UNC-Chapel Hill inducts 194 students into Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa membership is open to undergraduates in the College of Arts & Sciences and professional degree programs who meet rigorous eligibility requirements.
Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most honored college honorary society, has inducted 194 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students as new members.
Friday’s induction ceremony featured remarks by Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz and a keynote address by biology teaching associate professor Gidi Shemer. Due to the pandemic and local gathering restrictions, this year’s ceremony was held virtually and included a new inductee slideshow containing a recent photograph and the biographical information shared below.
Phi Beta Kappa membership is open to undergraduates in the College of Arts & Sciences and professional degree programs who meet rigorous eligibility requirements.
A student who has completed 75 hours of coursework in the liberal arts and sciences with a GPA of 3.85 or better (on a four-point scale) is eligible for membership. Also eligible is any student who has completed 105 hours of coursework in the liberal arts and sciences with a 3.75 GPA. Grades earned at other universities are not considered. Fewer than 1% of all college students qualify.
Past and present Phi Beta Kappa members from across the country have included 17 American presidents, 41 U.S. Supreme Court Justices, more than 140 Nobel Laureates and numerous artistic, intellectual and political leaders.
Phi Beta Kappa has 290 chapters nationwide. UNC-Chapel Hill’s chapter, Alpha of North Carolina, was founded in 1904 and is the oldest of seven chapters in the state. Each year, Phi Beta Kappa chapters and alumni associations across the country raise and distribute more than $1 million in awards, scholarships and prizes benefiting high schools and college students.
Phi Beta Kappa officers at Carolina for 2020-2021 are students Max Petruzzi, president; Mollie Pepper, vice president; and Anna Covington, recording secretary. James L. Leloudis, professor of history, Peter T. Grauer associate dean for Honors Carolina and director of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, is chapter executive secretary and faculty advisor.
