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News and Event Releases > Millsaps' Phi Beta Kappa Chapter Receives Top Ranking

Millsaps' Phi Beta Kappa Chapter Receives Top Ranking

Posted: 2/11/10

Millsaps College's Phi Beta Kappa chapter received the highest possible rating for 2008-2009 from the national Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation's most prestigious academic honor society.

Alpha of Mississippi, the state's first Phi Beta Kappa chapter, was one of only 22 chapters to receive the rating. The chapter will now be considered for the Exemplary Chapter Award that will be presented to three chapters at the next Triennial Council meeting in 2012.

"This exceptional ranking demonstrates the passion and dedication of the Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Millsaps College," said David C. Davis, interim vice president and dean. "The members of Phi Beta Kappa are vital in Millsaps sustaining excellence in all academic areas."

The officers for 2008-2009 included: Greg Miller, president; Tanya Newkirk, vice president; Ashleigh Powers, secretary/treasurer; and Austin Wilson, historian.

The rating is based on such factors as the strong presence of Phi Beta Kappa on campus, its high standards and success in student selection, activities and the hosting of speakers and events. Each spring, approximately 20 undergraduate students, with grade point averages of at least 3.7, are elected into membership in Phi Beta Kappa.

"The Millsaps chapter received this recognition because of our commitment to excellence," said Blakely Fender, associate professor of economics and president of Alpha chapter for 2009-10. "This recognition places Millsaps at the top of another list - not only are we one of the best liberal arts colleges in the nation, but we also have one of the best Phi Beta Kappa chapters in the country."

Millsaps College, founded in 1890, is an independent, national liberal arts institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Consistently ranked in the top tier of national liberal arts colleges, Millsaps is located in Jackson, Miss., a metropolitan capital city of 425,000. Millsaps College is also the only Mississippi institution featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges, and is cited as one of Loren Pope's 40 Colleges That Change Lives.