation,
and the University's name.
Both graduate programs and employers in all sectors
of American society recognize the significance
of this extraordinary achievement.
For more information about the PBK Society, go
to the national website at www.pbk.org or contact
Alfred's Chapter Secretary Addison
Frey.
Selected Activities
Visiting Scholar Program and Phi Beta Kappa Fellows
Lectureship: Chapters host distinguished scholars
or lecturers for public presentations, participation
in classroom lectures and seminars, and informal meetings with undergraduates
and faculty members.
Advocacy: The Society has participated in programs
to encourage excellence in teaching, increase public
understanding of the value of the liberal arts
and sciences, and encourage both public and private
support for liberal education.
Awards and Fellowships: The Society sponsors several
awards and fellowships that recognize significant
contributions in the liberal arts and sciences.
The American Scholar: Available by subscription,
this award-winning quarterly journal publishes
work by many of our country's best writers, thinkers,
critics, and poets.
Election of New Members: All 270 chapters elect
and initiate new members at least once per year.
Phi Beta Kappa Historical Timeline
1776 Five students
at the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg,
Virginia) founded Phi Beta Kappa.
1780-81 Yale College and Harvard College receive
the second and third chapters.
1875 The University of Vermont chapter admits
the first women into PBK.
1877 The University of Vermont selects PBK's first
African American members. PBK establishes its first
regional association in New York City.
1883 Phi Beta Kappa creates a National Council
of the United Chapters to oversee 25 chapters.
2004 Eight new chapters receive charters, bringing
the chapter total to 270 chapters and the membership
total to half a million. Alfred University receives
its charter for the Alpha Gamma Chapter of New
York. |
