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.

  1. It is easier to predict the near future than the distant future. 
  2. It is important to use data.
  3. Because the future is, to a substantial degree, an extension of the past, it is important to use historical data. 
  4. Whenever possible, use longer term historical data, rather than just a few decades. 
  5. Avoid simple extrapolation of trends in historical data; it is critical to understand factors that have an impact upon these trends.
  6. It is easier to predict demographic and technological trends than it is to predict ideological and political trends. 
  7. When making predictions about the future, it is critical to examine interrelationships between different variables. 
  8. It is often easier to predict problems or issues that will emerge in the future than it is to outline solutions for these problems. 
  9. 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.
  10. Predictions and projections that we make about the future are probabilistic rather than deterministic.