About
National Phi Beta Kappa
Five students at the College of William and Mary founded Phi Beta Kappa in 1776, during
the American Revolution. For over two and a quarter centuries, the Society has embraced
the principles of freedom of inquiry and liberty of thought and expression. Laptops
have replaced quill pens, but these ideas, symbolized on Phi Beta Kappa's distinctive
gold key, still lay the foundations of personal freedom, scientific inquiry, liberty
of conscience, and creative endeavor. Phi Beta Kappa celebrates and advocates excellence
in the liberal arts and sciences. Its campus chapters invite for induction the most
outstanding arts and sciences students at America’s leading colleges and universities.
The Society sponsors activities to advance these studies — the humanities, the social
sciences, and the natural sciences — in higher education and in society at large.
UGA Phi Beta Kappa
In 1914, the Georgia Alpha Chapter was established here at the University of Georgia.
Since then, thousands of accomplished students have been inducted into this prestigious
society. The University of Georgia has honored its highest achieving liberal arts
juniors and seniors with this distinctive honor. Each year, an induction ceremony
has been held in the historic University of Georgia Chapel where students become full
members of the distinguished network of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
Notable Members
Seventeen former U.S. Presidents, including Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton,
and Jimmy Carter; 41 U.S. Supreme Court Justices; and 140 Nobel Laureates can be counted
among the ranks of Phi Beta Kappa members. In December 2019, President Jere W. Morehead
was inducted as an alumni member of Phi Beta Kappa.