Phi Beta Kappa

Alpha Delta of New York

Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, celebrating and advocating excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. This society exists because those who founded it believed, as we believe still, that there are achievements worthy of celebration: academic work of extraordinary quality, exemplary leadership, and research that advances human knowledge.

Geneseo's chapter, Alpha Delta of New York, was established in 2004. The chapter annually invites for induction the college's most outstanding liberal arts and sciences students. We also sponsor activities on campus to increase awareness of the importance of the liberal arts and sciences.

About one college senior in 100, nationwide, is invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. Seventeen U.S. Presidents, thirty-eight U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and one hundred and thirty-six Nobel laureates can be counted among the ranks of Phi Beta Kappa members.

News and Upcoming Events

New Members Inducted May 10, 2023

On May 10 we welcomed 74 seniors and 11 juniors as new members of Phi Beta Kappa. The inductees, their guests, and chapter members gathered in the College Union Ballroom (or on our video stream) for the induction ceremony and a celebration of the students' achievement. Congratulations to all!

2022-23 Phi Beta Kappa Lecture

We were delighted that Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Ricardo Padrón visited Geneseo on February 23 and 24, 2023 to give the annual Phi Beta Kappa Lecture. Dr. Padrón is a professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia, specializing in the literature and culture of the early modern Spanish world.

New Members Inducted May 12, 2022

On May 12, we welcomed 69 seniors and 11 juniors as new members of Phi Beta Kappa in our first in-person induction ceremony in two years. We convened in the College Union ballroom, with the new members, current chapter members, and guests attending, and with a streaming option for people who weren't able to be there in person. We look forward to more such ceremonies in future years.

2021-22 Phi Beta Kappa Lecture

Dr. Marta Tienda - March 21st at 2:30pm

The Alpha Delta chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is pleased to welcome our 2021–2022 Visiting Scholar, Dr. Marta Tienda of Princeton, M 3/21–T 3/22. Dr. Tienda, a sociologist, investigates "how ascribed attributes acquire their social and economic significance by investigating racial, ethnic and gender variations in social inequality." This year's visit—the first in-person since 2019—includes as its keynote event Dr. Tienda's lecture, "Is Demography Destiny? Diversity and its Discontents." The lecture will be in Doty's Recital Hall on M 3/21 at 2:30 p.m.& is open to the campus community; a reception will follow at 3:30 p.m. in Doty's Tower Room. For more information on Dr. Tienda, please visit https://www.pbk.org/Marta-Tienda. We look forward to seeing you at the lecture!

“Keys to Action” Week Award

We are very pleased that the slideshow we created to mark the 240th anniversary of the founding of Phi Beta Kappa and the 12th year of Phi Beta Kappa at Geneseo was recognized by Phi Beta Kappa as the most creative chapter contribution to “Keys to Action” Week 2016.