George W's father was recognized for his academic progress in college. He was even allowed to join the club. Sure, Phi Beta Kappa isn't a secret society, but it does serve to acknowledge and reward a similar ideal as the Skulls and the Golden Key Honor Society: academic excellence. Phi Beta Kappa has had a long-standing relationship with Tufts, offering membership to a select group of juniors and seniors. The group has recently instituted a Book Award, aimed at sophomores who have exhibited academic excellence.
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and considered the most prestigious national honor society in the US for liberal arts students. Founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, the society sought to promote the values of friendship, morality, and literature. Although the Revolutionary War temporarily disrupted the progress of the society, chapters at Yale and Harvard evolved into the honor society that now exists at 262 colleges and universities throughout the country.
Simply having a chapter is an honor in itself for any university. According to Emese Soos, a lecturer in the romance language department and Tufts' President of Phi Beta Kappa, the requirements for entry into the organization are strict. "Each institution had to undergo a rigorous process of self-study and observation by a Phi Beta Kappa committee in order to obtain a charter for a chapter," Soos said.
The present goals of Phi Beta Kappa are to return to a liberal arts focus in education. Douglas Foard, executive secretary of the society, laments the current emphasis on technological skills in education.
"Students think they can take a one-year certificate course in computer networking and programming and start earning $50,000 a year," Foard said. "This creates a public perception that it doesn't pay to pursue studies in traditional academic disciplines," he added, calling the implications of this mindset "tremendous."
William R. Shipman, a Middlebury graduate and Tufts' first librarian, and Frank Pierpont Graves, a Columbia graduate and renowned Tufts professor, founded the Tufts chapter in 1892, creating the fourth chapter in Massachusetts. The society was open to women from the start; it currently includes between 50 and 60 members.
Eligibility for membership at Tufts differs from the Golden Key Honor Society in the respect that membership is only open to liberal arts undergraduates and there is no fixed GPA requirement. Six to seven percent of Tufts seniors receive membership, along with a handful of juniors. Membership is contingent upon a high GPA, recommendations from professors, and excellence in all distribution requirements, as well as proof of a broad and challenging course of study.
In addition to the reward of membership for upperclassmen, the Tufts chapter of Phi Beta Kappa has recently established a Book Award geared towards sophomores based on their first year studies. While Book Awards exist at other chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, they are not staples of the honor society, says Soos.
"I got the idea when I attended the Phi Beta Kappa triennial convention a couple of years ago," Soos said. During the ceremony, honorees receive books that are selected according to their first year course selections.
The recipients of the award are Jonathan Cohen, Adam Cooper, Emily Craighead, Christopher Kottke, and Carmen Staaf. They were selected by the strength of their transcripts, regarded alongside the other 28 members of the class with the highest GPAs.
Jonathan Cohen, for one, was excited to be selected. "It's an honor to be recognized out of such a large group," he said.
Chris Kottke says he also felt honored. "I was really surprised when it came, and I'm glad to finally be recognized for my academic ability instead of for my stunning good looks," he joked.
While the Book Award is meant to reward students for their excellence in academics, Soos believes it will help the honor society gain more visibility and support.
"Besides singling out sophomores who embody the ideals of Phi Beta Kappa, the award is meant to give our organization a more active presence on campus and to create interest in ideals," Soos said.
As it becomes more recognizable as a beacon of success and prestige, Soos hopes Phi Beta Kappa will become a greater motivator to students who need an extra push academically.
Many inductees into the honor society at Tufts have gone on to achieve greater things. Cindy Manning, elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, won a scholarship and entrance to Tufts' Medical School soon after her induction. Last year, newly elected member of the society Abdalla Simaika won a Fulbright scholarship to study abroad in Egypt.
Famous members of Phi Beta Kappa have included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Michael Crichton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Teddy Roosevelt. President Clinton was even a member of this society, which now boasts about 500,000 members. The society, whose name stands for the initials of the Greek motto Philosophia Biouy Kubernetes, or "love of wisdom, the guide of life," offers fellowships and scholarships to its members.
