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Phi Beta Kappa Chapter Inducts Twenty One New Members
May 11, 2015
May 11, 2015
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Twenty one members of the Class of 2015 were inducted into Southwestern’s chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society on Friday May 8, 2015.
Founded at the College of William and Mary on Dec. 5, 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest academic honor society. Southwestern is one of only 11 colleges and universities in Texas that have been granted a chapter of Phi Bata Kappa.
Southwestern’s 2015 initiates were:
Audrey Claire Barrett Shelby Anastasia Beem Anne Elaine Bransford Jeannette Lenore Brown Annelise Marie Carlin Sadie Winter Clarenden Alexandra Kate McKenna Daniels Adrienne Elizabeth Dodd Lauren Elizabeth Fellers Nicol Alexandria Hurst Allison Lee Lingren |
Katherine Raenah McCance Rebecca Corine Norcini Joshua Burke Page Sadie Tyler Pass Kelsey Anne Rice Elizabeth Christine Spieckerman Kristin Krueger Stuckey Hannah Helene Thompson Ross James Warkentin Jeanne Marie Wehde |
The speaker for the induction ceremony was Professor of Sociology and University Scholar Ed Kain. In his remarks, he shared 10 guidelines for predicting the future with the goal of stimulating reflection among audience members.
- It is easier to predict the near future than the distant future.
- It is important to use data.
- Because the future is, to a substantial degree, an extension of the past, it is important to use historical data.
- Whenever possible, use longer term historical data, rather than just a few decades.
- Avoid simple extrapolation of trends in historical data; it is critical to understand factors that have an impact upon these trends.
- It is easier to predict demographic and technological trends than it is to predict ideological and political trends.
- When making predictions about the future, it is critical to examine interrelationships between different variables.
- It is often easier to predict problems or issues that will emerge in the future than it is to outline solutions for these problems.
- It is more important to carefully check on the assumptions of any predictions that are made, including the definitions that are used by the person(s) making the predictions.
- Predictions and projections that we make about the future are probabilistic rather than deterministic.