The Phi Beta Kappa Society welcomed three new chapters this past spring at the following institutions: Rollins College on March 3, University of North Carolina at Charlotte on April 20, and Providence College on April 26. Phi Beta Kappa now counts chapters at 293 institutions among its ranks. ΦBK Secretary and CEO Frederick M. Lawrence and ΦBK President Peter Quimby presided over each installation. Following the installation ceremonies, each chapter honored their first class of Phi Beta Kappa members.
“Sheltering a Phi Beta Kappa chapter is a true and a rare honor for a college or university,” said Secretary Lawrence. “These institutions have shown a broad and deep commitment to the arts and sciences that will stand the test of time. We celebrate that commitment because we know the difference an education based in the liberal arts will make in the lives of their students. And, in turn, we know the difference those students will make out in the world, to all our benefit.”
In remarks at each of the ceremonies, President Quimby shared that an arts and sciences education allows students to realize their hopes, dreams, and ambitions, and that “the institutions sheltering our chapters, in all of their rich diversity—large and small, public and private, faith-based and nonsectarian—are the standard bearers in this commitment.”
In addition to the first student members, each chapter also inducted foundation members, a special recognition allowed only at the chapter’s founding.
The Theta of Florida chapter recognized 19 excelling students and honored several individuals intrinsic to fostering the liberal arts and sciences, including Rollins College President Grant Cornwell and Rosana Diaz-Zambrana, a Latin American and Caribbean literature expert and the first Puerto Rican female faculty member at Rollins.
The Theta of North Carolina chapter recognized 67 students for excellence in the arts and sciences and honored their foundation members, including UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon Gaber and The Honorable Harvey B. Gantt, Charlotte’s first African American mayor.
The Gamma of Rhode Island chapter inducted 57 students and recognized several foundation members, including Providence College’s president Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard and Wanda Ingram, who was among the first women admitted at Providence, one of just a few women of color, and one of only two women students in the sciences in her cohort.
Read more about each new chapter at pbk.org/press.