Skip to content
Phi Beta Kappa

Category: Announcements

Free Speech and Hate Speech: Autumn 2017 course

megaphoneInterested in learning more about the legal, cultural, and political aspects of free speech on college campuses?

The Secretary and CEO of Phi Beta Kappa, Frederick Lawrence, is visiting the University of Washington on October 24, 2017. In conjunction with his visit, we are offering a special 1-credit course in his area of expertise, free speech and free expression on campus. The course will be taught by Political Science Professor Jamie Mayerfeld, with the October 24 meeting led by Frederick Lawrence.

See the attached flyer for more information. Click to download a pdf of the flyer.

HUM 498 Free Speech

New initiates join PBK

070817_PBK_bryannakata-6

[See more photographs from our June, 2017 initiation ceremony]

On June 7, 56 University of Washington undergraduates were initiated into the Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. The initiation ceremony began under the Gerberding Hall bell tower in Red Square, followed by a procession to Kane Hall, where the new initiates were formally granted membership. After an initiation address by Professor Victoria Lawson, director of the University’s Honors Program, the chapter’s Executive Board hosted a reception for the initiates, their family members, and guests.

Stiefel Award $4,500 for graduate students

Are you a Phi Beta Kappa member who will be attending graduate or professional school at the University of Washington or the University of Puget Sound? Apply for a $4,500 Stiefel Award from the Puget Sound Association of PBK!

The Ernest R. Stiefel Graduate Study Award is given to graduate or professional students who are members of Phi Beta Kappa chapters at the University of Puget Sound or University of Washington and who will attend graduate or professional school at either the University of Puget Sound or the University of Washington.

The listed deadline of June 30 has been extended to July 31. For more information and application forms, see http://www.psa-pbk.org/scholarships_awards.html.

2017 Initiation: Wednesday June 7, 2017

Join us this Wednesday, June 7, as we celebrate the initiation of our proud new Washington Alpha Chapter members!

  • 6:30pm Gather in Red Square under the Gerberding Hall bell tower for welcoming remarks
  • 6:45pm Procession across Red Square to Kane Hall
  • 7:00pm Initiation ceremony in Kane Hall 220
  • Reception following

Invited Speaker: Prof. Victoria Lawson, Director of the UW Honors Program
 

PKB Winter Reception, Feb 23, with Jana Mohr Lane

The UW Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa cordially invites you to attend this year’s Phi Beta Kappa Winter Reception.

Join UW Phi Beta Kappa members and other students and guests for a fun and informative winter get-together. Learn about PBK, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Meet other well-rounded academic high achievers and hear about how membership in Phi Beta Kappa can brand you for a lifetime of success.

  • Thursday, February 23, 2017
  • 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
  • Allen Library Petersen Room, University of Washington
  • Refreshments and appetizers will be served
  • Guest Speaker: Jana Mohr Lone, director and founder of the UW Center for Philosophy for Children.
  • Please RSVP to: uwpbk@uw.edu.

Jana Mohr Lone is the director and founder of the University of Washington’s Center for Philosophy for Children, which brings philosophers and students trained in philosophy into K-12 public school classrooms to facilitate philosophy classes. Since 1995, she has taught philosophy in classrooms from preschool to college, as well as taught college students, K- 12 teachers, parents and others about ways to bring philosophy into the lives of young people. A frequent writer and speaker about pre-college philosophy, Jana is the president of PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization), past chair of the American Philosophical Association Committee on Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy, and the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Questions: Philosophy for Young People. She has co-authored and edited several books and is the author of The Philosophical Child, which explores ways that parents and other adults can stimulate philosophical conversations about children’s questions.

See archival material in Suzzallo

As part of Keys to Action week, the Puget Sound Association is meeting at UW to view PBK-related memorabilia. Meet at 10:30 a.m. on the Suzzallo Library steps to see the PBK letters carved in stone on Gerberding Hall and then visit Special Collections in the library. For details and to RSVP, see the Puget Sound Association’s announcement.

Keys to Action week

Every December, around the anniversary of Phi Beta Kappa’s founding on December 5, 1776, Phi Beta Kappa promotes its mission with a “Keys to Action” week. This year Keys to Action week runs from December 5-10. See the National Phi Beta Kappa website for details on how you can participate and help strengthen PBK’s crucial mission of celebrating and advocating for excellence in the arts and sciences.