The Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Austin
 

Welcome to PBKAAGA!

The Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Austin (PΒΚAAGA) was organized in 1998 to bring Phi Beta Kappans together and to promote the academic values of the society in keeping with our Mission Statement.  We program social and intellectual events and fund a number of scholarships for students about to enter college and those in baccalaureate degree programs. We provide a Teaching Excellence Award to an outstanding teacher in our area each year.

We welcome all ΦΒΚ members in the Greater Austin area to membership.  We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so dues and contributions are tax-deductible.


Mission Statement

Recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences through college scholarships and teacher excellence awards, as well as fostering fellowship and lifelong learning among PBKAAGA members


What's Happening in PBKAAGA?

Our Scholarship Program Featured by National PBK

A reporter from the national Key Reporter magazine conteacted us recently to learn more about our scholarship program. We are delighted with the article that will appear soon for the national audience. See the content here

Our Fall General Meeting was November 12, 2023

At our Fall General Meeting, we were pleased to hear about The Great Story Lab from our President, Courtney Smith. She is part of a team creating the lab, which is dedicated to ppening up the world of academia to the general public. We viewed the lab's inaugural short film, telling us about Atlantis. We look forward to learning more!

We also celebrated our 2023 Teaching Excellence Award Winner, Sara Lucas, who teaches AP Psychology and U.S. History at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville. Her principal, Michael Grebb, also joined us and shared his congratulatory comments to Mrs. Lucas. She then gave us a very interesting talk about her career path, how she approaches learning, and her dedication to teaching. Her mantra is Know the learner and the learning. Expect excellence from both. You can read more about her in this set of comments.

From the outstanding applications received this year, we also gave two $500 Exemplary Finalist awards to Mirand Maddox, who teaches English at Hutto High School and to Natalie Uehara who is the dance director and theater choreographer at McCallum High School in Austin. 


Theater Performance Was Great Fun on September 10, 2023

On September 10th, we attended a performance of Head Over Heels, which recently left Broadway. It was a laugh-out-loud tale of a royal family trying to save their kingdom all to the tunes of the 80s band, The Go-Go's. It was an afternoon of laughter, music, and delight!


Our Spring General Meeting was May 7, 2023

Members were pleased to gather at the Neill-Cochran House Museum to meet the winners of the 2023 scholarships and to hear from Austin Artist Elizabeth Chiles.

Addressing both consciousness and how subject and maker shape and reshape one another, the artist talked about her research of the concepts of embodiment, presence, collaboration, exchange, and being-in-relation to the living world. Descriptions of artworks were provided to show two of her projects. The results were delightful to see!

Following her talk, scholarships were awarded to seven graduating high school seniors and one college student. 

Read about our 2023 scholarship recipients.


The 2023 Fundraising Drive is underway to fund college scholarships and a Teaching Excellence award for a high school teacher.
Your contributions make this happen. Any amount is much appreciated, with these levels of recognition:
  • Platinum Sponsor - $2,500 - Award in the name of the donor(s)
  • Gold Sponsor - $1,000 - Sponsor acknowledged during award ceremony
  • Silver Sponsor - $500 - Sponsor contribution noted in awards program
  • Bronze Sponsor - $250 - Sponsor contribution noted in awards program

Please go to  Make a Donation to contribute.

Time to Renew your Membership (or join, if you haven't yet!)

PBKAAGA - the start of these initials might remind you of PB&J, the basic sandwich that takes us back to a time of simplicity. We each earned our PBK designation, and like PB&J, we probably don’t take ourselves all that seriously.   But there is one thing we all do take seriously: the value of academic excellence and promoting PBKAAGA.  That means supporting the main endeavor of this organization – giving scholarships to worthy applicants and recognizing Teaching Excellence. With your help, we are able to make a difference in the lives of even more students and teachers.  Like PB&J – we’re asking for a simple donation.

Please go to Join Us or Renew to process your membership.

Upcoming Events

Spring General Meeting - May 2024, Date TBD

Join us at the Neill-Cochran House Museum to meet the winners of teh 2024 Scholarship Awards and to hear an interesting speaker.


Officers and Board Members

Courtney Smith, President

Tom Cedel, 1st Vice-President

Philip Church, 2nd Vice-President

Robin Ingari, Treasurer,

Stephanie Bradford, Secretary

Joyce Pulich, Past President

Board Members:

Pam Autrey

Robert Bridges

Mary Diehl

Noble Doss

Donald Flournoy

Mary "Bitsy" Henderson

Constance Hicks

Ron Luke

Holly Wissman


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