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The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, has established a chapter at the University of Houston.
“We are joining a group of very elite private and public universities who are recognized for their high quality and student success,” said Paula Myrick Short, UH Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. “To earn a chapter means you as, an institution, have documented your commitment to a liberal education both in the arts and in the sciences to the highest degree. For our students at UH who are issued membership in Phi Beta Kappa, it means that they are certified to be students of the highest quality.”
About 10 percent of the nation’s institutions of higher learning have Phi Beta Kappa chapters.
“The site visitors were especially impressed with our student body—the diversity of our student body, the quality of the student body, the tenacity of the student body. The students really impressed them,” said Professor William Monroe, dean of the UH Honors College.
UH is one of three institutions chartered to join the 283 existing Phi Beta Kappa chapters at America’s most esteemed colleges and universities. The invitation to host a chapter at UH follows a rigorous six-year evaluation process.
“They look at everything very comprehensively,” said UH President Renu Khator. “They look at your classrooms, your labs, you courses, your faculty’s credentials and athletics. They want to make sure the entire institution is committed to the mission and values of putting the students first and to making sure there is a value for excellence in undergraduate education.”
Khator says Phi Beta Kappa is the gold seal of approval and launches the University closer to its goal of being nationally competitive and globally recognized.
“It’s an historic moment for us. We should take pride in the fact that now we have truly arrived and we are one of the best institutions preparing undergraduate students in the country,” she said.
Phi Beta Kappa is part of what’s happening at the University of Houston. I’m Marisa Ramirez.
