The Phi Beta Kappa Selection Committee elected 77 new members from the Class of 2012 and seven new members from the Class of 2013 to Phi Beta Kappa.

The Brandeis Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elects about 10 percent of the senior class and about 1 percent of the junior class each year.

Selection is based on three criteria. One is the quality of academic record, of which the GPA is an important consideration. Another is the breadth of interest, indicated by courses taken beyond a student's concentration.

The third is the opinions of faculty and senior administrators concerning the scholarly achievements and character of the candidate in the form of letters of recommendation.

The Phi Beta Kappa Selection Committee met recently and elected Alana C. Abramson, Serafina-Natali V. Amarilio, Jesse A. Appell, Raechel L. Banks, Michael A. Baum, Chet M. Berman, Daniel E. Bernazzani, Tarun R. Bhatia, Hannah L. Blumberg, Brian N. Blumenthal, Joshua K. Bookman, Philip Braunstein, Hillel Y. Buechler, Adam B. Cohen, Hamilton F. Cook, Samuel H. Datlof, Talya Davidoff, Calliope Desenberg, Kayla H. Dinces, Abigail S. Drapkin, Amy R. Eisenberg, Emily R. Farver, Meryl J. Feinstein, Juliette O. Flam, Russell P. Foxworthy, Kassandra J. Gibbs, Ethan C. Goldberg, Daniel S. Graulich, Samantha L. Grosser, Leah W. Hartman, Elizabeth C. Hinchey, Ariel L. Hirsch, Dane P. Isenberg, Allison R. Joseph, Rebecca C. Joy, Michelle S. Kaplow, Austen D. Katz, Sabrina R. Katz, Yeon Soo Kim, Katherine L. Kolios, Emily G. Krainer, Emily E. Kraus, Abby L. Kulawitz, Jacob A. Laband, Christopher Lau, Daniel L. Liebman, Nicole Z. Litvak, Joshua M. McGrath, Sarah J. McWhirter, Shayna A. Medley, Jonathan R. Megerian, Shane B. Morris, Aaron J. Mowitz, Jessica L. Nusbaum, Leanne R. Ortbals, Alexander R. Pagan, Sidak S. Pannu, Michael K. Perloff, Mara W. Rosenberg, Dara S. Rosenkrantz, Geraldine O. Rothschild, Frank A. Scangarello, Alexander I. Schneider, Carolyn M. Schweitzer, Andres Vahid Shahidinejad, Daniel A. Shimansky, Cassandra M. Shull, Ilana S. Sidorsky, Meital Singer, Rachel A. Soule, Marianne F. Specker, Maxim I. Starobinets, Jeremy W. Weinberg, Johanna L. Wickemeyer, Florence H. Yellin, Xi Zhang and Danielle L. Zionts.

Starobinets was also elected to the society as a junior in 2011.

Students elected from the Class of 2013 are: Alex Bargar, Sonya Entova, Keith W. Frankston, Lev Gorfinkel, Daniel R. Noar, Asher R. Preska Steinberg and Maya Tydykov.

Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors organization in the United States.

Founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, its high and rigorous standards of excellence have made election to it one of the greatest academic honors an undergraduate attending a college in the United States can receive.

Brandeis founded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in 1962, putting it ahead of every other university in America in terms of the time it took the university from the time of its founding to the time it became eligible to establish a chapter.

No other university in the United States has been granted the privilege to form a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa more quickly than Brandeis.

The initiation ceremony will be held on May 19 during Commencement weekend on the main stage of the Spingold Theater Center at 1:30 p.m.