Phi Beta Kappa Inducts Largest Class in 10 Years

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2016) — The University of Kentucky chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) held its annual ceremony last Wednesday, inducting 59 students into the nation's oldest and most widely known academic honor society. This 90th class represents the largest number to be inducted into UK’s PBK Alpha Chapter in the last 10 years.

“This membership represents a rainbow of colors, careers and specialties, religions, political ideologies, and realms of knowledge and learning,” said Ernie Yanarella, chapter president and professor of political science in the UK College of Arts and Sciences.

In his remarks to the PBK candidates, Yanarella told them that they were joining six presidents who were elected to the society, 11 presidents who became honorary members, Eleanor Roosevelt, numerous writers (including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain and Susan Sontag), inventor Eli Whitney, educator Booker T. Washington, chief justices John Marshall and William Rehnquist, as well as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, feminist Betty Friedan and singer Paul Robeson. 

Michael Tick, dean of the UK College of Fine Arts, delivered a keynote address on the arts and campus life.

"I was humbled by the invitation to address an extraordinary group of students inducted in Phi Beta Kappa," Tick said. "My remarks, 'Arts On Campus: Central to Academic Life' focused on three areas: arts education as an integral part of all students’ lives, arts and economic prosperity, and arts and healing. Since PBK is the most prestigious honor society for undergraduates, I am quite certain that these remarkable students will one day sit on the boards of directors of the nation’s most venerable arts institutions, be among a handful of our major philanthropists, and influence policy makers."

The 2016 inductees include:

  • Tessa Louise Adkins
  • Kelsey Alexandra Allmon
  • Richard Joseph Ariel
  • Shiza Arshad
  • Hannah Lynn Bingham
  • David Hunter Blanton
  • Rex Bray, III
  • Jakob Burnham
  • Robert Cass
  • James Patrick Collard, Sr.
  • William Cox
  • Chad Davidson
  • Jill Anne Goettel
  • Vincent Gouge
  • Olivia Grothaus
  • Dorian Hairston
  • Charles Conyers Harpole
  • Christopher Stephen Hayden
  • Karl W. Hempel
  • Kaylee Robin Hicks
  • Kayla Hicks
  • Charly Alisa Hyden
  • Taylor Johnston
  • Zachary Joseph Kenton Jones
  • Alexander Francis Krupp
  • Hannah Lou Latta
  • Ethan Griffith Long
  • Jamie Teresa Love
  • Sally Beth Maddox
  • Malinda Massey
  • Jesse Steven Matherly
  • David Mathews
  • Wendell Lehr Maupin
  • Taylor Renee Moody
  • Caitlin Elizabeth Neuhaus
  • Matthew James Nolan
  • Claire Katheryn Oldfather
  • Alexander John Parmley
  • Emily Susan Payne
  • Nicholas Joseph Per
  • Kari Ann Popplewell
  • Anna Roe
  • William Lee Sanders, IV
  • Ann Bruner Scott
  • Natalie May Shofner
  • Landon C. Simpson
  • Sarah Nicole Smith
  • Christian David Soares
  • Austin Finley Sprinkles
  • Maxwell Costa Tague
  • Courtney VanWay
  • Victoria Votaw
  • Hasanki Madara Warnakula
  • Sarah Nicole Warren
  • Adrian Susanna Weldon
  • Logan West
  • Ratna  Setyaning  Widayanti
  • Kalin Leanna Wilson
  • Walker Ernest Yanarella

Phi Beta Kappa elects more than 15,000 new members a year from 270 chapters across the United States. There are also more than 50 associations that foster friendship and learning in their members' communities and provide a means for members to continue their active affiliation with the society after graduation.

UK's Phi Beta Kappa chapter is supported by the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence, which is part of the Academy for Undergraduate Excellence within the Division of Undergraduate Education at UK.

 UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Jenny Wells, 859-257-5343; jenny.wells@uky.edu