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

Our Spring General Meeting was April 27, 2025

At this meeting, instead of a keynote speaker, we were pleased to get to know a recent alumnus of Breakthrough Central Texas, as Holly Wissman, Breakthrough Central Texas Chief Development and Communications Officer, interviewed Ricky Lefranc . We have partnered with Breakthrough Central Texas over the past several years, and it was terrific to learn more about Breakthrough Central Texas' lasting impact on its student through Ricky's experiences beyond high school.

We then proceeded to award the scholarships for the year, one adult baccalaureate scholarship, one Physicians' Scholarship, and six high school scholarships. Pictured here are members of the Scholarship Committee with some of the recipients. You can learn more about the scholarship recipients at 2025 Scholarship Winners

Thank you to all who help fund the scholarships; they are very much appreciated!

Our Fall General Meeting was November 17, 2024

We held our Fall General Meeting in Unity Hall at Community First! Village at 9301 Hog Eye Road.

We were pleased to honor our 2024 Teaching Excellence Award winner, Justin Beaman from LBJ Early College High School. Mr. Beaman talked with us about his devotion to teaching and how he arrived at his current post, where he teaches social studies. For more detail on Mr. Beaman see <this web page>.

From the outstanding applications received this year, we also gave two $500 Exemplary Finalist awards to Kelly Windham, who teaches English at Legacy Early College High School in the Taylor Independent School District and Kimberly Wiedmeyer, who teaches English at Bowie High School in the Austin Independent School District.

In addition to a short business meeting, we also had an introduction to Mobile Loaves and Fishes, the organization which runs Community First. We were then treated to a tour of the village, seeing housing in both phases of the existing development, as well as several special purpose facilities. We are grateful to them for hosting our meeting and giving us an overview of this very successful approach to providing a community for neighbors who were formerly homeless. As our guide indicated, there are many communities throughout the country visiting to learn how to replicate this approach.

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. 

Your participation is key for PBKAAGA to offer 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 2025 - Date TBD