Gettysburg College's Iota of Pennsylvania Chapter has been recognized as an Outstanding Small Liberal Arts College Chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, during the 2021-2024 triennium. This prestigious honor was awarded during the 47th Triennial Council meeting held in Baltimore, Maryland, from July 31 to August 4.
“I’m delighted to announce that Gettysburg College’s Iota of Pennsylvania Chapter was recognized for excellence in representing the ideals and commitments of Phi Beta Kappa," said Management Prof. Christopher Zappe, who attended the Triennial Council and serves as vice president of the Iota of Pennsylvania chapter. "On behalf of our campus community, my fellow faculty colleagues are proud of this extraordinary recognition.”
Gettysburg’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter was celebrated for its commitment to the values of academic excellence, intellectual integrity, and freedom of inquiry—principles that have defined Phi Beta Kappa for nearly 250 years. Gettysburg’s chapter, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023, is one of 293 Phi Beta Kappa chapters in American colleges and universities, 20 of which are in Pennsylvania.
Election to Phi Beta Kappa is widely recognized as one of the highest academic distinctions in American higher education. Each year, the Iota of Pennsylvania chapter elects students from the top 10 percent of the graduating class who have distinguished academic achievement in the liberal arts and sciences and exhibit high moral character and intellectual curiosity. Nearly 3,500 Gettysburg students have been inducted into the society since its founding in 1923. While membership to Phi Beta Kappa includes a one-time fee, the Gettysburg chapter has taken steps to support that financial burden on our students thanks to a crowdfunding campaign last spring that raised over $12,000 from 51 donors.
In addition to induction ceremonies honoring new inductees each fall and spring, the Iota of Pennsylvania Chapter participates in a visiting scholar program, welcoming distinguished scholars to interact with members of the campus community. Emily Yeh, a professor of Geography at the University of Colorado Boulder, gave a presentation to campus last year and biologist Doug Emlen from the University of Montana will visit campus this fall (Oct. 17-18).
The chapter also awards the Charles H. Glatfelter Phi Beta Kappa Leadership Prize, established in 1992 in honor of former history professor and Iota Chapter president Charles Glatfelter, to a member of the graduating class for intellectual leadership exercised during their undergraduate years. Last year’s recipient was Emily Jumba ’24, a history and anthropology double major who is currently pursuing a doctorate in philosophy at West Virginia University.
Recently, individual recognition was bestowed upon the Gettysburg chapter as Juliette Rhinow ’25 was one of only 20 recipients of the 2024 Key into Public Service Scholarship awarded by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Key into Public Service Scholars are recognized for their remarkable breadth and depth of knowledge across the liberal arts and sciences. The recipients receive a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship and participate in an educational conference in Washington D.C. during the summer.
Students selected to this prestigious academic honor society are the beneficiaries of Gettysburg’s unique approach to learning, the Gettysburg Approach, which builds within every student a breadth and depth of knowledge and set of enduring skills that will prepare them for a lifetime of career advancement and personal success.
By Corey Jewart
Posted: 08/21/24