Laura Weaver named to Phi Beta Kappa at University of Kansas

2013 Jun 6

The University of Kansas Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society has initiated 91 new members, including Laura Weaver, of Shawnee.

Robert Rowland, president of KU’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter and professor of communications, presided at the May 19 ceremony. Sara Thomas Rosen, senior vice provost for academic affairs, welcomed and congratulated the new initiates as they received their Phi Beta Kappa certificates.

Election to Phi Beta Kappa recognizes a student’s high academic achievement while pursuing a broad and substantive liberal arts curriculum. To be eligible for consideration for membership, students must have senior status and a minimum grade-point average of 3.65 on a 4.0 scale.

Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest national academic honorary society, was founded Dec. 5, 1776, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. KU’s Alpha chapter, founded in 1890, was the first chapter west of the Mississippi and is one of 280 Phi Beta Kappa chapters nationwide. About 10 percent of institutions of higher learning in the United States have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. Vice president of the KU chapter is Jeff Moran, professor of history. Secretary is Anne Wallen of the University Honors Program, and treasurer is Janet Riley, recently retired associate director of the budget office.