Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Guide to the Phi Beta Kappa
(Washington State University) Records
1925-1980
Cage
446
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
- Creator
- Phi Beta Kappa (Gamma Chapter, Washington State University)
- Title
- Phi Beta Kappa (Washington State University) Records
- ID
- Cage 446
- Date [inclusive]
- 1925-1980
- Extent
- 5 containers., 3.5 linear feet of shelf space., 6000 items.
- Language
- Collection materials are in English.
- Abstract
- Correspondence, minutes, committee files, treasurer's reports and other papers of the scholastic honorary chartered at Washington State University in 1928.
Preferred Citation
[Item Description]. Cage 446, Phi Beta Kappa (Washington State University) Records. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Biography/History
Phi Beta Kappa began with a small gathering of students on December 5, 1776, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The aims of the then secret society were to promote friendship, morality, and learning among the students. Five of these original members decided on the design for the Phi Beta Kappa medal (or key) which has been retained to this day. In 1778 members opened the way to election of nonstudents to the Society, i.e. graduates and others known as alumni and honorary members. The "secret" side of the Society came to an end in 1831 when the Phi Beta Kappa branch at Harvard declared that this policy was unsuitable and abolished it.
The attempt to establish a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Washington State University (then State College of Washington) was begun on March 12, 1925, when the school was visited by the National Secretary of Phi Beta Kappa, Dr. Oscar M. Voorhees. Faculty members Fermen L. Pickett, Frederich D. Heald, and Olaf P. Jenkins arranged for a meeting between Voorhees and all local Phi Beta Kappa members. It was then that a goal for establishment of an official chapter by 1928 was set. The charter was granted by the National Council meeting at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, in September of 1928. The formal dedication of the Gamma Chapter of Washington State was held on April 6, 1929, and was presided over by Voorhees. The first officers elected were: President, Alfred A. Cleveland; Vice-President, Fermen L. Pickett; Secretary, Helen M. Richardson; and Treasurer, Mrs. William C. Kruegel. These four, plus Thomas M. Raysor and J. Horace Nunemaker, made up the original Executive Committee.
Since that time, Phi Beta Kappa has grown along with Washington State University and continues to promote academic achievement on campus.
Arrangement
The Phi Beta Kappa records have been arranged in three series: Correspondence, 1925-1977, Alphabetical Subject File, 1926-1980, and Member Cards, 1929-1976.
The first series, Correspondence, 1925-1977, contains both in-coming and out-going correspondence from members, officers, and others associated with Phi Beta Kappa at both the local (WSU Gamma Chapter) and national organization level. Included in the correspondence are letters from alumni, members and initiates concerning arrangements for initiation, election to membership, acceptances, and orders for certificates and keys. The Correspondence series is arranged in a single alphabetical/subject series; the subseries "General, 1925-1975" of 34 folders comprises the vast majority of the series and approximately one third of the total records of the WSU Phi Beta Kappa Chapter. Correspondence for the period 1928-1929 (folder 45) also contains minutes of the general meetings; additional correspondence may also be found in the Alphabetical Subject File folders 89-93, entitled "Minutes, Correspondence and Reports, 1961-1975." This division of minutes and correspondence reflects the original order of the records.
The Alphabetical Subject File, 1926-1980, the second series, consists of various materials used in the operation of the local Phi Beta Kappa chapter and its dealings with the national organization. Included in this series are such things as: address changes; committee work; annual reports; constitution and by-laws; delegate's manuals; directories; initiates, membership, and committee lists; minutes; and visiting scholar program materials. Committee work includes material from both Alumni and Scholarship Committees. The Alumni Committee material consists of lists of alumni being considered for membership; Scholarship Committee material includes financial statements, procedural and expense information. Annual reports were made to the National Phi Beta Kappa listing officers, members (new, alumni, honorary), deaths and total membership. Annual treasurer's reports are also in the records. Minutes are primarily of executive committee meetings with some general chapter meetings included. The visiting Scholar Program is sponsored by the National Phi Beta Kappa which annually selects a group of approximately ten scholars for a lecture circuit. Local chapters of Phi Beta Kappa may then select a particular lecturer and find that person to speak on campus. The Alphabetical Subject File, 1926-1980, is arranged in a single alphabetical subject series covering the period from 1926 through 1980, with the bulk of the material in the 1950s through the late 1970s.
The third series, Member Cards, 1929-1976, consists of cards for each member of the local organization and includes such information as member's name, major and minor areas of study, permanent address, date of graduation, and class at time of joining Phi Beta Kappa.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2012
http://www.libraries.wsu.edu/masc/
Terrell Library
P.O. Box 645610
Pullman, WA, 99164-5610 USA
509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Acquisition Information
The Phi Beta Kappa Records (MS 79-51) were donated to the Washington State University Archives in October of 1979 through Dr. Frank Kottke, secretary.
Names and Subjects
Corporate Name(s)
Creator(s) :
- Phi Beta Kappa. Gamma of Washington State--Archives
Subject(s)
- Learned institutions and societies--Washington (State)--Pullman--Records and correspondence
- Greek letter societies--Washington (State)--Pullman--Archives
- Universities and colleges--Washington (State)--Pullman--Archives
- Colleges and Universities
- Washington (State)
Detailed Description of Collection
Series 1: Correspondence 1925-1977 |
||||
| box | folder | |||
|
Alumni and Members 1929 100 |
1 | 1 | ||
|
Application for the Phi Beta Kappa Charter 1926-1929 160 |
1 | 2-3 | ||
|
Candidates and Initiates 1929-1941 130 |
1 | 4-5 | ||
|
General 1925-1975 1648 |
1 | 6-39 | ||
|
Initiates 1929 13 |
1 | 40 | ||
|
Members 1975-1977 14 |
1 | 41 | ||
|
Members in Course 1929-1940 56 |
1 | 42-44 | ||
|
Minutes 1928-1929 46 |
1 | 45 | ||
|
|
||||
Series 2: Alphabetical Subject File 1926-1980 |
||||
| box | folder | |||
|
Address Changes 1960-1961 170 |
2 | 46-47 | ||
|
Addresses 1957-1961 3 |
2 | 48 | ||
|
Alumni Committee 1931-1955 22 |
2 | 49 | ||
|
Annual Banquet 1959-1975 60 |
2 | 50 | ||
|
Annual Reports 1955-1976 28 |
2 | 51 | ||
|
Application for Phi Beta Kappa Charter 1927-1928 21 |
2 | 52-53 | ||
|
Certificate of Membership undated 1 |
2 | 54 | ||
|
Chapter History 1960-1961 4 |
2 | 55 | ||
|
Chapter Roll 1926-1961 100 |
2 | 56 | ||
|
Constitution and By-laws 1935-1972 50 |
2 | 57 | ||
|
Delegate's Manuals 1937-1952 4 |
2 | 58 | ||
|
Directory 1941 1 |
2 | 59 | ||
|
Eligibility Rules 1931-1980 130 |
2 | 60-62 | ||
|
General Files 1939-1976 38 |
2 | 63-66 | ||
|
Honorary Members 1929-1946 10 |
2 | 67 | ||
Initiates: |
||||
| box | folder | |||
|
Arranged by High Schools 1929-1941 50 |
2 | 68 | ||
|
Orders 1967-1975 68 |
2 | 69-70 | ||
Initiation: |
||||
| box | folder | |||
|
1976 7 |
2 | 71 | ||
|
Forms 1966-1970 11 |
2 | 72 | ||
|
Materials 1966-1973 24 |
2 | 73 | ||
|
Materials and Instructions 1936 4 |
2 | 74 | ||
| box | folder | |||
|
Invitations and Acceptances 1950-1953 115 |
2 | 75-77 | ||
|
The Key (Institution of Gamma Chapter of Washington) 1930 1 |
3 | 78 | ||
|
Laws and Practices 1933 1 |
3 | 79 | ||
|
Ledgers (Treasurers) 1927-1978 2 |
3 | 80 | ||
|
Lists of Officers and Committee Members 1929-1979 10 |
3 | 81 | ||
|
Mailing Lists 1929-1939 20 |
3 | 82 | ||
Membership: |
||||
| box | folder | |||
|
Lists 1947-1965 11 |
3 | 83 | ||
|
Reports 1950-1955 11 |
3 | 84 | ||
| box | folder | |||
|
Minutes 1926-1957 150 |
3 | 85-88 | ||
|
Minutes, Correspondence, and Reports 1961-1975 227 |
3 | 89-93 | ||
National Phi Beta Kappa: |
||||
| box | folder | |||
|
Bicentennial Fellowship 1970 2 |
3 | 94 | ||
|
Materials 1937-1976 57 |
3 | 95-96 | ||
| box | folder | |||
|
Nominations for Officers 1968-1973 4 |
3 | 97 | ||
|
Potter Essay Contest 1964-1970 |
3 | 98 | ||
|
Preparation for Constitution and By-laws 1928-1929 17 |
3 | 99 | ||
|
Ritual 1928 1 |
3 | 100 | ||
|
Scholarship Committee 1969-1978 30 |
3 | 101 | ||
|
Secretary's Calendar 1934 1 |
3 | 102 | ||
|
Senate Nominations 1958-1967 19 |
3 | 103 | ||
|
Uninitiated Alumni and Honorary Members 1934-1940 19 |
3 | 104 | ||
|
United Chapter Publications 1959-1973 6 |
3 | 105 | ||
|
Visiting Scholars 1960-1978 264 |
3 | 106-121 | ||
|
|
||||
Series 3: Member Cards 1929-1976 |
||||
| box | ||||
|
Member Cards 1929-1976 2000 |
4-5 | |||
|
|
||||