The Phi Beta Kappa Society Installs 292nd Chapter at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

WASHINGTON, DC — The Phi Beta Kappa Society installed a new chapter at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte today in a ceremony at the UNC Charlotte Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. Following the installation, the new Theta of North Carolina chapter inducted 67 students, selected for their academic excellence in the arts and sciences.

Frederick M. Lawrence, Phi Beta Kappa Secretary/CEO, Peter Quimby, Phi Beta Kappa Society president, and Gregory Starrett, Professor of Anthropology and president of the new chapter, presided over the installation and induction ceremonies. University leaders, including Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Joan F. Lorden, and Dean Nancy A. Gutierrez; Phi Beta Kappa faculty and staff, and the chapter’s newly inducted students enjoyed a reception following the ceremonies to celebrate the chapter’s installation.

Lawrence, acknowledging the significance of the University’s achievement, said, “UNC Charlotte’s commitment to the liberal arts and sciences as well as its nurturing environment that allows its students to soar should be recognized and celebrated. In a challenging time for public higher education, this commitment is an inspiration to us all. We congratulate the university and our newest Phi Beta Kappa members on their accomplishment, and we look forward to a bright future for the chapter here at Charlotte.”

Prospective Phi Beta Kappa inductees are usually seniors among the top 10 percent of their graduating class who have completed a broad range of liberal arts and sciences coursework, including foreign language and mathematics.

The Theta of North Carolina chapter also inducted several Foundation members, each chosen for their commitment to the ideals of the liberal arts and sciences, including:

Susan DeVore, Alumna, former CEO of Premier Inc., and Chair, UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees
Dr. Sharon Gaber, Chancellor, UNC Charlotte
The Honorable Harvey B. Gantt, Architect, City of Charlotte’s first African American Mayor
Dale F. Halton, Former CEO, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company and past member of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees
Gene Johnson, Alumnus, Former Chairman of United Communications Holdings and past Chair of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees
Dr. Bertha Maxwell Roddey, Founding Chair of what is now UNC Charlotte’s Africana Studies Department and Frank Porter Graham Professor Emerita, UNC Charlotte
Karen Popp, Alumna, Partner at Sidley Austin LLP and former UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees Chair
Dr. Kathleen J. Reichs, Author; Professor of Anthropology Emerita, UNC Charlotte
Dr. Ruth G. Shaw, Former CEO of the Duke Power Company and former Chair, UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees
Brenda D. Tindal, Alumna, Executive Director of the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture
Mike Wilson, Alumnus, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Northwood Ravin, and Former Chair of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees

"The honor of sheltering a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is the result of the dedicated work of generations of faculty, students, and university staff and leaders who built this institution from the ground up after the Second World War,” stated chapter president Gregory Starrett. “They understood the vital importance of higher education's values of learning, discovery, and the creation of new knowledge. UNC Charlotte is one of only eight universities in North Carolina, and one of only four among the seventeen campuses of the UNC System, to have been judged as having a faculty, a curriculum, and a body of students of sufficient quality to host a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. We now have a new way to honor the academic achievement of our very best students."

UNC Charlotte becomes the 292^nd U.S. college or university to shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Installations of new chapters occur only every three years and follow an intensive, multi-year application and evaluation process that includes significant data collection and a visit from members of Phi Beta Kappa’s Committee on Qualifications. Among the criteria reviewed are an institution's commitment to the centrality of education in the arts and sciences, governance structure, faculty excellence, and demonstrated commitment to academic freedom.

In addition to the Theta of North Carolina chapter, Phi Beta Kappa will be installing one more chapter this year at Providence College, Providence, RI.

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About UNC Charlotte

UNC Charlotte is North Carolina’s urban research university. With an enrollment of nearly 30,500 students, the University leverages its location in the state’s largest city to offer internationally competitive programs of research and creative activity, exemplary undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, and a focused set of community engagement initiatives. For more information, visit www.charlotte.edu.

About The Phi Beta Kappa Society

Founded on Dec. 5, 1776, The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation's most prestigious academic honor society. It has chapters at 292 colleges and universities in the United States, 50 alumni associations, and more than half a million members worldwide. Noteworthy members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 41 U.S. Supreme Court Justices and more than 150 Nobel Laureates. The mission of The Phi Beta Kappa Society is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought, and recognize academic excellence. For more information, visit www.pbk.org.