LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society has initiated 91 new members, including Carlos '19 Schwindt.
Jennifer Harrison, president of KU’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter and director of the Business Leadership Program and Jack Dicus Business Honors Program, presided at the May 15 ceremony. Initiates were individually recognized, presented with a certificate of membership, and invited to sign their names in the chapter register — a tradition that dates to 1912.
Leah Stein, a graduating senior in sociology who was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 2021, gave the student response address. She is a graduate of Sacred Heart Cathedral Catholic School and Dodge City High School.
Election to Phi Beta Kappa recognizes a student’s high academic achievement while pursuing a broad and substantive liberal arts curriculum. To be eligible for consideration for membership, students must be seniors with a minimum grade-point average of 3.65 on a 4.0 scale or juniors with a minimum 3.9. Anonymous transcripts of candidates are reviewed holistically by a committee of Phi Beta Kappa faculty and staff members.
Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest national academic honorary society, was founded Dec. 5, 1776, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. KU’s Alpha chapter, founded in 1890, was the first chapter west of the Mississippi and is one of 286 Phi Beta Kappa chapters nationwide. About 10% of institutions of higher learning in the United States have Phi Beta Kappa chapters.
- Carlos Schwindt, senior, La Crosse/TMP-Marian HS