Phi Beta Kappa records

The Indiana Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was granted a charter in 1889, largely through the efforts of the Dean of the School of Theology, Shadrach Bowman. Previous to that time, Frank Lodge, acting as a leader for a group of juniors and seniors, petitioned the national honor society as early as 1884. This was denied by the national governing body of Phi Beta Kappa due to the lack of sponsorship of the petition by a Phi Beta Kappa member.

Bowman, however, was a Phi Beta Kappa member from Dickinson College. With the help of two other initiates from Terre Haute, he formally established the Indiana Alpha chapter in his classroom in Middle College. Prominent members of the faculty and administration were at first elected to membership. Eventually a policy of electing men in the upper forth of the graduating class became standard. It was not until 1898 when women were elected members. However, at the chapter's Golden Anniversary in 1939, surviving women who had been eligible for membership between 1889 and 1897 were belatedly added to the membership rolls and presented with their keys.