Articles

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ΦΒΚ President & Vice President Elected

The Society is pleased to announce the election of Peter Quimby as president of the Society. Esther Jones was elected as vice president. Both positions are for a three-year term from 2021 to 2024. The election took place August 5 at the Society’s 46th Triennial Council. 

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Key Connections Returns, Virtually and In Person

For the fifth year in a row, Phi Beta Kappa has partnered with our local associations in cities across the country for Key Connections, an event series designed to welcome recent inductees and members who might have recently relocated.

Arts and Sciences Initiative

Fall to It?

To help chapter institutions and our alumni members meet the moment, the Society’s National Arts & Sciences Initiative offers a number of new resources.

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Member Spotlight: Laurie L. Patton

Patton (ΦBK, Harvard University) is the 17th president of Middlebury College and the first woman to lead the institution in its 218-year history.

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Julie Taymor’s Abstract Reality

Two-time Tony award-winning director Julie Taymor (ΦBK, Oberlin College) is perhaps best known for her work on Broadway’s The Lion King. Her films include Frida (2002), Across the Universe (2007), and most recently The Glorias (2020).

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The Unscripted Life of Bob’s Burgers Screenwriter Greg Thompson

“College is a time to be educated, it is a time to learn,” says Thompson (ΦBK, University of Washington). “Focus on that, and the rewards will be there in your career even if you can’t draw a direct line between then and now.”

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Phi Beta Kappa Humanities Award 2021

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed received Phi Beta Kappa’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities at the 2021 triennial council.

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Viet Thanh Nguyen Receives Sidney Hook Memorial Award

Nguyen has written numerous books, including The Sympathizer, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and its sequel, The Committed.

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The Enduring Legacy of ΦBK Secretary John Churchill

Churchill’s posthumously published book, The Problem with Rules: Essays on the Meaning and Value of Liberal Education, offers an accessible, persuasive testament for the continued need and value for liberal education.

2021 Key into Public Service Scholars

The Society is pleased to announce the selection of 20 remarkable recipients of $5,000 undergraduate scholarships given to liberal arts and science majors with a demonstrated interest in public sector work.

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2021 Sibley & Jensen Winners

Camille Reiko Acosta from UCLA and Annie Laurens de Saussure from Lafayette College are this year’s fellowship recipients.

Thinker

2021 Lebowitz Prize

Ned Block, Silver Professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Neural Science at New York University, and Ian Phillips, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, are this year’s winning professors.