About Phi Beta Kappa

  • Founded December 15, 1776, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
  • Oldest and most prestigious of the academic honor societies in the United States
  • Chapters limited to American colleges and universities with well-developed liberal arts programs
  • 290 chapters

About the Delta of Colorado Chapter

Portrait of Charles Lory
  • Founded November 15, 1973, at Colorado State University
  • Fourth chapter in the state of Colorado (The others are at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Denver, and Colorado College)
  • One of only ten former "A and M" universities to host a chapter
  • For more details, read the chapter constitution and bylaws (a PDF file)
  • Historical files are in the CSU Libraries' Archives and Special Collections.

At right: A portrait of former CSU President Charles A. Lory hangs in the Lory Student Center (2nd floor). Notice the Phi Beta Kappa key hanging from his vest.

Famous Members

Q: What do Isaac Asimov, Francis Ford Coppola, Sonia Sotomayor, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Booker T. Washington, Glenn Close, and Peyton Manning have in common?

A: All joined Phi Beta Kappa.

See the list of Famous Phi Beta Kappa Members for other names.

"To be named Phi Beta Kappa, I was always real proud of that and still consider that one of my proudest achievements."--Peyton Manning, PBK University of Tennessee 1997 and former Denver Bronco