Phi Beta Kappa Society

Phi Beta Kappa Society, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, has had a Princeton chapter since 1898. Membership is based on general academic performance throughout the college course; normally about a tenth of a class is elected. The society takes its name from the initials of its Greek motto: Philosophia Biou Kubernetes -- ``Love of wisdom the Helmsman of Life.''

Two Princeton faculty members have served as president of the national organization of Phi Beta Kappa: Dean Christian Gauss and Professor Whitney J. Oates.

From Alexander Leitch, A Princeton Companion, copyright Princeton University Press (1978).