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Phi Beta Kappa Alumni of Greater Houston Records

 Collection
Identifier: UA 075
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

General correspondence, notices, registers, news clippings, minutes, tax reports, financial statements, membership lists, and program and event information, ranging in date from 1969-2000 document the official business of the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Houston. Subjects include the chapter's founding, general membership information such as member rosters, meeting and fundraising information, scholarship application forms, correspondence with high school counselors, and winning applications.

Dates

  • 1969 - 2000

Creator

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research. Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish from the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Records must be obtained from Woodson Research Center.

Historical Sketch

In 1972 the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni of Greater Houston was organized and adopted undergraduate scholarship giving as one of its primary goals. The Houston Alumni association is affiliated with the national Phi Beta Kappa Society, America's oldest and most prestigious honor society, founded 1776. Membership in the national society is a significant achievement, which honors excellence in the arts and sciences. Election to Phi Beta Kappa is based on outstanding academic performance reflecting a love of learning for its own sake as opposed to narrow technical specialization or vocational preparation. To demonstrate the breadth of their intellectual curiosity, most students will have taken more than the required number of courses and studied in traditional academic fields outside their major.

As of 2003, there are over 250 Phi Beta Kappa chapters at colleges and universities across the country and 50 alumni associations in the United States and an estimated 500,000 living members. Members of Phi Beta Kappa residing in the Greater Houston area are eligible for membership in this Alumni association. It is a local non-profit organization (not funded by the national society) that organizes programs to further the Phi Beta Kappa mission, and charges its own separate dues that support educational programs, events and scholarships.



On a national level, we believe that Phi Beta Kappa should concentrate on the importance of education to society as a whole. On a non-partisan, non-political basis, Phi Beta Kappa should become a national leader in encouraging families to recognize the profound benefits of education and its importance on the development of all individuals." Nancy Elizabeth Garfield, Former President of PBK Alumni Association of Greater Houston.

Extent

6.5 Linear Feet (12 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

General correspondence, notices, registers, news clippings, minutes, tax reports, financial statements, membership lists, and program and event information, ranging in date from 1969-2000 document the official business of the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Houston. Subjects include the chapter's founding, general membership information such as member rosters, meeting and fundraising information, scholarship application forms, correspondence with high school counselors, and winning applications.

Acquisition Information

The files were received from the following: Liz Williams, Frank Smith, Bob Patten, Leslie Blanton over the following dates: 11/24/97; 11/6/2000; 9/2001, 10/12/01; Nancy Boothe, 10/02

Related Materials

See also Phi Beta Kappa Records (Rice University Archives) for information related to the Rice University chapter of the national Phi Beta Kappa Society.

General note

*formerly Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Houston
Title
Guide to Phi Beta Kappa Alumni of Greater Houston Records, 1969-2000
Status
Completed
Date
2002
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA