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

Please Join us or our Fall General Meeting

PBK Chapter Now at Texas State University 

From a press release of the national office of The Phi Beta Kappa Society: 

"WASHINGTON, DC — August 2, 2024  — The Phi Beta Kappa Society voted to establish three new chapters on August 2 at the meeting of its 47th Triennial Council. The Society awarded new chapters to Phi Beta Kappa faculty at College of Charleston, Charleston, SC.; Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA.; and Texas State University, San Marcos, TX."

They join 290 chapters nationwide, after a long and strong effort by the appliction commitee at Texas State Univeristy. The committee included former PBKAAGA Board Member, Cathy Jaffe, shown here, and Bill Keleman, professor of Psychology and Heather Galloway, dean of the Honors College.

PBKAAGA Honored with Award at National Triennial Meeting

As part of its 47th Triennial Council, the Phi Beta Kappa Society recognized five outstanding alumni associations – Atlanta, Austin, Kentuckiana, Puget Sound, and Richmond – for their work to engage members in life-long learning and represent Phi Beta Kappa in their communities. The awards, presented once every three years, are accompanied by a small monetary prize to help the honored associations further their important efforts.  

The awards, presented once every three years, are accompanied by a small monetary prize to help the honored associations further their important efforts.  The award winners each reflect a commitment to growth and inclusion. 

PBKAAGA earned recognition for its success in transitioning their leadership, an awards program honoring local teachers, and their scholarship program hosted in partnership with a local nonprofit. 

Spring 2024 General Meeting was April 28, 2023

Our spring general meeting was held at the offices of Breakthrough Central Texas, where we met some members of the staff and learned more about Breakthrough. A map on the wall highlighted the many colleges from which participants in the Breakthrough program had graduated.

Our keynote speaker was Jill Goodman, CEO of Leadership Austin. After describing her background and her organization, she gave a very engaging talk about key principles for civil discourse: practice intellectual humility, start with curiosity, realize that two things can be true at once. The audience practices several techniques she described, putting some of the principles to use.

At this meeting, we also gave out our 2024 scholarships to seven scholars. Details about each of the scholarship winners can be seen at 2024 Scholarship Winners

Our Scholarship Program Featured by National PBK

A reporter from the national Key Reporter magazine contacted 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 Miranda 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.

The 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.

Fall General Meeting - November 17, 3-5 PM.

Unity Hall, Community First! Village, 9301 Hog Eye Road.