As part of our mission to champion education in the arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought, and recognize academic excellence, Phi Beta Kappa periodically issues public statements, joins amicus curiae briefs, signs organizational letters, and supports policy positions. Below, find links to statements and positions on issues of importance to the Society and our mission.
2024
- Letter to the Biden Administration Regarding the FY26 Budget (September 25, 2024)
- Letter to Congress regarding cuts proposed in the FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee funding bill (July 5, 2024)
- Bill (Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2024) to permanentl double maximum award and index Pell Grants to inflation to maintain purchasing power over time (June 21, 2024)
- Statement on campus protests (May 6, 2024)
2023
- Statement on West Virginia University's proposed elimnation of world languages department (August 23, 2023).
- Letter to Congress regarding fiscal year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding (July 28, 2023)
- Letter to Congress regarding the Pell Grant surplus (June 29, 2023)
- Statement on race-conscious admissions and the Supreme Court (June 29, 2023)
- Letter to Congress urging increase to maximum Pell Grant award (March 22, 2023)
- Letter to the Department of Education in response to the Request for Information on ways to identify low-value postsecondary programs (February 10, 2023)
2022
- Letter to Congress urging action to protect DACA and Dreamers (November 17, 2022)
- Letter to Congress urging the passage of the Building Civic Bridges Act before the end of the 117th Congress. (October 31, 2022)
- Amicus Brief: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, et al. (August 1, 2022)
- Letter to Congress requesting a generous allocation to the LaborHHS-Education Appropriations subcommittee and that student aid funding remain a high priority in the FY 2023 omnibus bill (April 19, 2022)
- Letter to Congress supporting the mental and behavioral health needs of America's college students (April 13, 2022)
- Statement on free and open academic inquiry in higher education (March 3, 2022)
- Letter to Congress urging action following weeks of bomb threats against Historically Black Colleges and Universities (February 14, 2022)
- Letter to Congress urging leaders to double the maximum Pell Grant award (February 3, 2022)
- Letter to Congress urging for doubling the maximum Pell Grant award (February 2, 2022)
- Statement on Continued Bomb Threats Against Historical Black Colleges and Universities (February 1, 2022)
2021
- Letter to the Department of State calling for visa flexibility for Afghan students (November 1, 2021)
- Letter to Congress urging preservation of critical investments in college affordability and completion in the final Build Back Better package (October 27, 2021)
- Letter to the House Education and Labor Committee in support of the investments this legislation makes in students, educators, and institutions, and requesting lawmakers to include funding to double the maximum Pell Grant award (September 9, 2021)
- Letter to Congress urging support for legislation to protect DACA recipients and other Dreamers (August 4, 2021)
- Statement Regarding Dangerous Restrictions by States on COVID-19 Public Health Measures (August 2, 2021)
- Letter to the House Appropriations Committee supporting Fiscal Year 2022 funding for the Departments of Labor, HHS and Education (July 14, 2021)
- Statement on legislative efforts to restrict education about racism and American history (June 16, 2021)
- Letter to the SEC supporting standardized disclosures of climate and environmental, social and governance (ESG) information (in collaboration with signatories to the Principles of Responsible Investing, joined in 2019 by the Phi Beta Kappa Foundation). (June 11, 2021)
- Letter to the leadership of the Congressional appropriation committees requesting support for programs serving students, institutions, and researchers (June 11, 2021)
- Letter to Acting Assistant Secretary Goldberg on the Title IX public hearing (June 10, 2021)
- Statement on the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd (April 20, 2021)
- Statement on voting rights by higher education organizations (April 13, 2021)
- Letter to Members of Congress asking to double the maximum Pell Grant (March 30, 2021)
- Statement Condemning Anti-Asian violence (March 18, 2021)
- Letter to the leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate offering thanks for their support for postsecondary students and institutions in H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (March 15, 2021)
- Letter to the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders in support of the reconciliation package (March 2, 2021)
- Letter to the House of Representatives Speaker and Minority Leader in support of the reconciliation package (February 25, 2021)
- Letter to the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders in support of S.264 the Dream Act of 2021 (February 22, 2021)
- Letter to the acting U.S. Secretary of Education asking that Dreamers and international students be made eligible for emergency student funds under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF II) (January 28, 2021)
- Letter to U.S. Department of State Secretary Anthony Blinken asking for support for international students (January 27, 2021)
- Statement Condemning the Report of the Advisory 1776 Commission (January 20, 2021)
- Statement Condemning the January 6th Attack on Democracy (January 8, 2021)
2020
- Statement of Support for Dr. Jill Biden (December 13, 2020)
- Letter to Congressional Leaders on COVID-19 Relief for Higher Education (December 2, 2020)
- Letter to the Department of Labor asking for the Request for Information regarding the Trump administration's Executive Order on “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping” be withdrawn (December 1, 2020)
- Letter to Biden-Harris transition team identifying executive action proprieties for higher education (November 18, 2020)
- Letter to to the White House opposing the Executive Order on race and sex stereotyping. (October 8, 2020)
- Letter to House Leadership requesting additional assistance for the higher education community during the COVID-19 pandemic (September 25, 2020)
- Statement on the Recent "White House Conference on American History” (September 24, 2020)
- Letter Regarding Department of Education's Princeton Investigation (September 24, 2020)
- Statement on COVID-19 and the key role of the humanities and social sciences in the United States (August 12, 2020)
- Letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking for clarification on the withdrawn Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive and the status of international students (July 22, 2020)
- Amicus Brief: President and Fellows of Harvard College and MIT v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, et al. (July 13, 2020)
- Letter to Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf asking the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw guidance issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding international students and the upcoming 2020-21 academic year. (July 10, 2020)
- Letter to HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray on reopening costs for institutions. (July 2, 2020)
- Statement on racism, police brutality, and injustice against people and communities of color, especially the Black community (June 2, 2020)
- Letter from learned societies to Congressional leadership in support of additional COVID-19 relief funding for higher education (June 1, 2020)
- Letter to the Senate leadership requesting $46.6 billion in support for students and institutions in the fifth COVID-19 spending bill. (May 29, 2020)
- Amicus Brief: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College in support of Harvard in challenge to holistic admissions processes (May 20, 2020)
- Letter to the secretaries of State, Homeland Security, and Labor about President Trump's recent executive order on immigration, specifically on the section that calls for an examination of and recommendations regarding non-immigrant programs. (April 30, 2020)
- Letter in support of the federal COVID-19 relief for the arts and cultural sector (April 20, 2020)
- Comments to the Federal Reserve Chairman requesting updated guidance on the Main Street Lending Program to clarify that nonprofit private and public institutions are included and to exempt student workers from the employee threshhold. (April 16, 2020)
- Letter to House leadership requesting additional assistance for the higher education community during the COVID-19 pandemic as Congress prepares the next stimulus bill. (April 9, 2020)
- Letter to Senate leadership requesting additional assistance for the higher education community during the COVID-19 pandemic as Congress prepares the next stimulus bill. (April 9, 2020)
- Letter to Senate leadership outlining how the federal government can assist students, educators, and institutions in recovering from the impact of COVID-19. (March 20, 2020)
- Letter to House leadership outlining how the federal government can assist students, educators, and institutions in recovering from the impact of COVID-19. (March 20, 2020)
- Letter in support of federal COVID-19 relief for the arts and cultural sector (March 19, 2020)
- Comments to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on the notice of proposed rulemaking to implement President Trump’s March 2019 executive order on free speech. (February 18, 2020)
- Statement in support of American Association of University Professors In Defense of Knowledge and Higher Education Brief (January 9, 2020)