The Phi Beta Kappa Society is pleased to announce the election of Peter Quimby as president of the Society. Esther Jones was elected as vice president. Both positions are for a three-year term from 2021 to 2024. The election took place August 5 at the Society’s 46th Triennial Council.
Peter Quimby, head of school at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, earned his B.A. at Bowdoin College and received his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Since then, he has served in several ΦBK chapters, including as secretary of Alpha of Wisconsin at University of Wisconsin-Madison (1998-2000), an active member of Alpha of Connecticut at Yale University (2001-2005), and secretary of Beta of New Jersey at Princeton University (2006-2011). At the national level, he was on the Committee on Qualifications (2009-2012) and the Phi Beta Kappa Senate (2012-2018), where he also served as chair of the ΦBK Awards Committee (2012–2018) and on the Senate Executive Committee (2015-2018). Most recently, he served as vice president of the Society (2018-2021).
Quimby was previously assistant dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1998-2000), dean of Davenport College at Yale University (2001-2005), associate dean of the College at Princeton University (2005-2008) and then deputy dean (2008-2011). He has served as head of school at the Governor’s Academy since 2011.
“I have witnessed the transformative power of education in my own life, and in the lives of thousands of students at both the college and high school levels, and that education has been deeply rooted in the arts and sciences,” Quimby said. “Phi Beta Kappa has championed these values since the founding of our nation, and I am honored to be assuming new leadership responsibilities as president. The Society’s efforts to promote academic excellence and advocate for the liberal arts and sciences are vital to the future of our democracy, and I look forward to working with the Society’s staff and Senate to advance these efforts in the coming years.”
Esther Jones is the associate provost and dean of the faculty at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, which shelters the Lambda of Massachusetts chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. She has served as vice president for two years and president for seven years at the Lambda of Massachusets chapter. Concurrent with her service as president of Lambda of Massachusetts, Jones has served on the Phi Beta Kappa Senate as an at-large member for six years, serving on the Committee on Chapters for three years and currently serving on the Executive Committee. In these increasing levels of leadership within the Society, Jones has succeeded in heightening student awareness of Phi Beta Kappa and the value of a liberal arts and sciences education, strengthening alumni ties and connections with the university chapter, and increasing opportunities to serve as a convener of Society-related events that promote the love of learning as foundational to cultivating a meaningful life of consequence.
On her election Jones stated, “I am humbled and honored to have been elected vice president of the Phi Beta Kappa Society at the 2021 Triennial Council. I look forward to a higher level of service promoting and advocating for the enduring value of arts and sciences education on college campuses and in our society writ large.”