Constitution

Gamma of Oregon at Lewis & Clark College

I. This Society is a constituent member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and shall be known as the Gamma of Oregon or as the Lewis & Clark Chapter.

II. The purpose of Phi Beta Kappa is to recognize and encourage scholarship, friendship, and cultural interests, and to support excellence and integrity in the pursuit of the arts and sciences. Chapter activities encourage liberal education, scholarship, and concern for the responsible uses of knowledge. Individuals elected to membership commit themselves to advancing the goals of Phi Beta Kappa.

III. The membership of the Chapter shall consist of charter members, chapter members, members in course, alumni/ae members (if any), and honorary members (if any). Foundation members, elected only at the founding of a chapter, shall be classified as alumni/ae or honorary members.

1. With a view to maintaining the historic character of Phi Beta Kappa, members of the Committee on Members in Course shall be chosen predominantly from teachers of liberal subjects. (Here, as elsewhere in this Constitution, liberal subjects and studies shall be considered to be those designed principally for knowledge or understanding or appreciation of the natural and social world in which we live, as contrasted with training intended to develop skill or vocational techniques.) The Chapter shall determine any participation of undergraduate members in the Committee on Members in Course.

2. Only those persons shall be elected to membership whose qualifications have been carefully investigated. The members in course shall be elected primarily on the basis of broad cultural interests, scholarly achievements, and good character. The number of undergraduates elected from any class, including any who may be elected in their junior year, shall ordinarily not exceed 10 percent and in no case shall exceed 15 percent of those expected to receive liberal bachelor's degrees in that class. Only those students whose work has been definitely liberal in character and purpose shall be eligible to election as members in course, this requirement being satisfied ordinarily by a proportion of three-fourths of liberal studies. They shall also be completing at least two years of residence in the sheltering institution and must have obtained a minimum average grade specified in the Chapter bylaws. A limited number of undergraduates of outstanding ability may be elected in their junior year.

3. The Chapter shall be responsible for determining the work or courses which are to be considered liberal in character in accordance with the stipulations of the Council on eligibility for election of undergraduate members in course. The Chapter may take into consideration the results of a candidate's performance in honors work and comprehensive examinations and also the opinions of teachers and administrative officers concerning the character, capacity, scholarly achievements, and breadth of interest of each student under consideration.

4. Graduates of the institution of not less than ten years' standing who, by contributions in the fields of the humane sciences and letters or by works of pure literature, have since graduation given clear evidence of the possession of distinguished scholarly capacities, may be elected to alumni/ae membership. The number elected in any triennium should be strictly limited by the Chapter bylaws .

5. Men and women, not graduates of the institution, who, by contributions in the fields of the humane sciences and letters or by works of pure literature, have given clear evidence of the possession of distinguished scholarly capacities, may be elected to honorary membership. No graduate of another institution having a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa shall be elected unless the consent of that chapter has been obtained. The number elected in any triennium should be strictly limited by the Chapter bylaws.

6. Members of other chapters of Phi Beta Kappa who are, or who become, members of the faculty or staff of the institution shall thereby become members of the Chapter with full privileges in the conduct of its affairs. Other members of Phi Beta Kappa in the vicinity may be invited to any meeting of the Chapter.

7. The Chapter may make further limitations or restrictions concerning any class of members.

8. Since good character is a qualification for membership, any member found, after being given due notice and an opportunity to be heard, to have lost this qualification may be expelled from Phi Beta Kappa by a four-fifths vote of the members present at a regular annual meeting of the Chapter.

9. A citation of the qualifications of each person elected to alumni/ae or honorary membership shall be entered upon the minutes and submitted for record to the Secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. A full report of all members elected, expelled, or recorded as having resigned or died shall be sent annually to the Secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

IV. This Chapter shall send a delegation to represent it at each meeting of the Council of Phi Beta Kappa and shall contribute its share to the financial support of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

V. This Chapter shall, by suitable bylaws, provide for the election of officers, the selection of members, the conduct of its meetings, and such other matters as may be deemed proper, provided that said bylaws shall contain nothing inconsistent with this Constitution or with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and provided further that said bylaws and any amendment thereto shall not become effective until approved by the Senate.

VI. This Constitution may be amended only by the Council of Phi Beta Kappa upon recommendation of the Gamma Chapter of Oregon of amendments passed by 2/3 vote of its active members.

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Approved by the Senate of the Phi Beta Kappa Society: June, 1998.