Phi Beta Kappa began with a small gathering of students on December 5, 1776, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The aims of the then secret society were to promote friendship, morality, and learning among the students. Five of these original members decided on the design for the Phi Beta Kappa medal (or key) which has been retained to this day. In 1778 members opened the way to election of nonstudents to the Society, i.e. graduates and others known as alumni and honorary members. The "secret" side of the Society came to an end in 1831 when the Phi Beta Kappa branch at Harvard declared that this policy was unsuitable and abolished it.
The attempt to establish a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Washington State University (then State College of Washington) was begun on March 12, 1925, when the school was visited by the National Secretary of Phi Beta Kappa, Dr. Oscar M. Voorhees. Faculty members Fermen L. Pickett, Frederich D. Heald, and Olaf P. Jenkins arranged for a meeting between Voorhees and all local Phi Beta Kappa members. It was then that a goal for establishment of an official chapter by 1928 was set. The charter was granted by the National Council meeting at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, in September of 1928. The formal dedication of the Gamma Chapter of Washington State was held on April 6, 1929, and was presided over by Voorhees. The first officers elected were: President, Alfred A. Cleveland; Vice-President, Fermen L. Pickett; Secretary, Helen M. Richardson; and Treasurer, Mrs. William C. Kruegel. These four, plus Thomas M. Raysor and J. Horace Nunemaker, made up the original Executive Committee.
Since that time, Phi Beta Kappa has grown along with Washington State University and continues to promote academic achievement on campus.
The Phi Beta Kappa records contain correspondence, minutes, committee files, treasurer's reports and other papers of the Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at the State College of Washington (later Washington State University).
The first series, Correspondence, 1925-1977, contains both in-coming and out-going correspondence from members, officers, and others associated with Phi Beta Kappa at both the local (WSU Gamma Chapter) and national organization level. Included in the correspondence are letters from alumni, members and initiates concerning arrangements for initiation, election to membership, acceptances, and orders for certificates and keys. The Correspondence series is arranged in a single alphabetical/subject series; the subseries "General, 1925-1975" of 34 folders comprises the vast majority of the series and approximately one third of the total records of the WSU Phi Beta Kappa Chapter. Correspondence for the period 1928-1929 (folder 45) also contains minutes of the general meetings; additional correspondence may also be found in the Alphabetical Subject File folders 89-93, entitled "Minutes, Correspondence and Reports, 1961-1975." This division of minutes and correspondence reflects the original order of the records.
The Alphabetical Subject File, 1926-1980, the second series, consists of various materials used in the operation of the local Phi Beta Kappa chapter and its dealings with the national organization. Included in this series are such things as: address changes; committee work; annual reports; constitution and by-laws; delegate's manuals; directories; initiates, membership, and committee lists; minutes; and visiting scholar program materials. Committee work includes material from both Alumni and Scholarship Committees. The Alumni Committee material consists of lists of alumni being considered for membership; Scholarship Committee material includes financial statements, procedural and expense information. Annual reports were made to the National Phi Beta Kappa listing officers, members (new, alumni, honorary), deaths and total membership. Annual treasurer's reports are also in the records. Minutes are primarily of executive committee meetings with some general chapter meetings included. The visiting Scholar Program is sponsored by the National Phi Beta Kappa which annually selects a group of approximately ten scholars for a lecture circuit. Local chapters of Phi Beta Kappa may then select a particular lecturer and find that person to speak on campus. The Alphabetical Subject File, 1926-1980, is arranged in a single alphabetical subject series covering the period from 1926 through 1980, with the bulk of the material in the 1950s through the late 1970s.
The third series, Member Cards, 1929-1976, consists of cards for each member of the local organization and includes such information as member's name, major and minor areas of study, permanent address, date of graduation, and class at time of joining Phi Beta Kappa.
The papers have been arranged in three series by material type.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Phi Beta Kappa Gamma Chapter, Washington State University, Records, 1925-1980 (Cage 446)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The Phi Beta Kappa Records (MS 79-51) were donated to the Washington State University Archives in October of 1979 through Dr. Frank Kottke, society secretary.
Phi Beta Kappa Gamma Chapter, Washington State University, Oral History, 1982
Preliminary Guide to the Phi Beta Kappa Gamma Chapter, Washington State University, Records, circa 1969-1990
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.