MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Harkins, Blount, Browning, Burton, Caughman, Chassaniol, Clarke, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Hopson, Jackson (32nd), Jackson (15th), Jolly, Kirby, Massey, McMahan, Michel, Turner-Ford, Watson
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING PRESIDENT MARK KEENUM AND THE FACULTY OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY FOR RECEIVING A CHAPTER OF PHI BETA KAPPA, THE NATION'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS HONOR SOCIETY.
WHEREAS, we join the students, faculty and administration of Mississippi State University in celebrating the award of a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society on August 3, 2018, after a rigorous, multiyear review. This prestigious honor symbolizes Mississippi State University's commitment to pursuing academic excellence across all disciplines. Only 10% of United States colleges and universities shelter Phi Beta Kappa chapters; and
WHEREAS, "The granting of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter to Mississippi State is a testament to the outstanding faculty and administrators who have been working toward this most significant achievement," said Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum; and
WHEREAS, membership in Phi Beta Kappa is reserved for the best and brightest undergraduates majoring in the arts and sciences. They are chosen through a highly selective and merit-based invitation process. The vote to grant Mississippi State a chapter came on August 3, 2018, during proceedings of Phi Beta Kappa's 45th Triennial Council in Boston. "It has been a 40-year journey for us to reach this milestone," Dr. Keenum said; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi State University's first application was submitted in 1979 by Morris "Bill" Collins, the Founding Director of the Stennis Institute of Government. Nancy Hargrove, now a Giles Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, led the 1982 submission. Leslie Bauman, now Professor Emerita in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, led application initiatives in 1985, 1988, 2000 and 2003. Since 2007, the application effort has been led by Robert West, a Professor in the Department of English who was inducted into the Honor Society as an undergraduate at Wake Forest University; and
WHEREAS, a charter is granted to Phi Beta Kappa members of the faculty, not the university itself. For the chapter to be maintained, members should comprise at least 10% of the full-time arts and sciences teaching faculty. Keenum noted that for decades Mississippi State's top students have competed successfully for distinguished scholarships and fellowships. "I would put our students' performance up against any other university because the results speak for themselves," said Keenum. Recent examples from the past few years include Rhodes Scholar Field Brown of Vicksburg and two additional Rhodes finalists; Gates Cambridge Scholar Lucas Ferguson of Batesville; four Goldwater Scholars, including 2018 winner Nic Ezzell of Laurel, and five Goldwater Honorable Mentions; Boren Scholar Donielle Allen of McCalla, Alabama; two Truman Scholars, Jamie Aron and Natalie Jones, both of Flowood; and several Fulbright recipients; and
WHEREAS, it is most appropriate that our exceptional students will now be eligible for consideration of Phi Beta Kappa membership, and we look forward to the induction of our Inaugural Class of Scholars in the spring of 2019. Provost and Executive Vice President Judy Bonner joined Dr. Keenum and West in Boston for the Triennial Council, along with Rick Travis, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Christopher Snyder, Dean of the Shackouls Honors College, and Molly Zuckerman, an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Phi Beta Kappa Faculty Representative; and
WHEREAS, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 40 Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, and more than 140 winners of the Nobel Prize. Mississippi State University is creating a One Million Dollar endowment to support the university's new Phi Beta Kappa chapter; and it is with great pride that we join the academic community of Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Education in commending this high honor:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and congratulate President Mark Keenum and the faculty of Mississippi State University for receiving a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's most prestigious Honor Society, and extend our best wishes to Mississippi State University on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Dr. Keenum, forwarded to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.