Phi Beta Kappa Society Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the oldest undergraduate honorary society in the United States. Founded on December 5, 1776, election to it is considered by many to be the highest honor that can be granted to an undergraduate. Membership is granted to around 1% of college graduates.Famous Phi Betes include:
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Leonard Bernstein
- Jeff Bezos
- George H. W. Bush
- Jeb Bush
- Bill Clinton
- Glenn Close
- Elizabeth Dole
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Christie Hefner
- William Rehnquist
- Condoleezza Rice
- Stephen Sondheim
- Susan Sontag
- David Souter
- Gloria Steinem
- Julie Taymor
- William Monroe Trotter
- Mark Twain
- John Updike
By the time of the establishment of the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa in 1883, there were 25 chapters in total. The first women were elected at the University of Vermont in 1875, and the first black member was elected at the same institution two years later.
Each chapter is designated by its state and a Greek letter indicating the order in which that state's chapters were founded. As an example, Alpha of Pennsylvania is at Dickinson College (1887); Beta of Pennsylvania, at Lehigh University (later in 1887); Gamma of Pennsylvania, at Lafayette College (1890); and Delta of Pennsylvania, at the University of Pennsylvania (1892).
In 1988, the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa officially changed its name to The Phi Beta Kappa Society.
As of 2004, there are 270 chapters and over half a million living members.
Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) stands for Φιλοσοφια Βιου Κυβερνετης (philosophia biou kubernetes), "Love of wisdom, the guide of life."