UNIVERSITY, MISSISSIPPI (May 10, 2023) — Elizabeth Howard, of Muscatine, Iowa, majoring in Mathematics, was among the more than eighty University of Mississippi students who were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors organization in the liberal arts. The university held an induction ceremony on April 14, 2023, at Johnson Commons on campus.
"Dating back to 1776, only about 10% of US colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters," said Catherine Janasie, research counsel at the National Sea Grant Law Center, law-school faculty member, and 2023 president of the Beta of Mississippi chapter. "Phi Beta Kappa only elects the top students who have pursued a broad array of liberal arts classes while in college.
"Personally, being elected to Phi Beta Kappa has been recognized by all my employers throughout my professional career, including in private practice and the government as an attorney, as well as in academia."
Janasie said she remembered her own induction as one of the proudest moments of her educational career.
Phi Beta Kappa membership is an honor conferred upon fewer than 10% of each graduating class. Students do not apply for membership but are elected by the chapter after a review of the academic records of each eligible candidate.
Election is based on good character and a distinguished record of scholarly performance in courses that demonstrate a broad exposure to the liberal arts, ie, the fine arts, humanities, languages, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences, as well as substantial work in areas outside the major.
While students are usually selected for membership during their senior year, juniors or graduate students may also be chosen.
The University of Mississippi chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was chartered on April 6, 2001, and is in an elite group of fewer than 300 colleges and universities in the nation that shelter a chapter.
The University of Mississippi, affectionately known as Ole Miss, is the state's flagship university. Included in the elite group of R1: Doctoral Universities — Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification, it has a long history of producing leaders in public service, academics, and business. Its sixteen academic divisions include a major medical school, nationally-recognized schools of accountancy, law, and pharmacy, and an Honors College acclaimed for a blend of academic rigor, experiential learning, and opportunities for community action. Recognized among the nation's most beautiful, Ole Miss' main campus is in Oxford, which is routinely acknowledged as one of the country's best college towns.
