The 2007-2008 induction ceremony for the Sigma of Pennsylvania Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was held on Sunday, April 20, 2008.  Helen Lafferty, Ph.D., College Professor in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Villanova University, gave the keynote address at our ceremony.  Click here to view the text of her address.

What do six of the current Supreme Court justices, presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, Francis Ford Coppola, John Updike, Elizabeth Dole, Benazir Bhutto, Stephen Sondheim, Jonas Salk, Condoleezza Rice, George Stephanopoulos, Ashley Judd, and Peyton Manning have in common?
They are all members of Phi Beta Kappa.

The Organization

Phi Beta Kappa,  the nation's oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors organization, is the national honors society  for Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It was founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776. Since that time its rigorous and comprehensive standards have made election to it a premier sign of excellence. Villanova University became one of some 140 colleges and universities to shelter a chapter when the Sigma of Pennsylvania Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was installed at Villanova in April 1986. The Phi Beta Kappa standards reflect the highest ideals of liberal education at Villanova: education that is concerned with values as well as facts, and with wisdom as well as knowledge; education that seeks freedom from ignorance, alienation, and inhumanity; education that values intellectual integrity and tolerance over expediency, and breadth of scholarly achievement over specialized expertise.

Since its installation in 1986, the Villanova Chapter has inducted some thirty to forty students into Phi Beta Kappa every year.  Inductees represent Villanova's most outstanding undergraduates in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (approximately five percent of each graduating class), only a fraction of those who meet the formal qualifications. In addition to recognizing academic excellence among our undergraduates, the chapter has been a public advocate for academic excellence within the university.  In 1988 the chapter initiated an examination of the core curriculum in the College of Arts and Sciences.  Four years later the new core curriculum implemented by the College included many of the Phi Beta Kappa recommendations and its philosophy.  The chapter has also addressed issues of academic freedom when students' rights to freedom of expression appeared threatened.  More recently the chapter has sponsored an essay contest to encourage critical thinking about compelling issues.

Selection of Candidates

Juniors and seniors who are candidates for a degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, whose academic achievements reflect the goals of Phi Beta Kappa, and who meet the following specific criteria shall be eligible for consideration for election to Phi Beta Kappa:

1) Candidates must have completed three semesters of work in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and to be fully registered for a fourth.

2) Candidates must have a grade point average of at least 3.60 (3.80 to be elected as a junior).

3) At least three-fourths of a candidate's academic work must have been taken in the liberal arts and sciences, as distinct from applied or professional work.

In choosing candidates for election, the Chapter seeks evidence of academic achievement that is of exceptional distinction, and gives weight to the breadth of the quality of the overall program of courses taken by each candidate.

Election to membership in Phi Beta Kappa is wholly within the discretion of the members of each Chapter, subject only to the limitations imposed by its Constitution and By-Laws. Fulfillment of the minimum qualifications does not assure election to the membership.  In fact, each year, many students meet all of the minimum eligibility criteria but are not elected to membership.

Chapter Officers 2008-2009

President: Deanna Zubris

Vice President: Christine Palus

Secretary-Treasurer: Douglas Norton

Resident Members at Villanova

Inducted Spring 2008
Alexandra Bausch (CHM)	Class of 2009
Camille Carlisle (ENG)	Class of 2009
Patrick Cesarz (CSC)	Class of 2009
Joe Gonzalez (ENG)	Class of 2009
Heather Lander (BIO)	Class of 2009
Faculty and Staff
Lee Abraham	Modern Languages and Literature
Frank Angelini	Education and Human Services
Earl Bader	English
Michael Berthold	English
Leslie  Book	Law School
Rebecca Brand	Psychology
David Burke	Falvey Library
Suzanne Clain	Economics
Steven Cochran	Finance
Linda Copel	Nursing
Bryan Crable	Communication
Valentina DeNardis	Humanities and Augustinian Traditions
Noel Dolan	Villanova Center for Liberal Education
Timothy Feeman	Mathematical Sciences
Edward Fitzpatrick	Astronomy and Astrophysics
William Fitzpatrick	Management
William Fleischman	Computing Sciences
Heather Egolf-Fox	Chemistry
Howard Fulmer	Mechanical Engineering
Francis Galgano	Geography and the Environment
Kathryn Getek	Ethics
Alan Gluchoff	Mathematical Sciences
Don Goelman	Computing Sciences
Edmund Goode	English
Gertrude Graves	English
Christopher Haas	History
Nancy Hagelgans	Computing Sciences
Frederick Hartmann	Mathematical Sciences
Nancy Heck	Finance
Bonnie Henderson	Political Science
Heather Hicks	English
Kevin Hughes	Theology
John Immerwahr	Philosophy
Robert Jantzen	Mathematical Sciences
John Johannes	Academic Affairs, Political Science
Jeffrey Johnson	History
Brian Jones	Sociology
Valerie Joyce	Theatre
Jens Karlsson	Mechanical Engineering
Deborah Kendzierski	Psychology
Steven Krauss	Psychology
Debra Kwiterovich-Hoover	Int'l Student Off.
Chad Leahy	Modern Languages and Literature
Adele Lindenmeyr	History
Dorothy Malloy	VP General Counsel
Robert McParland	Accountancy
Frank Mercede	Electrical and Computer Engineering
Elizabeth Miers	Law School
Sara Navrocki	Development
Douglas Norton	Mathematical Sciences
Mary Agnes Ostick	Health Center
Christine Palus	Political Science
Michael Prosch	Philosophy
Bernard Prusak	Villanova Center for Liberal Education
Jill Rappaport	English
Gabriel Rockhill	Philosophy
David Schindler	Humanities and Augustinian Traditions
Jeanne Schindler	Humanities and Augustinian Traditions
Dveera Segal	Law School
Lauren Shohet	English
Leslie Parkes Shralow	Counseling
Catherine Skeen	Villanova Center for Liberal Education
Catherine Staples	Honors
Elana Starr	Communication
Gaynor Strickler	Sociology
Robert Styer	Mathematical Sciences
Kathyrn Szumanski	Arts and Sciences
Deborah Thomas	English
Pamela Tropp	English
Alexander Varias	Villanova Center for Liberal Education
Michael Waddell	Philosophy
William Werpehowski	Theology
Ellen Wertheimer	Law School
James Wetzel	Philosophy
Catherine Wilson	Villanova Center for Liberal Education
James Matthew Wilson	Humanities and Augustinian Traditions
Mark Wilson	Ethics
Rebecca Winer	History
Sara Woods	Law School
Dennis D. Wykoff	Biology
Barbara Zimmerman	Computing Sciences
Deanna Zubris	Chemistry