Phi Beta Kappa. Gamma Chapter of Texas (Southern Methodist University)

As is clear from the correspondence contained in the collection, efforts to install a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Southern Methodist University began not long after the establishment of the school in 1915. SMU was successful in its efforts in 1949; the approval of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter there was considered to be a true vote of confidence for the intellectual life of what was then a young university. SMU President Umphrey Lee became the first to sign the charter register.

The SMU chapter is today part of the South Central District of the national organization, and is the Gamma Chapter within the state of Texas. Requirements for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, briefly, include an excellent GPA and a challenging course of study that is based in the liberal arts. Those who are invited to become members represent the highest echelons of academic performance, prospective inductees being selected from the top 10% of their respective classes. The SMU chapter holds its Initiation ceremony each spring; faculty members who are themselves members of Phi Beta Kappa are on hand to pass along the society to its newest members.

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