The Phi Beta Kappa Society
DELAWARE VALLEY ASSOCIATION
PHI BETA KAPPA DELAWARE VALLEY ASSOCIATION
Upcoming Events
Book Club - "Brotherless Night" - Thu. Oct. 16, 7:00 pm; virtual; no charge.
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary - Raptor Education & Hike to View Migrating Raptors, Kempton, PA. Sat. Oct. 18, 9:45 am; in-person; fee. Rain date: 10/25/25
Annual Membership Meeting (Virtual) - Tue. Oct. 21, 7:00 pm; PBK Delaware Valley members in good standing; no charge.
"Key Connections" for recent PBK Inductees - Meet & Greet Happy Hour followed by Team Trivia, Victory Brewing Company, Philadelphia, PA. Thu. Oct 23, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, in-person; PBK member's registration deposit refundable upon participation in the event. Last date to register: Wed. 10/15/25.
National Marian Anderson Museum - Home: Guided tour with special exhibit, "Marian: the Philadelphia Story", Philadelphia, PA. Sat. Nov. 15, 10:00 am; in-person; fee.
Movie Club - "A Real Pain" - Thu. Dec. 11, 7:00 pm; virtual; no charge.
News Briefs
Joseph Bonaparte Estate - French Picnic and Tour, Bordentown, NJ
On September 20, 2025, PBK's and guests enjoyed a traditional French picnic on the lawn of the former Joseph Bonaparte estate, preceded by a 1-hr. tour of the on-site Discovery Center with a description of the site’s history, beginning 13,000 years ago with the Lenape. Also detailed was the 1816 purchase by Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and former King of Spain, of the Point Breeze property, where he built a grand estate which became a cultural and political center of the young nation. Though the mansion is gone, the grounds include a grotto, fields, woods, and the former Gardener’s House which is now the Discovery Center.
Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar at Ursinus College
On October 20-21, 2025, the Tau of Pennsylvania Chapter at Ursinus College will host Catherine S. Ramírez, PhD, Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she is a scholar of Latinx literature, history, visual culture, and performance. Professor Ramírez' expertise includes immigration and assimilation, historical memory and erasure, Mexican American women's history, style politics, and Latinxfuturism. Author of several books in these areas and co-editor of Precarity and Belonging: Labor, Migration, and Noncitizenship, she has also written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. Her current book project, Bioprecarity: Rethinking Migrant Life and Death, studies the figure of the child migrant and the value of time, youth, and vitality in racial capitalism and the postmigrant twenty-first century. A first-generation college graduate, Professor Ramírez holds a PhD in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.
Board Game Lunch at "The Board & Brew"
On Saturday, August 9, 2025, PBK's & guests gathered for a fine lunch & a drink, craft beer, or special coffee over board games from the large game library at The Board & Brew in University City, Philadelphia. Good conversation flowed and a great time was had by all!
PBK's Went Out to the Ball Game in Trenton
On July 19, 2025, PBK's and guests had a great evening at Thunder Stadium for the Trenton Thunder game vs. the State College Spikes of the MLB Draft League, to have a look at the stars of the future with all the fun of the over-the-top fan engagement and delicious local-flavor concessions of a minor league ball park. The gates opened at 4:30 p.m. for a pre-game Happy Hour, and the group had great seats almost right behind home plate. Everyone enjoyed dinner at the ball park and got to know each other better with great conversation, going down onto the field after the game to enjoy the post-game fireworks.
PBK's Have Great Walking Tour of Outdoor Sculptures Surrounding the Philadelphia Museum of Art
On June 28, 2025, PBK's and guests enjoyed a 2-hr. guided walking tour of 16 notable sculptures surrounding the Philadelphia Museum of Art, based on the Association for Public Art narratives, following an introduction at the Rocky statue adjacent to the base of the art museum steps. After the tour, many enjoyed an optional group lunch fat the nearby Bishop's Collar restaurant for more good conversation.
4th Annual PBK Dinner with Friends
On June 17, 2025, PBK's and guests met at the White Dog Cafe in Haverford, PA for a leisurely meal, fellowship, and great conversation with old and new friends who all share a variety of wide-ranging interests. The group looks forward to the next dinner together, and welcomes even more participants. The accompanying photo shows a few of the participants in this year's dinner.
Outstanding Tour at the Hagley Museum
On May 31, 2025, PBK's and friends had a 2-hour private guided tour of the Hagley Museum outside of Wilmington, DE. The large, indoor-outdoor museum with hundreds of years of history includes the buildings and grounds of the sprawling 19th-century gunpowder factory powered by the Brandywine River where the du Pont chemical empire began, early industry demonstrations, buildings from the workers' village, the first du Pont family home and gardens in America, the new "Nation of Inventors" exhibit celebrating diverse stories of American innovation, as well as the natural beauty throughout the museum grounds. After the tour many of the group enjoyed lively conversation over lunch at nearby Buckley's Tavern.
Bird Walk & Lunch Enjoyed by PBK's and Friends
On May 3, 2025, PBK's and friends enjoyed a 2 hr. bird walk at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, Philadelphia, organized by Catherine Anderson and led by expert birders, Chuck Root and Emily Dodge. The group saw and/or heard close to 40 distinct bird species, training their binoculars on all levels of the leafy canopy, across the muddy wetlands, and into the sky. After the walk, the group enjoyed lunch at Stinger's Waterfront restaurant, with a wide-ranging conversation to cap a wonderful morning.
PBK's Meet for Dinner and a Chamber Music Concert
On March 14, 2025, Steve Tillery led a group to hear a concert by the Elias String Quartet from Great Britain, who performed the final string quartets of three masters of the genre. Haydn’s unfinished D Minor Quartet, Op. 103, Britten’s distinctive Quartet No. 3, Op. 94, and Mendelssohn’s F Minor Quartet, Op. 80, at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Center. Many of the group had earlier enjoyed dinner together for good conversation before the concert at nearby Jasmine Rice Rittenhouse Thai restaurant.
PBK's Tour Permanent Collection at the Woodmere Art Museum
On February 22, 2025, President Bill Howard led a group of PBK's and guests for a very informative 90 minute private guided tour of the permanent collection of the Woodmere Museum in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. Woodmere is regional "treasure", dedicated to "telling the story of Philadelphia's art and artists", including regional artists, and is housed in a National Register of Historic Places 19th century estate mansion, with a sculpture garden as well. Many participants then additionally enjoyed an optional post-tour group lunch for more good conversation at historic (1743) Brittingham's restaurant in nearby Lafayette Hills.
