Phi Beta Kappa Liberal Arts Fellows Program, 2013 – 2014
You are invited to apply to a fellowship program established to foster Phi Beta Kappa student
leadership. This initiative will foster the development of 4 seniors, who as Phi Beta Kappa
Fellows will collaborate with IWU faculty and students in the implementation of campus
programs aimed to promote the liberal arts, develop student leadership skills, and enhance
intellectual and civic engagement.
One of the primary goals of the PBK Fellows program is to promote student-faculty
collaboration in liberal arts course clustering at IWU. As a relatively new initiative, course
clustering has proven beneficial to the students and faculty who have participated in the two
recent clusters: What We Eat: Why it Matters (2011-12) and Making Human Rights Real (201213), in terms of enhancing faculty collaboration, and deepening connections between student
course work and co-curricular programs. The PBK Fellows program will further develop course
clustering by creating a framework within which PBK Fellows can take ownership over cluster
programming and PBK-sponsored campus events.
Being elected to PBK during your junior year makes you among the best and brightest of our
students, though many of you have not had any formal leadership training. Thus, a fall leadership
workshop (which will be open to RSO leaders as well) will provide training for PBK Fellows to
carry out these endeavors.
Through an application process (see below), 4 Phi Beta Kappa Liberal Arts Fellows will be
selected to serve in this capacity next year, as seniors, and will be engaged in the following: fall
semester: attend course cluster activities, participate in an on-campus student leadership
workshop, help cluster faculty implement cluster programming, plan spring cluster
programming; spring semester: implement and assess cluster programming. In order to remain
actively engaged in these activities, PBK fellows will enroll in an independent study and receive
academic credit for their work for one semester (either fall or spring) of the senior year.
Selection process:





PBK members elected as juniors (9 – 12 each year) are eligible.
Fellows receive academic credit (400-level independent study) for the fall or spring
semester (preferably 2 Fellows in the fall; 2 in the spring).
May 15 - Application due date.
Selected students can register for an independent study with the PBK Fellows program
supervisor (Rebecca Gearhart) for the fall or spring semester of their senior year, but are
not obligated to do so.
Applicants must commit to working 8-10 hours per week on projects throughout the
semester.
Fellow projects:

attend a fall leadership workshop focused on developing skills necessary for planning and
implementing multifaceted co-curricular events (e.g., cluster workshops).







attend and actively participate in fall cluster workshops organized by cluster faculty.
plan a symposium, workshop, conference or other cluster events for the spring.
help the PBK Fellows program supervisor design and implement an assessment plan that
defines Fellow learning goals and assesses outcomes of the PBK Fellows program.
help the PBK Fellows program supervisor design and implement an assessment plan that
defines cluster learning goals and assesses outcomes of course cluster programs,
including the fall student leadership workshop.
plan an annual lecture series (1 lecture per semester)
o invite regional scholars engaged in interdisciplinary research
o organize readings around the scholars’ campus visits, host meetings with the
scholars, and facilitate discussion sessions
oversee the administration of the Phi Beta Kappa Liberal Arts Scholar Award
o actively encourage student submission for the Phi Beta Kappa Liberal Arts
Scholar Award campus wide
o facilitate the JWP interdisciplinary panel sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa

session sponsored by PBK that endorses interdisciplinary research (a panel
that crosses boundaries)

papers must demonstrates an interdisciplinary approach to the topic and/or
an interdisciplinary solution to the problem under study

papers could also demonstrate an approach that crosses traditional
academic boundaries (e.g., provides scholarly analysis for an internship or
community-based project)

open to all seniors, not just PBK members or students conducting research
honors

acknowledges interdisciplinary work that students are already engaged in
move forward plans for a PBK sponsored interdisciplinary academic journal
o open-access through the Berkeley Electronic Press
o published annually in the fall
o considers submissions that exemplify interdisciplinary research
o
an outlet for ARC students, students who have conducted research abroad, and others