75 Jayhawks initiated into KU chapter of Phi Beta Kappa
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society has initiated 75 new members.
Dietrich Earnhart, president of KU’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter and professor of economics, presided at the May 12 ceremony. Initiates were individually recognized, presented with a certificate of membership and invited to sign their names in the chapter register — a tradition that dates to 1912.
Jennifer Raff, associate professor of anthropology, was inducted as an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa and delivered remarks on the value of the liberal arts and sciences. Camden Baxter, graduating senior in economics and a 2023 Phi Beta Kappa inductee, gave the student response.
Election to Phi Beta Kappa recognizes a student’s high academic achievement while pursuing a broad and substantive liberal arts curriculum. To be eligible for consideration for membership, students must be seniors with a minimum grade-point average of 3.65 on a 4.0 scale, or be juniors with a minimum 3.9. Anonymous transcripts of candidates are reviewed holistically by a committee of Phi Beta Kappa faculty and staff members.
Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest national academic honorary society, was founded Dec. 5, 1776, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. KU’s Alpha chapter, founded in 1890, was the first chapter west of the Mississippi and is one of 286 Phi Beta Kappa chapters nationwide. About 10% of institutions of higher learning in the United States have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. The chapter’s vice president is Jonathan Lamb, associate professor of English. The secretary-treasurer is Harry Swartz, associate director for Admissions & Operations in the University Honors Program. Sarah-Crawford-Parker, director of the University Honors Program, serves as the chapter’s historian.
Elected members are listed below:
- Eleazar Abraham, Lawrence
- Stacey Emily Agamir, Overland Park
- Nicole Ahad, Bethesda, Maryland
- Mariam Alky, Derby
- Anson Appelhanz, Topeka
- Aarthi Aruna, Overland Park
- Fatima Asif, Overland Park
- Kat Balke, Eudora
- Jacob Levi Barta, Basehor
- Manahil Basra, Overland Park
- Jenna Bellemere, Lawrence
- McKenna Caitlyn Bizal, Overland Park
- Nhu Y Thi Bui, Olathe
- Anabel Cardoza, Kansas City
- Harliv Kaur Chakkal, Olathe
- Isabella Emerson Crawford-Parker, Lawrence
- Ada Grace Creighton, Longmont, Colorado
- Seville Rose Croker, Nashville, Tennessee
- Rianna Icyleen DeHart, St. Louis
- Rovy Santos Dela Fuente, Lawrence
- Will Doerries, Wheaton, Illinois
- Christian Due, Gardner
- Nash Kennedy Dunker, Atwood
- Andrew Joseph Fewins, Shawnee
- Natalie F. Gendelman, Denver
- Jay Gragnani, Valley Village, California
- Walker Chad Haber, Rocky Point, Florida
- Trinity Katherine Hadel, Leawood
- Kodiac Kern Hainline, Lawrence
- Madeline Elaine Halabi, Wichita
- James Patrick Hall, Shawnee
- Milla Novikov Hanova, Fairway
- Madelynn Hodes, Shawnee
- Charles Johnson, Lawrence
- Paxton Ray Jones, Lawrence
- Carrington Maxwell Jones-Jackson, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Moira Kelley, Overland Park
- Aylar Kichiyeva, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
- Carly Ann Kolle, Linn
- Francesca Le, Lenexa
- Savannah Legler, Olathe
- Stuart Joseph Luckman, Lawrence
- Sana Mohamed Nizar Mahomed, Wylie, Texas
- Aisha Malik, Leawood
- Alysia Martinez, Lenexa
- Heidi Michaela Mattson, Edmond, Oklahoma
- Elizabeth Mei McConnell, Davis, California
- Jacquelyn McDonald, Kansas City, Missouri
- Noelle Marie McMeen, Webber
- Jane Katharine Michelbach, Morgantown, West Virginia
- Timsel Mulugeta, Olathe
- Madison Leigh Needham, Wakarusa
- Rachel Paese, Chesterfield, Missouri
- Swapna Patel, Shawnee
- Ian Perkins, Norwich
- Diego Alejandro Prieto Cruz, Bogotá, Colombia
- Aidan Raine, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
- Janie Rainer, Overland Park
- Riley Rapp, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Porter Richards, Greeley
- Nancy Sophia Ridnour, Mission
- Nathaniel Forrest Schemmel, Overland Park
- Nicholas William Schemmel, Overland Park
- Anika Colene Schroeder, Shawnee
- Krisdapa Sirasudhi, Olathe
- Erika Lynne Sisler, Runnells, Iowa
- Sarah Elaine Smith, Overland Park
- Abbigail Elise Smith, Wellington
- Natalie Marie Stubbers, Kansas City, Missouri
- Cecilia Marie Stuke, Omaha, Nebraska
- Emily Rebecca Ward, Lawrence
- Anna Boehm Wehring, Austin, Texas
- Mallory Nicole Wells, Wichita
- Emily Whisenhunt, Alexandria, Virginia
- Katherine Winklhofer, Fairway.