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The Alpha of Hawaii Chapter of
The Phi Beta Kappa Society received its charter from the national organization in December
1952. To have a Chapter installed, a college or university campus must
pass a stringent three-year review
of its undergraduate programs, libraries, and research facilities.
There are currently
only 283 PBK Chapters nationwide out of over four thousand colleges and
universities. The
Alpha of Hawaii at Manoa is the only PBK Chapter in the state of Hawaii.
The lengthy process to establish a PBK Chapter
was begun in the late 1930s, and the names of the faculty Charter
Members may be seen on the original Charter, which
hangs on loan from us in the
Manoa Chancellor's office (see Photo Gallery). Interestingly, two of
the Charter Members subsequently had
Manoa buildings named after them (Earl M. Bilger, whose wife Leonora
was also a Charter Member,
and Harold St. John). In 2006 the Ampitheater and
Ethnomusicology Wing of the Music Department complex were
named in honor of Charter Member Barbara B.
Smith.
The Chapter held its first initiation of new members on May 7, 1953 at the Pacific Club in
Honolulu. Thirteen students were initiated: ten seniors
and three juniors. In 1954 the Chapter initiated its first honorary member, historian
Ralph S. Kuykendall, for whom Kuykendall Hall would be named in 1965. By 1960, the
annual initiation and banquet had moved to Conrad Hilton's new Hilton Hawaiian
Village in Waikiki, and in 1972 it settled in at the Ala Moana Hotel, where it has
remained almost every year thereafter. The initiation and banquet are traditionally held
on the evening of the last day of instruction during Spring semester. Students about to
graduate, as well as students who graduated during the previous Summer session and Fall
semester, are initiated and family and friends are encouraged to share the celebratory evening with the new members.
The Alpha of Hawaii sponsors
occasional campus
lectures in various fields which are open to the public. It has also
been privileged to host ten
PBK Visiting Distinguished Scholars. These are eminent scholars in
various disciplines who
go out to campuses for two-day visits, during which they meet with
undergraduates in
their field, conduct a seminar designed for undergraduates, and deliver
a public address. The competition among the
Chapters
for PBK Visiting Scholars is keen and the Alpha of Hawaii has
done well, hosting more than a dozen Scholars at Manoa in fields ranging from
Chemistry to Music to
Anthropology.
In
2001 the Alpha of Hawaii recognized Professor Emeritus Walter H.
Maurer's more than two decades of service as Chapter
Secretary by establishing its first scholarship in his name. The
Maurer
Scholarship is given annually to junior initiates of the Chapter, and
members and
friends are encouraged to contribute to the fund. Since PBK is an IRS
501(c)(3) non-profit
organization, all contributions are tax deductible to the extent
allowed under the law.
PBK Chapters are formally independent
of the campuses to which they are chartered, and all officers serve
voluntarily. The Alpha of Hawaii receives no direct financial support
from the national organization or the University of Hawaii and relies
solely on the generosity of its members.
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