Alpha of Idaho, Phi Beta Kappa records
Scope and Contents
The papers of the Idaho Alpha chapter span the years 1921 to 1980.
The material includes correspondence, both incoming and outgoing, relating to membership, initiations, and other society matters, several editions of the local chapter by-laws, including material relating to the by-law controversy of 1941-1942, lists of members and also lists of those juniors and seniors considered for membership, and minutes of meetings from 1926-1936 and 1958-1959, as well as minutes and other material relating to the Alpha Society. The financial records include the annual report to the United Chapters, key orders, bank statements, canceled checks, and invoices, mostly from the United Chapters. There are photographs of Members in Course for 1955 and 1961, and some Phi Beta Kappa publications, addresses, and delegate manuals for conferences.
Dates
- Creation: 1921-1980
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical
From 1912 to 1916 faculty members who were Phi Beta Kappa members were engaged in a futile attempt to obtain a charter for the university. Then, on November 3, 1921, this group plus members of the community who were also Phi Beta Kappa members formed the Phi Beta Kappa Club for the purpose of obtaining a local charter. In 1923 this club was expanded to include honor students and its name was changed to the Alpha Society. Perseverance, hard work, and a lot of letter writing finally paid off when, on September 8, 1925, Professor G. M. Miller, President of the Alpha Society, received the following telegram: "Charter granted with handsome majority. [signed] Oscar M. Voorhees, Secretary."
The society is composed of faculty and local residents who were elected by their undergraduate institutions for membership. These in turn elect to membership a small number of juniors and seniors with high grade point averages in the College of Letters and Science, these are called Members in Course. Alumni of the University who have had distinguished careers are eligible for election as Alumni Members and scholars associated with the university, but not holding membership from their undergraduate institutions can be elected as Honorary Members.
Extent
2.5 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Correspondence, minutes, financial material relating to the establishment and activities of the chapter. Some publications of the United Chapters as well as publications about the society.
Arrangement
The material in this record group was originally stored in large letter transfer boxes, with some items in folders, some in envelopes, and some loose. The material was sorted by record type and original folder headings, if present, were retained. Since there did not appear to be either an alphabetical or chronological order within individual folders the material was arranged chronologically by year only in cases where a strict chronological order was not important, e.g. letters accepting membership in the society, but where a logical progression was important, a strict chronological order was formed. The major exception to this are correspondence folders 1 and 2 which were originally alphabetical and have been left in that order.
Correspondence dealing with the writing and amending of the chapter by-laws has been retained in the Constitution & By-laws series; likewise, financial correspondence is with the records of the secretary-treasurer.
Due to personnel changes in the office of secretary-treasurer the same types of records will be found in different folders, i.e. one maintained a separate folder for key orders-while another included these with the correspondence.
Additional materials were added in 2025 under Series IX: Records. Some materials were discarded due to confidentiality.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Records of the local Phi Beta Kappa chapter were donated to the University of Idaho Library in the late 1960's by the society.
Additional materials were found in Special Collections and Archives and accessioned in September 2018.
- Title
- Guide to Alpha of Idaho, Phi Beta Kappa Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen. Additional materials added by Zoe Stave.
- Date
- 1985; 2025.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latn
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository