The Phi Beta Kappa Society (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, and to induct the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at only select American colleges and universities. It was founded at the College of William and Mary on December 5, 1776, as the first collegiate Greek-letter fraternity and was among the earliest collegiate fraternal societies. Since its inception, 17 U.S. presidents, 40 U.S. Supreme Court justices, and 136 Nobel laureates have been inducted as members.
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among the oldest institutions of higher learning in the United States.
John McCreary Fabian is a former NASA astronaut and Air Force officer who flew two Space Shuttle missions and worked on the development of the Shuttle's robotic arm. He later led the Air Force's space operations.
State University of New York at Oswego is a public university in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York. It has two campuses: historic lakeside campus in Oswego and Metro Center in Syracuse, New York.
James Henry Binford "Binnie" Peay III is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. He served as the 14th superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute from 2003-2020, and as chairman of the Allied Defense Group from 2001-03. He has also served on various corporate and nonprofit boards.
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America. Chiefly, the term refers to scholastic honor societies, those that recognize students who excel academically or as leaders among their peers, often within a specific academic discipline.
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education". It is the fourth academic society in the United States to be organized around recognizing academic excellence, and it is the oldest all-discipline honor society. The society's motto is Φιλοσοφία Kρατείτω Φωτῶν, which is translated as "Let the love of learning rule humanity", and its mission is "to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." It is a member of the Honor Society Caucus, which is composed of four honor societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, and Omicron Delta Kappa.
Major General James G. Jones was a United States Air Force general and commander of the Keesler Technical Training Center, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi.
Omicron Delta Kappa (ΟΔΚ), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an honor society located in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. The society recognizes achievement in five areas: scholarship; athletics; campus and community service, social or religious activities, and campus government; journalism, speech and the mass media; and creative and performing arts. Some circles of ΟΔΚ are quasi-secret, in that newly selected members remain undisclosed for some time.
Joab Langston Thomas was an American university administrator and scientist, who served as president of Pennsylvania State University, North Carolina State University and The University of Alabama.
William Tate served as the dean of men at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, from 1946 until 1971.
Brigadier General Virgil Almos Richard was a US Army General who served 32 years of active military service of which 30 were devoted to Financial Management. Richard became an outspoken critic of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy of the U.S. Armed Forces and gained national media attention as a part of a small group of high-ranking military officers who came out as gay after retirement.
The James E. Foy, V-Omicron Delta Kappa Sportsmanship Trophy, more commonly known as the Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy, is awarded annually to the winner of the Iron Bowl football rivalry game between the University of Alabama and Auburn University. The trophy's namesakes are Dean James E. Foy, V, who served at both Auburn and Alabama and the father of photojournalist Mary Lou Foy, and Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) National Leadership Honor Society, which has circles at both universities. In years of Auburn victories, the trophy is displayed at the Auburn Arena in the Jonathan B. Lovelace Hall of Honor, and following Alabama victories, the trophy resides in the Paul W. Bryant Museum.
The Professional Fraternity Association (PFA) is an American association of national, collegiate, professional fraternities and sororities that was formed in 1978. Since PFA groups are discipline-specific, members join while pursuing graduate degrees as well as undergraduate degrees. PFA groups seek to develop their members professionally in addition to the social development commonly associated with Panhellenic fraternities. Membership requirements of the PFA are broad enough to include groups that do not recruit new members from a single professional discipline. The PFA has welcomed service and honor fraternities as members; however, Greek letter honor societies more commonly belong to the Association of College Honor Societies.
Kenneth Patrick Ruscio (1954) is an American university professor of politics, public policy, and leadership and was elected President of Washington and Lee University on March 7, 2006, serving through the end of 2016. He was previously Dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond (2002-2006), and, at Washington and Lee, served as Associate Dean of the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics and as Dean of Freshmen. He has taught courses in leadership, environmental and public policy, American national government, and environmental studies. Ruscio studied at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey, until 1972, when he entered Washington and Lee. He completed his Bachelor of Arts with a major in politics. with honors, and was recognized with membership in Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honorary. He went on to earn a Master of Public Administration (1978) and a Ph.D. (1983) from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Kappa Omicron Nu (ΚΟΝ) is a college honor society, based in the United States, for students in human sciences. Kappa Omicron Nu chapters are located at colleges and universities that offer a strong human sciences program. Its mission is to promote empowered leaders through excellence in scholarship, leadership, and research in the human sciences. There is also a strong focus on service, and contribution to the local community.
Phi Upsilon Omicron (ΦΥΟ), sometimes called Phi U, is a scholastic honor society that recognizes academic achievement among students in the field of family and consumer science.
Col. John A. Dabney G-3 8th Army was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on November 4, 1903. Died, August 26, 1991. General, U.S. Army. University of Kentucky, B.A., cum laude, University of Kentucky Army ROTC 1926.
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