Since 1956, the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America's most distinguished scholars. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus by making possible an exchange of ideas between the Visiting Scholars and the resident faculty and students. History of the Visiting Scholar Program
The Visiting Scholars travel to more than 100 colleges and universities each year, spending two days on each campus and taking full part in the academic life of the institution. They meet informally with students and faculty members, participate in classroom discussions and seminars, and give a public lecture open to the academic community and the general public.
Over the last 60 years, 648 Visiting Scholars have made 5,288 visits to Phi Beta Kappa sheltering institutions.
Fall 2017 Visiting Scholar, Dr. Price V. Fishback, renowned UA Professor of Economics, dining at The Edison in Tallahassee with Dr. Shawn Kantor, Friend of Dr. Fishback and FSU Professor of Economics, Dr. Annelise Leysieffer, and Mr. Andrew Lindsay (PBK Chapter President and Student counter-part, respectively).
This dinner took place immediately following Dr. Fishback's public-lecture in the Great Hall of the Honor's, Scholar's and Fellow's House at 5:30 PM on Monday 10/23/2017.
Read testimonials from the Visiting Scholars and the chapters about their experiences with the program.
The Visiting Scholar panels for 2017-2018 and 2016-2017 are listed below.
Application Process
Participation is limited to the 286 campuses that shelter chapters of Phi Beta Kappa . Priority is given to those institutions not located in major metropolitan centers or that do not have extensive resources on which to draw for similar programs.
Please review the procedural information and best practices for campus scheduling before requesting a Visiting Scholar. If you are interested in bringing one of the scholars to your campus, you will need to get in touch with the secretary or president of the local Phi Beta Kappa chapter so that your preference can be considered by the chapter when applying for a visitor. Invitations should not be sent directly to the Visiting Scholars. Applications for the 2018-2019 program will open in March 2018.
Questions about the program and the application process should be addressed to the Director of the Visiting Scholar Program, or you may call (202) 745-3231.
To see videos of past Visiting Scholar lectures, please click here.
VISITING SCHOLARS 2017-2018
(Click on the Scholar's name for a biographical sketch and schedule of visits.)
Professor of Chemistry, Yale University
Professor of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles
Historian of Technology, Bellingham, Washington
Thomas R. Brown Professor of Economics, University of Arizona
Professor of Religious Studies, Indiana University
Nancy Duke Lewis Professor in Political Science and Modern Culture and Media, Brown University
Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley
Wun Tsun Tam Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University 2016-2017 ɸßК-Frank M. Updike Memorial Scholar
Sterling Professor of the History of Art, Yale University
Ruth N. Halls Distinguished Professor of Photography, Indiana University
Professor of English, George Washington University
Isaac H. Clothier, Jr. Professor of Biology, Swarthmore College
Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University
Claire Tow Professor of Anthropology, Barnard College/Columbia University
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
VISITING SCHOLARS 2016-2017
(Click on the Scholar's name for a biographical sketch, schedule of visits, and lecture titles.)
Sterling Professor of Spanish, Yale University 2016-2017 ɸßК-Frank M. Updike Memorial Scholar
John Archibald Wheeler/Battelle Professor in Physics, Princeton University
James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Higgins Professor of Natural Sciences, Harvard University
Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government and Professor of African and African American Studies, Harvard University
John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University
Edmund J. Kahn Distinguished Professor in Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania
Sculptor, Poet, Espanola, New Mexico
Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, Emeritus, Princeton University
Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
Alena Wels Hirschorn ’58 Professor of Economics, Barnard Collegey
Professor of American Studies and Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Yale University
Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law, Yale University
Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology, Stony Brook University
Professor of Geobiology, Virginia Tech
