Phi Beta Kappa Elects 48 Seniors as New Members

Harvard's chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Alpha Iota, announced the names of the 48 new elected members last week.

Three committees representing the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences selected the students from an original pool of 96 students.

According to chapter president and Professor of the History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn who coordinated the committee formation and sat on the social sciences committee, academic achievement is paramount in Phi Beta Kappa selection.

Unlike other awards that honor extracurricular or House activities, Phi Beta Kappa members are selected based on their scholarly pursuits.

"The fundamental criteria for selection of members is a high grade point average," Mendelsohn said.

In addition to academic transcripts, two letters of recommendations also form the basis for the election process.

Twenty-four members of the Class of 2001 were elected to Phi Beta Kappa in a preliminary round last spring, and about 100 will be elected before Commencement.

The new members were notified of their acceptance via mail.

Thomas H. Lotze '01, a resident of Leverett House, described the excitement of receiving the letter just before he returned home for Thanksgiving Break.

"As soon as I got home, I told my parents," he said.

For other students, however, the enthusiasm was less immediate.

"I'm very happy, but when I was first nominated, I did not really know what Phi Beta Kappa meant," said Anna K. Piotrowska '01, a student from Poland.

"Then my American friends convinced me that it was a great honor," she said.

The inductees, all members of the Class of 2001, are Lisa B. Keyfetz of Adams House; Ashley L. Filip, Charles C. H. Lin and Nestor D.C. Tomycz of Cabot House; Lilian I. Childress, Aarup A. Kubal, Anup A. Kubal, Peter K. Park, Sarah E.M. Wood and Ellen Yeh of Currier House; Ellen J. Guldi of Dudley House; Anne L. Berry, Brian T. Shaffer and Benjamin R. Sloop of Dunster House; Eileen K. Bent, Seth D. Familian, Eric Fleisig-Greene, Emir Kamenica, Roman Martinez and Jamie R. Vance of Eliot House; Claire E. Farley, Kevin C. Gold, Robert F. Luo and Sarah E. Mattson of Kirkland House; Mia M. Edwards, Lee D. Feigenbaum, J. Alejandro Longoria and Thomas H. Lotze of Leverett House; Adam I. Arenson, Soman S. Chainani and Daryl Sng, who are all current Crimson executives, andJenny R.T. Chou and Alexander Marson of Lowell House; Alexander A. Guerrero, Tegan S. Shohet and Steven E. Stryer of Mather House; Kevan D. Choset and Erin R. Clifford of Pforzheimer House; Shelley Day, Karen Guo, Lucia R. Henderson, Adriana V. Karagiozova, Thomas S. Lue, Anna K. Piotrowska, Yi Qian, Kate T. Williamson and Andrew M. Wolfe of Quincy House; Simon W. Grote of Winthrop House.

Founded in 1781, Alpha Iota is the oldest continuously operating Phi Beta Kappa Chapter in America.

According to the letter sent to the new Phi Beta Kappa members, an induction ceremony will be held at a later date to be announced.