Madelyn G. Torchin (ΦBK, University of Missouri) donated $50,000 to Phi Beta Kappa to fund the Love of Learning Professional Development Grants program. Established in honor of the Phi Beta Kappa motto, “love of learning is the guide to life,” the program was designed to provide funds to ΦBK members who wish to pursue endeavors to continue lifelong learning and advance in their professions.
At the 47th Triennial Council, Phi Beta Kappa presented the Society’s President’s Award to former ΦBK President Lynn Pasquerella and its John Hope Franklin Award to Susan Hagen.
This past summer, as the Society has every three years since the first Triennial Council convening in 1883, representatives from Phi Beta Kappa’s 290+ chapters and nearly 50 alumni associations gathered to chart the course of our future. This was a particularly significant conference as we gathered on the cusp of our 250th anniversary in 2026.
The Society is pleased to announces the election of Esther L. Jones (ΦBK, Fisk University) as President of the Society and Ronald A. Crutcher (ΦBK, Miami University) as Vice President. Both positions are for a three-year term.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (ΦBK, Yale University) is the recipient of Phi Beta Kappa’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities. The Society presented the award to Gates during the 47th Triennial Council.
The Triennial Council is Phi Beta Kappa’s legislative body, which convenes every three years to conduct Society business and hold elections. Our executives, senators, and representatives from the ΦBK chapters and associations met for our 47th Triennial Council from July 31 to August 4 in Baltimore, Maryland. Phi Beta Kappa voted to establish three new […]
Douglas Emlen, Regents Professor of Biology at the University of Montana, is one of 13 preeminent scholars in the liberal arts and sciences selected to serve as ΦBK Visiting Scholars during the 2024–2025 academic year.
As concerns grow for the fragility of democracy around the globe, the Society’s National Arts & Sciences Initiative team put together wide-ranging conversations engaging leading Phi Beta Kappa members with current students, recent graduates, chapter faculty, and alumni association volunteers to explore how arts and sciences education can help democracies thrive.
A regular contributor to ΦBK for the past 20 years, Chris Ives became a member at Williams College. He is currently engaged in research and writing on Zen approaches to nature and Buddhist environmental ethics.
The Society’s Writing Internship Program serves new ΦBK members who are looking for an opportunity to gain professional experience and support ΦBK’s mission to advance excellence in the liberal arts and sciences in higher education.
Intern with a nationally recognized organization in Washington, D.C., while working remotely! The Phi Beta Kappa Society is seeking writing interns to help publicize the work of the Society and write stories about our alumni members. Applicants must be new members of Phi Beta Kappa within their first or second year to be considered for this position.
The third star on the Phi Beta Kappa key, in addition to the two for learning and morality, is for friendship. This kind of friendship is not only for those with whom we agree. It is also for those with whom we disagree about key fundamentals but with whom we share a community.
