Twenty-four juniors at Harvard College received notice of their induction into the Alpha Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the countryâs oldest honor society, in a Monday afternoon email.
The Harvard College chapter of the society, currently headed by History professor Maya R. Jasanoff â96, selects new members three times each academic year â 24 juniors in the spring, 48 seniors in the fall, and roughly 96 seniors before graduation.
Elected students âmust possess a record [of] outstanding scholarly achievement, showing both depth of study and breadth of intellectual interest,â according to the chapter website.
Seventy-nine juniors received notice of their nomination on April 9 and had two weeks to apply, after which committees considered studentsâ transcripts and letters of recommendation before making their final decision. Candidates also submitted two short essays â one on influential classes they have taken at Harvard, and one on an academic exp
After the coronavirus crisis delayed the opening of Harvardâs new Science and Engineering Complex in Allston, faculty and staff at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have begun transitioning their offices to the new building.
Harvard had intended to open the complex, which has been under construction for roughly five years, this past summer. The coronavirus pandemic, which caused the City of Boston to impose a moratorium on construction projects in the spring of 2020 and has disrupted the Universityâs operations more broadly, forced Harvard to delay the opening of its new campus, into which Harvard poured roughly $1 billion.