The UConn PBK chapter is delighted to be hosting a national Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar this fall!

Dr. Ricardo Padrón will join us Thursday, November 3rd for a lecture in the Konover Auditorium on the Storrs campus.

Dr. Padrón is a Professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia.  His area of specialization is the literature and culture of the early modern Hispanic World.  He has published extensively, including in 2020 The Indies of the Setting Sun: How Early Modern Spain Mapped the Far East as the Transpacific West.  See https://www.pbk.org/Ricardo-Padron. 

We look forward to welcoming Dr. Padrón for his talk and additional events in early November.  Stay tuned!

On Saturday, April 30, we celebrated our new members at the first in-person induction ceremony since 2019.  It was a beautiful day to gather in the Union Ballroom on the Storrs campus.  Interim UConn President Radenka Maric accepted an Honorary Membership and spoke to the inductees.  A longer address was given by incoming PBK President Michael Lynch, who is the Director of UConn’s Humanities Center.

Congratulations to our new Phi Beta Kappa members!

UConn students were awarded the presitgious Phi Beta Kappa Key Into Public Service award two years running!

Michael Hernandez ’22 was a 2021 recipient and Maria Oliveira ’21 was a 2020 recepient. The award is made to just a handful of students who have shown excellence in leadership and public service. Award recipients, who are not required to be members of PBK, receive a $5000 undergraduate scholarship and take part in an event that provides training, mentoring and information on how to continue in a tradition of active citizenship.

Michael Hernandez is an economics and political science major who also minors in English and urban studies. He has served as Stamford student body president and founded the Undergraduate Political Science Review. He has worked on political campaigns and done other notable public service.

See the full UConn Today story on Michael here.

Maria Oliveira ’21 was president of the Student Government Association at UConn Stamford.   Maria was an Honors history major and minored in mathematics.  Among many achievements, Maria was the recipient of both the 2019 Cohen and Henes Scholarship for Judaic Studies and the 2019 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mathematics.  She was also a Babbidge Scholar in both 2019 and 2020.  The full UConn Today story on Maria can be read here.

We had a lovely virtual PBK induction ceremony May 8, 2021, hosted by our PBK President Dr. Rosa Helena Chinchilla that included a special congratulatory talk by UConn President Thomas Katsouleas.

In addition to welcoming our new junior and senior PBK members, we recognized our new members from spring 2020 – as we were unable so early in the pandemic to pull off a ceremony recognizing their achievement.

We also celebrated our new Honorary Member, Vice Provost Michael Bradford (see just some of his accomplishments here).

Welcome, new members!

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

Officers of the UConn Epsilon Phi Beta Kappa chapter have decided to go forward with electing eligible students and inviting them to join PBK.

Current plans are to invite students who join in spring 2020 to the Spring 2021 induction ceremony on the Storrs campus (note: these plans may shift in coming months–as with everything, we are making adjustments based on the current situation and the plans of the University regarding the opening of campus and the 2020-21 academic year).

The location for the 2020 induction ceremony has been set!  The ceremony will take place Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre (main level SU) on the Storrs campus.

More details to come!

Note: elections to Phi Beta Kappa do not take place until the spring – all students elected to PBK will be invited to join in March 2020.

Elections for new UConn chapter Phi Beta Kappa members have concluded.  Students who have been elected will be notified by mail and email in coming days and invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Students who join are will be formally inducted into PBK at the 2019 Phi Beta Kappa Initiation Ceremony.  The ceremony will take place Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. in ITE C80 (lower floor) on the Storrs campus.

Elections for new UConn chapter Phi Beta Kappa members have concluded.  Students who have been elected will be notified by mail and email in coming days and invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Students who join are will be formally inducted into PBK at the 2018 Phi Beta Kappa Initiation Ceremony.  The ceremony will take place Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in Laurel Hall, Room 102 (main floor) on the Storrs campus.

We’ve confirmed the details for the 2018 PBK Initiation Ceremony!

The ceremony will take place Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in Laurel Hall, Room 102 (main floor) on the Storrs campus.

Elections for new PBK members are currently underway!  Once the election process has concluded, invitations to join PBK will go out. Once elected, students will be invited to formally join Phi Beta Kappa and attend the April ceremony.