Phi Beta Kappa recently announced that the 2021-2024 application cycle for the consideration of new chapters is now open. The Society grants charters for new chapters to Phi Beta Kappa faculty at four-year, U.S.- based college and university campuses after an extensive review process. Currently, 290 chapters representing small liberal arts colleges, private universities, and public universities regularly induct new students. This August, the Triennial Council will vote on granting new charters to institutions considered during the 2018-2021 cycle.
In an effort to streamline the application process, the Society’s Committee on Qualifications spent last summer examining the application itself as well as the steps in the application process. The new, comprehensive Application to Shelter a Phi Beta Kappa Chapter is now available on the Society’s website. Applications for the 2021-2024 cycle will be due in January 2022.
The purpose of the application is twofold: to familiarize an institution with the essential commitments required to support a chapter and to facilitate a comprehensive assessment of an institution’s capacity to meet those commitments. The Committee on Qualifications will review all applications and determine which institutions will receive site visits. After visiting selected campuses, the Committee makes recommendations to the Phi Beta Kappa Senate, which in turn makes recommendations to the Triennial Council, which will authorize charters for new chapters from this cycle in August 2024.
“Applying to shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter is an opportunity for institutions to shine a light on their commitment to the liberal arts and their vibrant learning communities,” said Phi Beta Kappa Secretary and CEO Frederick M. Lawrence.
Campuses, in turn, welcome the mark of distinction a Phi Beta Kappa chapter can bring. In its last two cycles, Phi Beta Kappa has welcomed seven institutions—Chapman University, Loyola Marymount University, Mercer University, Mississippi State University, Oregon State University, University of Houston, and the University of South Florida—and celebrated the commitment to academic excellence at these diverse institutions.
As University of South Florida Honors College Dean and Chapter President Charles Adams stated at the chapter’s installation in 2019, “Sheltering a chapter serves to confirm our standing as a premier national university and speaks to the quality of our academic culture and the excellent education that we provide for our students.”
For more information, visit pbk.org/StartA-Chapter or contact Director of Chapter and Association Relations Ann McCulloch at amcculloch@pbk.org.