Texas Tech University’s Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa to Induct 87 Members
April 17, 2009
By: John Davis
Steven Berk, M.D., dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School
of Medicine, will give the keynote address.
Texas Tech University's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most
prestigious honor society, will induct 87 students into the society.
The ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. April 17 in the Lanier Center of Texas Tech's
School of Law.
Steven Berk, M.D., dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School
of Medicine and a Phi Beta Kappa member elected from Brandeis University, will give
the keynote address. Berk graduated from Boston University School of Medicine and
completed his internal medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship at Boston
Hospital. He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease with a
certificate of added qualification in Geriatrics
TTUHSC President John Baldwin, himself a member of Phi Beta Kappa, is scheduled to
speak briefly as well. Chancellor Kent Hance also is scheduled to attend the ceremony,
greeting students and their families.
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.
Mary Jane Hurst, a professor of English and president of the Texas Tech Chapter of
Phi Beta Kappa, served as the leader for the initiative to secure a Phi Beta Kappa
chapter. She said that the honor society has very high expectations for its host institutions
and for the students selected for membership.
"We are very proud of the high quality of undergraduate education available at Texas
Tech, and we are very proud of these outstanding students who are being elected to
membership in the nation's most prestigious academic honorary," Hurst said. "The academic
records of approximately 170 Texas Tech students who met the stringent Phi Beta Kappa
eligibility requirements were reviewed by a committee of ten Phi Beta Kappa faculty
members. That committee recommended these 87 students for membership. Then, the 73
Phi Beta Kappa faculty and staff members at Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University
Health Sciences Center reviewed the committee's recommendations and voted to elect
these students."
The ceremony will last about an hour and will be followed by a reception in the School
of Law Forum. Students, faculty, staff and the public are welcome to attend. Community
visitors may park in the parking lot next to the law school.
Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at www.media.ttu.edu.
CONTACT: Mary Jane Hurst, president of Texas Tech University's Phi Beta Kappa Chapter, maryjane.hurst@ttu.edu. Also visit www.depts.ttu.edu/phibetakappa and www.pbk.org.