Phi Beta Kappa at UVM

The 2024-25 academic year has seen a number of changes at the Alpha of Vermont and at the University of Vermont more generally, and we wanted to take a moment to say thank you to several people who have been of particular help to the chapter.

Dr. Patty Prelock has long been a supporter of the chapter, going out of her way to attend ceremonies and the annual luncheon while serving as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, provost, and, most recently, as interim president of UVM. Patty is now off to the University of Arizona, and we wish her all the best. Her active support for the chapter has been much appreciated and has set a welcome example for her colleagues and successors.

Two long-serving chapter officers, President Meredith Niles and Treasurer Jamie Abaied, have stepped down. Their replacements are Prof. Emily Coderre and Prof. Michael Tomas, respectively. Everyone has been working hard to make the transitions a success.

Finally, UVM has made changes to its commencement activities, which prompted a wave of questions as to where the chapter would hold its spring ceremony. Thanks to all who contributed to this process, but especially to Rob Shimko and his colleagues at Royall Tyler Theatre!

In May 2025, the Alpha of Vermont welcomed 57 new members in our 177th year at the University of Vermont. Congratulations to:

Marielle Ackermann, Ellen Adams, Savannah Arciaga, Arthur Beliveau, Sophia Bright, Mariposa Davis, Kate Den Herder, Jamie Dixon, Kaitlyn Eckhert, Keely Ehnstrom, Grace Elston, Sophia Essick, Kelsey Flanagan, Fiona Foley, Auden Gall, Eliza Gebb, Bailey Getlik, Malia Glassman, Rebecca Graham, Jake Hart, Ben Hershey, Ashna Hille, Emily Hopper, Kebe Jacobs, Amenya Jean, Nikola Kasarskis, Henry Kraessig, Jacqueline Kruse, Leilani Krusoe, Lily Kutcher, Emma Lamson, Ollie Leibovich, Elsa Lilly, Linda Mahler, Devon McKinlay, Kate Monacella, Olivia Morton, Zoe Napier, Lex Pedersen, Kari Pelletiere, Clemma Prince, Luke Pulaski, Shelby Raymond, Juliana Rhee, Spencer Robb, Zoe Rosenfelt, Frankie Rutherford, Paloma Salmeron-O’Brien, Charlie Simmons, Lauren Stalls, Cate Szpila, Lolita Thompson, Rae Tiffen, Molly Toner, Reuben Trachtenberg, Anna Trowbridge, Isabel Wolhandler

We are grateful for the continued support of the UVM President’s Office, which covers the cost of students’ registration with the national Phi Beta Kappa Society, and the various deans’ offices, who provide keys and honor cords for the students.

Tonight we welcomed 16 new members of the Alpha of Vermont:

Larsen Aassar, Maegan Beckage, Henry Bijur, Kaylyn Bills, John Blochberger, Quinn Cohen, Miles Daley, Owen Daley, Ella Dearden, Caroline Forrester, Veronica Iredale, Ethan Mello, Sophie Miller-Grande, Ali Palmer, Maddie Reece, and Carter Wallace.

Two additional students, Ava Devost and Sidney Le, are set to sign the chapter book in the next few days.

We think this group of students includes the first induction of twins into our chapter! And amidst an impressive array of technical difficulties, we did manage to have enough chairs for all of the marvelous friends and family members who turned out to cheer on the students.

The ceremony also included the presentation of the Bogorad Award, which went to Erin Long, a Philosophy major with minors in German and Linguistics. And a lot of experience with ASL! Congratulations, Erin!

Congratulations to all our fabulous students!

On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, in the 176th year of the Alpha of Vermont, twenty new Phi Beta Kappa members were inducted:

Kelsey Brown, Jade Cleary, Kendal Coldren, Celia Cook, Ryan Davin, Kathleen Delaney, Max Gerlach, Justine Goldblatt, Hallie Kai Hinchman, Sara Rose Hoffman, Jack Kassin, Sarah Kim, Adina Kraus, Ella Paulson, Adelaina Salaway, Addison Schwarz, Serena Veilleux, Grace Visco, Simon Walter, and Sydney White

We also look forward to Emmet Kordell, Avi Levy, and Emilia Winquist signing the chapter book in the coming days.

Many thanks to President Garimella, Provost Prelock, and the deans of UVM’s colleges for providing the membership fees, keys, and honor cords for our students.

This year’s Bogorad Award winner is Henry Bijur, a Neuroscience B.S. major with minors in Chemistry and French from Charlotte, Vermont.

Congratulations to all of these outstanding students!

The Alpha of Vermont was delighted to welcome 65 new students to membership in May 2023.

Students elected and inducted in Spring 2023 include: Emma Allen, Zoe Barton, Fosca Bechthold, Max Behrens, Adam Blair, Alice Blake, Brian Boyle, Madison Brown, Olivia Budington, Jasper Burak, Aliyah Burr, Evan Choquette, Zoe Colgan-Sellers, Dina Cordes, Emma Cripps, Emily Dean, Grace DiGiacoma, Russell Dougherty, Olenka Duncan, Rachel Elliott, Kaitlin Emerson, Jessica Fine, Noah Fritzhand, Ellie Furr, Nicolette Gardner, Ryan Goodale, Hannah Gottschalk, Andrew Hanus, Natalie Haskell, Fiona Haverland, Eamonn Heney, Lauren Hilgert, Alexa Hulse, Brady Jalili, Quinn Johnson, Jonathan Kaplan, Sam Koskinen, Alexa Lewis, Eleanor Lowen, Amber Lynch, Sean Magnifico, Harry Massing, Heshi Muntiu, Isabella Nick, Tiffany Phuong, Cate Phypers, Jonathan Rhudy, Kelly Robinett, Ben Roth, Eric Scharf, Anna Sellon, Lila Singer, Noah Smith, Nancy Snow, Ivy Stanton, Mikayla Stolar, Kelsey Treat, Grace Tuohy, Libby Tuttle, Julia Williamson, Yujing Wu, Lina Yudin, Rachel Zieff

Students elected in Fall 2022 and inducted in Spring 2023 include: Grace Curtis, Vera Escaja-Heiss, Briana Heller, Isabelle Petrucci, Sarah Plaut, Milena Stier

Our heartiest congratulations to our new members! Many thanks to the members of the faculty and staff who helped make this year’s ceremonies run smoothly. And many thanks to President Garimella, Provost Prelock, and the deans of UVM’s colleges for providing the membership fees, keys, and honor cords for our students.

A copy of the ceremony program is available here.

Tonight the Alpha of Vermont welcomed 11 new members-in-course and presented the Bogorad Award. We are delighted to recognize these outstanding students and to have them with us as we celebrate 175 years of the Alpha of Vermont Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Our new members are:
Elizabeth Chadwick
Eleanor Churchill
Finley Clark
Samantha Garbus
Anne Laurie Gilland
Kaitlin Kiley
Lauren Leroux
Jackie McGrath
Hayley Rosen
Nina Spencer
Genevieve Wakeman

The Bogorad Award, which recognizes the junior with the most outstanding academic record in the liberal arts through the sophomore year, was awarded to Justine Goldblatt and Emilia Winquist.

The Alpha of Vermont is pleased to have inducted several members of the Class of 2022:

Ethan Abell, Lydia Ambaye, Hunter Amory, Sean Anderson, Paige Bissaillon, Sara Bostock, Grace Bugler, Hannah Buscher, Lindsey Colwell, Katie Corkum, Maddy Degelsmith, Billy Dixon III, Emily Duggan, Eleanor Duva, Lauren Eisel, Diana Fennimore, Bailey Gengel, Tessa Georgeson, Emma Hoechner, Maddie Hutchinson, Mary Kennedy, Olivia Kern, Stephanie Kramer, Jane Krohn, Sam Leahy, Sara Leonard, Mary Lynch, Ellery Mahlum, Maddie Mathew, Eva Mazura, Sierra Miller, Raven Murray, Christopher Nagorniak, Riona O’Donnell, Emily Pallas, Megan Petrine, Mia Pienkowski,Celeste Piette, Lauren Polk, Daisy Powers, Emily Press, Megan Richardson, Paige Roussell, Meilena Sanchez, Catie Scaduto, Izzy Schmitt, Anna Sherman, Stella Shiffman, Isa Siewert, Samantha Smoger, Michael Tomas III, Jon Tremblay, Cassady Turnbach, and Bella Weston.

Congratulations to these fabulous, accomplished students!

The officers and members of the Alpha of Vermont were delighted to hold an in-person ceremony on December 9, 2021 to induct new students to our chapter. Our new members include:

Maddie Burke, Anitra Conover, Hannah Demane, Rachel Fickes, Gretchen Gilbert, Isaac Goetzke, Reese Green, Holly Kuhn, Moira Mahoney, Beth McCormick, Veronika Potter, Zoe Schemm, and Katherine Wynn.

The Bogorad Award was presented to Ellie Churchill and Emma Cripps.

Congratulations to all our new members! It was such a pleasure to see the chapter book back in use!

For students in the Class of 2020 or the Class of 2021 who have not yet been able to sign the chapter book, you may do so on Saturday, August 14 between 10 am to 2 pm on the back porch of Wheeler House, located 133 S. Prospect Street; it’s the History Department. The stairs to the porch are on the Main Street side of the building. Short-term parking while you sign is available in the Wheeler House parking lot.

In the event of rain or extreme heat, the signing will be in the basement of Wheeler House, which is accessible via a door on the back side of the building and accessed from the College Street side.

Please bring an ID with you.

You are welcome to just drop by in that window without RSVP’ing, but it would be nice if you could send me an email in advance to let me know if you’re planning to come. Or if you change your mind about coming—I would prefer not to be waiting for you if your plans have changed.

I can be reached at nphelps@uvm.edu. If you can’t come on August 14 but would like to arrange an alternative time to sign, please email me. Options exist for on- and off-campus appointments.

All the best,
Prof. Phelps
Register, Alpha of Vermont Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa

Our virtual ceremony for the 2020-21 academic year is now available for viewing on UVM Streaming here. Many thanks to all who participated in organizing and producing the ceremony, and congratulations again to all of our outstanding students!