Phi Beta Kappa Wayne State University Chapter Records

cwesterman — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:20:04 -0400

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the oldest honorary society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States. Phi Beta Kappa was officially installed at Wayne University on January 16, 1953 after a twenty-year effort to establish a branch of this national scholastic honorary society at Wayne. The original officers of the Wayne University Phi Beta Kappa Chapter were Professor Thelma James, President; Professor Alex Brede, President-Elect; Professor Calvin Stevens, Secretary; and Professor Edwin Walmsley, Treasurer.

The Phi Beta Kappa Wayne State University Chapter Records include the original reports on Wayne University that were submitted to the national office of Phi Beta Kappa when the university was vying for membership in 1950. This collection also contains documents relating to the history and initiation of the Phi Beta Kappa Chapter at Wayne University. Dr. William Borgman, originally a professor of mathematics and later Assistant to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Wayne University, donated a portion of the records of this collection to the Reuther Library in 1959. The rest of the records in this collection were donated by Dr. Bess Allen, Secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Chapter at Wayne State University, in 1964.

Wayne University Scholarship Honor Society Records

cwesterman — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 15:46:53 -0400

The Scholarship Honor Society of the College of the City of Detroit was created in 1928 and originally made up of faculty who were members of Phi Beta Kappa or Society of the Sigma Xi. Dean Wilford L. Coffey appointed the first faculty committee. The 1929 constitution stated that the creation of the Scholarship Honor Society was to “promote the spirit of scholarship among students and graduates of the College of the City of Detroit.” At first there was no specific honor point requirement, simply that the student be “distinguished for academic attainment.” However, after some debate, an honor point average of 2.30 or higher was agreed upon, with no more than 5% of the graduating class being elected to membership. With the creation of an official Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Wayne University in 1953, the Scholarship Honor Society ceased to be active.

The Scholarship Honor Society Records consist mainly of news clippings about the society, member invitations and acceptance correspondence, and student membership lists. Two books of secretary’s notes, created and maintained by Alexander Brede from 1929-1950, contain early information about the society, meeting minutes, and correspondence between faculty members.