Famed alumnus to speak at Phi Beta Kappa's centennial celebration

Blount

by Jessica Howard

For a century, Vanderbilt's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa -- the Alpha of Tennessee -- has selected the top liberal arts undergraduate students for membership into the esteemed honor society.

To recognize the 100th anniversary of the Vanderbilt chapter -- coincidently one day after the 225th anniversary of the founding of the national society -- a celebrated member of Vanderbilt's chapter will address attendees at the fall meeting Dec. 6. Roy Blount Jr., humorist and author, will speak on the topic "If I Were You, I'd Listen to Me: The Fallacy of Advice."

"We are very fortunate to have Roy Blount Jr.," said James V. Staros, professor and chair of the department of biological sciences, professor of biochemistry and president of the Alpha of Tennessee Chapter.

Vanderbilt's chapter was founded in 1901 by Herbert C. Tolman, former dean of the College of Arts and Science and one of the University's most respected scholars. Since the chapter was the first to be established in Tennessee, it was named the Alpha chapter.

Vanderbilt is among the first Southern universities to be granted a chapter; the first was the founding chapter of the national society at the College of William and Mary in 1776.

"The foundation meeting of Vanderbilt's chapter was held Dec. 5, 1901, 125 years to the day after the society was founded," said Staros.

In the early years, Phi Beta Kappa was a secret society and had an oath to preserve the mysteries of initiation. The requirement of secrecy was abolished in 1831 at Harvard University, and other chapters gradually followed suit. In 1875, the first two women were elected to Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Vermont. By 1898, the principle of admitting women members had won general acceptance.

The society, which began with as much social as academic emphasis, has used scholarship and good character as the determining criteria for membership for more than 150 years.

Each year, the Alpha of Tennessee Chapter elects a select few seniors and even fewer juniors from the College of Arts and Science to membership. Seniors must complete at least 60 semester hours in the College of Arts and Sciences and maintain a 3.6 grade point average or higher to be considered. Juniors must maintain a 3.85 grade point average and have completed a minimum of 70 semester hours at Vanderbilt.

Additionally, candidates must have completed both upper-level options in mathematical reasoning/foreign language of the College Program in Liberal Education as well as the CPLE graduation requirements. This means that although taking both upper-level courses is not a requirement to graduate, one must do so to be considered for Phi Beta Kappa membership.

"These requirements represent not only achievement but breadth," said Staros.

Even if the previous requirements are met, membership is not guaranteed. Members are also selected for their broad interest in culture and their academic achievements, and there may be no more than 10 percent of the senior class elected and six members of the junior class elected to the society annually. Vanderbilt faculty who were members of the Phi Beta Kappa chapters of their respective colleges may join as associate members.

In 2001, the Alpha of Tennessee Chapter established the Phi Beta Kappa Centennial Award. Candidates for the $2,000 award have been nominated by the chapter's executive council.

In addition to Blount, Nobel Prize- winner Stanford Moore; Antonia Gotto, dean of the Cornell University School of Medicine; former National Labor Relations Board Member J. Robert Brame III; and Board of Trust member Eugene B. Shanks Jr. are among the ranks of numerous alumni chosen as members of Vanderbilt's chapter.

On a national level, distinguished Phi Beta Kappa members include famed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, author Nathaniel Hawthorne, former President Theodore Roosevelt and inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

While at Vanderbilt, Blount served as editor of the student newspaper the Vanderbilt Hustler. Since graduating in 1963, his stories have been published of Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Rolling Stone and The Oxford American, among other prominent magazines. He has also worked as an editor for Sports Illustrated and The Atlantic Monthly. Blount is currently a part-time English instructor and author of several books, including I Am Puppy, Hear Me Yap! The Ages of Dog; and Sports Guy: In Search of Corkball, Warroad Hockey, Hooters Golf, Tiger Woods and the Big, Big Game.

The Centennial Meeting, which is open to non-members, will begin at 4 p.m. in Room 103 of Wilson Hall.

Bill Carey contributed to this article.

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