Founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest honorary society, with chapters at 248 of the foremost institutions of higher education across the country.  Almost all members are elected by the chapters from candidates for degrees in the liberal arts and sciences, usually from the top 5-10 percent of the graduating class.

Phi Beta Kappa was the first society to adopt Greek letters for a name and to introduce the features that have characterized such organizations ever since, including mottoes in both Latin and Greek, a code of laws, and an elaborate form of initiation.  The Society's name is formed by the first letter of the phrase Philosophia Biou Kybernetes, translated as  "love of wisdom, the helmsman of life."

Based on the tenet that the test of education lies not in what people know but in what they are, the objectives of Phi Beta Kappa include not the mere acquisition of knowledge, but also the development of intellectual honesty and tolerance, a broad range of intellectual interests, and understanding. To this end, the Society continues to sponsor a number of programs and awards, including the Visiting Scholar Program, several scholarships and professorships, and three book awards for contributions in the sciences, literature, history, and philosophy.

Southwestern University, Theta of Texas, was installed on March 25, 1995. The chapter had 20 charter members and 30 student initiates. Currently, Southwestern has one of only eight chapters in the state of Texas, joining the University of Texas-Austin, Rice University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Trinity University, University of Dallas, and Baylor University.

For more information about the Phi Beta Kappa's Theta Chapter, contact president , vice president or secretary/treasurer

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