Phi Beta Kappa
	The Original Honorary Society

Founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Phi Beta Kappa Society is the oldest and most prestigious honorary society in the nation. Today its chapters number 262 as the society continues to pursue its mission of fostering and recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. A more complete history of Phi Beta Kappa is available via the national organization's web site, as well as additional information about the national organization and the society in general.

Alpha of Oregon became the first chapter in this state in 1923. Although three private schools in Oregon now have chapters, the University of Oregon still has the only Phi Beta Kappa chapter in the public Oregon University System. The society honors students whose undergraduate academic records fulfill the objectives of a liberal arts education. Members are generally elected from the top 10 percent of a university's graduating class.

Each year six outstanding members-elect are designated the Phi Beta Kappa Oregon Six. Their academic records are exceptional because they combine extraordinary breadth and excellence in upper-division liberal arts courses with very high grade point averages.

Besides electing new members each spring, the chapter brings to campus national scholars to give free public lectures and converse with students. Recent Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars are Stan Brakhage, Elaine Showalter, Marjorie Perloff, and Ramón Gutiérrez. In October 1999 it sponsored a free Celebration of the Mind, which featured one of the chapter's resident members. Steven Shankman--director of the Oregon Humanities Center, professor of English and classics, and a distinguished professor in the College of Arts and Sciences--gave a dynamic presentation on "The Idea of Europe, Levinas, and Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice."

 

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Updated 06/11/07