Second-largest inductee class installed to ASU Phi Beta Kappa chapter

On Thursday, Oct. 29, almost 300 Arizona State University students were inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest and most celebrated of the college honor societies in the U.S.

This year marked several notable milestones, including the celebration of the Phi Beta Kappa Society's 250th anniversary with speaker Frederick Lawrence, the society's secretary and CEO, and honorary inductee ASU President Michael Crow. This fall’s induction class also marked ASU’s second largest in the chapter’s history.

Across the university, only 2% of ASU’s undergraduates are eligible for the honor. Eligible students must complete at least 90 credit hours within the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, as well as two years of foreign language courses. They also must maintain high GPAs and demonstrate academic excellence in their respective disciplines.

Only 293 out of roughly 4,500 higher education institutions nationwide shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. The honors society’s legacy includes over 50 alumni associations, 17 U.S. presidents, 42 Supreme Court justices and more than 150 Nobel laureates. ASU’s chapter was installed in December 1973, with its inaugural class of students inducted in May 1974. 

“Arizona State University every year is one of the 10 largest classes of Phi Beta Kappa inductees. I think that's a pretty good club to be in, and you are to be congratulated for that,” said Lawrence. 

Lawrence reflected on the shared 1776 founding between both the U.S. and the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In reference to the Declaration of Independence, he observed that legitimate governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. When building on that concept, he explained the history of how five undergraduates from the College of William & Mary established the academic honors society rooted in free inquiry and provided a space to explore intellectual ideas. 

Together, they drafted the society's motto: “The love of learning is the guide of life."

“It wouldn't even be learning, but the love of learning, the process of learning that they committed themselves to,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence went on to acknowledge the power a liberal arts and sciences education can have and the impact it can have in any field of study. 

“We meet worlds, we understand things about others, and therefore ourselves, that otherwise we didn't know,” said Lawrence. 

He also emphasized the ever-increasing need for those with an understanding of what it means to be human — especially in an era of artificial intelligence and technology — and how to evolve in a positive direction. 

“These technology companies need — in addition to coders — social scientists, social psychologists, historians and ethicists. Not because it is a nice thing to do, but because it will make their businesses better, it will make them more productive, it will make us more productive,” Lawrence said. “This is what a liberal arts education has given you here at ASU, and this is the liberal arts education that you will take out into the world with you.”

The ceremony also welcomed Crow as an honorary member of the society. His induction included a brief account of Elisha Parmele, an early member who helped establish chapters at Yale and Harvard and expand Phi Beta Kappa beyond its original home at William & Mary.

Following his induction, Crow reflected on his undergraduate years at Iowa State University, when he was still determining the direction of his studies. He urged the students to view their induction not simply as recognition of what they had accomplished, but as encouragement to put their abilities to work.

“Each of you who are getting this recognition, you are unbelievably capable people,” Crow said. “Take this award, take this recognition as I do by being recognized as an honorary member, and do something with it. This is your license to leap out there, to break down barriers.

“I want to congratulate all of you and tell you that you have been empowered. I hope you see yourself as empowered.”

Ann-Marie Anderson, president of the Phi Beta Kappa Association of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, encouraged the students to embrace that empowerment by remaining engaged with the society through its regional alumni associations and continue their intellectual development beyond graduation.

To close the ceremony, Paul LePore, senior associate dean for student and academic programs in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and president of ASU’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter, led the students in the society’s oath. Each new member then signed a book containing the names of every student inducted into the chapter since its first ceremony in 1974.

LePore concluded with words from Phi Beta Kappa’s 1779 charter, formally welcoming nearly 300 students into a 250-year tradition of intellectual curiosity, lifelong learning and service.