Virtual Invitations are out to 2020 PBK Electees!

Eligible students have been elected for 2020!

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, elected students are being invited to join PBK through email only (paper letters will not go out).

If you have been invited to join, please follow directions in the invitation letter to complete membership the process (being elected is the first step, but you must formally join PBK at pbk.org to become a member)!

We are happy to answer any questions about the membership process–or about what opportunities there will be to recognize your achievement in coming months!  If financial hardship is preventing you from joining, please reach out to our Treasurer, Dr. Ken Foote (Dept. of Geography) (ken.foote@uconn.edu).  Please direct any general questions to the chapter Secretary: susanna.cowan@uconn.edu.

The following apply to all students who join PBK this spring

  • The PBK induction ceremony, which normally happens on Honors Day, will not take place; however:
    • Later this spring, we will mail membership certificates to all students who join.  These certificates will go to whatever address you use when you join online (at pbk.org), unless you tell us otherwise
    • We will communicate with you should an opportunity arise to recognize your achievement in any rescheduled graduation/honors ceremonies next year

To those elected to join: congratulations!

Joining Phi Beta Kappa is meaningful, no matter the circumstances.  The organization was founded by forward-looking scholars in 1776, during a period of great social and political turmoil.  Joining Phi Beta Kappa is both an acceptance of an honor for your academic accomplishments at UConn, and also an embrace of academic rigor and intellectual curiosity and expression.  Now more than ever, the commitment of scholars to work that expands knowledge across fields is critical to our collective global resilience.  Please join!

As expressed by the PBK national office:

We are especially mindful of the students in the classes of 2020 and 2021 who have earned the opportunity to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa this spring.  We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that all 20,000 of these students are able to become members. Even if they will not have the same kind of festive induction that so many of us remember with pride, we can ensure that they receive this important honor. In a time where they will not have their senior recitals, sports contests, plays, and, most poignantly, their graduation, we plan to recognize them as the most accomplished students in the liberal arts and sciences across the country. 

Again our congratulations!

Please take care.

Your chapter officers:

Mark Boyer, President
Jaclyn Chancey, Past President
Rosa Helena Chinchilla, Vice President
Ken Foote, Treasurer
Susanna Cowan, Secretary
Ashley Robinson, Historian