Texas Tech University Installs Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Inducts 93 Students During Ceremony
March 29, 2007
Phi Beta Kappa, the nations oldest and most prestigious honors society, will install a chapter at Texas Tech and 93 students will get inducted during a ceremony this April.
Following the installation of Texas Tech University’s new chapter of Phi Beta Kappa,
the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society, 93 students will be inducted
into the society.
The ceremonies are scheduled for 4 p.m. April 11 at the Allen Theatre on the Texas Tech campus. John Churchill, executive secretary of the society, will preside in ceremonies with Chancellor Kent Hance and President Jon Whitmore participating.
Phi Beta Kappa has been in continuous existence since its founding in 1776 and is considered one of the nation’s leading advocates for excellence in education, particularly in the liberal arts and sciences. The society has chapters at only 10 percent of U.S. universities. Only three public universities in the state of Texas have been granted the right to host chapters.
Texas Tech University was one of 34 institutions that applied for a chapter in the latest round of triennial consideration that began in 2003. Only six of the 34 were approved, said Mary Jane Hurst, professor of English and faculty assistant to the president
"Our new Phi Beta Kappa status means that prospective faculty may be assured of affiliation with an institution whose commitment to excellence is proven and established," she said. "It means that every degree granted at Texas Tech University is enhanced in value. It means permanent association with the very best in American education."
Hurst, who served as the leader for the initiative to secure a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, said that the honor society has very high expectations for its host institutions and for the students selected for membership.
"Texas Tech has been in the process of true academic improvement for several decades," Hurst said. "Cultural and academic programs have increased and improved significantly, and now the approval to shelter a chapter says that Texas Tech is among the best of the liberal arts programs in the country. The installation of a chapter is a mark of excellence for the university as a whole. It will help us recruit high quality faculty, staff, and students."
CONTACT: Mary Jane Hurst, faculty assistant to the president, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2121 or maryjane.hurst@ttu.edu.
The ceremonies are scheduled for 4 p.m. April 11 at the Allen Theatre on the Texas Tech campus. John Churchill, executive secretary of the society, will preside in ceremonies with Chancellor Kent Hance and President Jon Whitmore participating.
Phi Beta Kappa has been in continuous existence since its founding in 1776 and is considered one of the nation’s leading advocates for excellence in education, particularly in the liberal arts and sciences. The society has chapters at only 10 percent of U.S. universities. Only three public universities in the state of Texas have been granted the right to host chapters.
Texas Tech University was one of 34 institutions that applied for a chapter in the latest round of triennial consideration that began in 2003. Only six of the 34 were approved, said Mary Jane Hurst, professor of English and faculty assistant to the president
"Our new Phi Beta Kappa status means that prospective faculty may be assured of affiliation with an institution whose commitment to excellence is proven and established," she said. "It means that every degree granted at Texas Tech University is enhanced in value. It means permanent association with the very best in American education."
Hurst, who served as the leader for the initiative to secure a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, said that the honor society has very high expectations for its host institutions and for the students selected for membership.
"Texas Tech has been in the process of true academic improvement for several decades," Hurst said. "Cultural and academic programs have increased and improved significantly, and now the approval to shelter a chapter says that Texas Tech is among the best of the liberal arts programs in the country. The installation of a chapter is a mark of excellence for the university as a whole. It will help us recruit high quality faculty, staff, and students."
CONTACT: Mary Jane Hurst, faculty assistant to the president, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2121 or maryjane.hurst@ttu.edu.