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CSE Students Alexander Palasek and Jody Rutter Inducted Into Phi Beta Kappa

May 1, 2020

CSE undergraduate students Alexander Palasek and Jody Rutter were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most respected undergraduate honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States, during the Spring 2020 induction ceremony.

Palasek is a senior, earning his BS in Information Technology and Rutter is also a senior, earning his BS in Computer Science. Students are selected based on scholastic achievement and broad cultural interests as well as being a person of good moral character.

Membership in Phi Beta Kappa is highly selective and prestigious. Its alumni include 17 U.S. Presidents, 41 Supreme Court Justices, and more than 140 Nobel Laureates. Only 10% of U.S. colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters and these chapters only select 10% of their arts and sciences graduates to join.

The University of South Florida Eta of Florida chapter is one of the newest additions to the Phi Beta Kappa society. The USF inaugural class was inducted in April 2019. The society was founded in 1776 at The College of William and Mary and now includes 290 chapters.

Membership is represented by a signature gold key and the three Greek letters, Phi Beta Kappa, which stands for the motto “Love of learning is the guide of life.”