UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

Phi Beta Kappa

History

Photo of Center Stevens Hall coppola at night Phi Beta Kappa is America’s oldest Greek-letter organization and national academic honor society. Phi Beta Kappa first took shape in the wake of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the onset of the American Revolutionary War. PBK chapters were established at Yale in 1780 and at Harvard in 1781. By 1883 there were 25 chapters who created the National Council of the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa (and today is known as the Phi Beta Kappa Society). By that time member organizations had been admitting women (first at Vermont in 1875) and African Americans (first at Yale in 1874). For its more than 200 years this honor society has recognized and promoted intellectual scholarship and the importance of a liberal arts education.

Membership in Phi Beta Kappa is a special thing and a great honor. It represents superior academic accomplishment. PBK since its founding in 1776 has been the champion of education in the liberal arts and sciences, the core of higher education to this day.

Members of Phi Beta Kappa include 17 Presidents of the United States, 41 Supreme Court Justices, and more than 140 Nobel Laureates have been initiated into Phi Beta Kappa.

Only 10% of the colleges and universities in the United States have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, and only the top 10% (or less) of the students at those colleges and universities are invited to membership.

Membership in Delta Chapter is particularly compelling: of the four Phi Beta Kappa chapters in the state of Maine, the University of Maine is the only public institution to have a chapter, its charter granted in 1922.

PBK is simply America’s most prestigious academic honor society. Induction of students, though, is more than just an honor—it’s the beginning of a lifelong connection to accomplished members in all walks of life. Members are part of a unique community whose national membership is over 500,000 successful individuals in nearly every career field.

You can learn more about PBK at the website of its national headquarters.