UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL — Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest college honorary society, has inducted 146 UNC Chapel Hill students as new members.

New members received certificates and Phi Beta Kappa keys, the organization’s symbol.

This fall’s ceremony (Nov. 23) featured remarks by Oliver Smithies, Weatherspoon Eminent Distinguished Professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at UNC and co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.

Phi Beta Kappa membership is open to undergraduates in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences and professional degree programs who meet stringent eligibility requirements.

A student who has completed 75 hours of course work and has a grade-point average of 3.85 (on a 4.0-point scale) or better is eligible for membership. Also eligible is any student who has competed 105 hours of course work and has a 3.75 grade-point average. Grades earned at other universities are not considered. Less than 1 percent of all college students qualify to be members.

Past and present Phi Beta Kappa members from across the country have included 17 American presidents and numerous artistic, intellectual and political leaders.

Each year, Phi Beta Kappa chapters and alumni associations across the country raise and distribute more than $1 million in awards, scholarships and prizes benefiting high school and college students.

Phi Beta Kappa officers at Carolina for 2009-2010 are students Michael Williford, president; Analise Jenkins, vice president; and Rebecca Merrick, recording secretary. Robert Lowman, associate vice chancellor for research, is chapter executive secretary and faculty adviser.

Local students who were inducted were:

n Chatham County

Emily Kristine Serkedakis, a senior English and linguistics major, daughter of Patrick and Jane Serkedakis of Pittsboro.

n Orange County

Maria Dimitra Callimanis, a senior management and society and communication studies major, daughter of Denis and Alena Callimanis of Chapel Hill.

Adam Anthony Holmes, a junior physics and mathematics major, son of David and Carol Holmes of Chapel Hill.

Jonah Woodsong Leslie, a senior anthropology major, son of Paul Leslie of Carrboro and Cynthia Woodsong of Paarl, South Africa.

Meredith Leigh McCoy, a senior music and anthropology major, daughter of David Timothy McCoy and Robin Bruce McCoy of Chapel Hill.

Heather Marie Minchew, a senior Spanish and linguistics major, daughter of Joe and Janet Minchew of Chapel Hill.

Anne Elizabeth Morrison, a senior sociology and public policy major, daughter of John Morrison and Mary Anne Dooley of Chapel Hill.

Pranay Prabhakar, a senior health policy and management major in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, son of Subhash Prabhakar and Ranjana Subhash of Chapel Hill.

Jordan Michael Wingate, a senior English major, son of Vincent and Ivy Wingate of Chapel Hill.

Sophia D. Woo, a senior business administration major in Kenan-Flagler Business School, daughter of Tseng Yuan Woo and Shou Chung Chu Woo of Chapel Hill.