FIU Lands Phi Beta Kappa Chapter:
The only Florida school chosen, FIU is now PBK's youngest chapter university

The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the nation, voted over the weekend to establish a new chapter at Florida International University, FIU leaders announced today.

Established in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa has established chapters at 262 colleges and universities in the intervening years. The highly selective organization's Congress meets every three years to consider new members.

This year's meeting yielded eight new members, FIU among them. FIU becomes the youngest member of the honorary society.

"Receiving a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at FIU validates the hard work of many dedicated academic leaders and faculty at this university - chief among them, Arts and Sciences Dean Art Herriott -- and further enhances the value of an FIU degree," said FIU President Modesto A. Maidique.

This is the latest in a series of significant academic milestones earned by FIU over the past few months. In August, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching reclassified FIU as a "Doctoral/Research University-Extensive" - the broadest, most comprehensive rating awarded to research universities by the organization. In July, the university announced a record total of nearly $60 million in research contracts and grants, an increase of 32 percent over the previous fiscal year. And last spring, the state Legislature approved the establishment of the FIU College of Law.

"The honor of having a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at FIU tells our current and future students that they have chosen to study at one of the United States' most respected institutions of higher learning," said FIU Provost Mark Rosenberg, who attended Phi Beta Kappa's 39th Triennial Council in Philadelphia last weekend with Herriott and Sociology/Anthropology Professor Abraham Lavender. All three are Phi Beta Kappa members.

Universities that received chapters along with FIU last weekend were Auburn University in Alabama; Austin College in Sherman, Texas; Illinois Wesleyan; the University of Mississippi; St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia; and Truman State University in Missouri. All were established by 1860, with the exception of FIU, which opened its doors in 1972.

In addition to FIU, four other Florida institutions have Phi Beta Kappa chapters: Florida State University (1935), the University of Florida (1938), Stetson University (1982) and the University of Miami (1983). For more information on Phi Beta Kappa, visit its web site at www.pbk.org.

Media Contact: Maydel Santana-Bravo 305-348-1555