2.3 Linear Feet, 2 ft. 4 in. (5 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.)
Creator
Phi Beta Kappa. Alpha of West Virginia (West Virginia University)
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown,
WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Record book, photo and certificate of the West Virginia University Alpha chapter of a national honorary fraternity, Phi Beta
Kappa. A chapter charter was granted only to those institutions whose standards measured up to a high scholastic ideal. The
fraternity's purpose being to undertake to conserve the influences that were restored and liberated by the Renaissance, specifically
those influences that refine and humanize mankind. Membership was open to those undergraduate seniors in the top quarter of
their graduating class and those graduate students "whose post-graduate work entitles them to such honor." Faculty, illustrious
previous graduates, and others of prominence associated with WVU such as its presidents could be elected to membership. Although
initially all chapter members were male, in the class of 1911 two women were initiated Anna Grace Cox and Helen M. Wiestling.
The certificate is the charter granted in 1910 when Alpha chapter was created. The photo has a separate key of names. Included
in the photo are then WVU president, Daniel B. Purinton; first chapter president, Oliver P. Chitwood; and then fraternity
united chapters president, Prof. Edwin A. Grosvenor. Also in the photo are Alston G. Dayton, James M. Callahan, I. C. White,
Waitman Barbe, and J. N. Deahl. The record book contains constitution and by-laws, membership rolls, treasurer reports, resolutions,
and minutes. The minutes are chiefly reports of the nominating committee, proposals to change the constitution and by-laws,
and eligibility and disciplinary inquiries. Among the latter is an examination of the behavior and clearing of the name from
any wrongdoing of David Alfred Christopher. Christopher was connected with the student protest against taking final exams
in the Spring of 1917 due to the outset of American participation in World War I in which much of the student body was inducted
into military service, a phenomenon typical on other campuses all over the country. The protest occurred because many other
universities for the reason of entry into the war had already cancelled exams. Also noteworthy is the controversy in the 1920's
over the appropriation of its name and symbol by a satiric and humorous fraternity on campus later named the Fi Batar Cappar.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Chapter, Records, A&M 3186, West Virginia and Regional
History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
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