On Saturday, Prof. Charles McClendon (FA) told the new inductees to Brandeis' chapter of Phi Beta Kappa to always "question and probe beyond what you are taught," and to continually benefit from the work of one's predecessors.

The Mu Chapter of Massachusetts Phi Beta Kappa inducted 77 new members from the Class of 2013 and seven from the Class of 2014, representing the top students of those classes by virtue of their academic standing, variety of courses taken and recommendations from faculty.

McClendon, the Sidney and Ellen Wien Professor in the History of Art, spoke about the discipline of art history and its relevance to today's undergraduates in his Phi Beta Kappa address.

McClendon wove together the narratives of Richard Krautheimer, an art historian who mentored McClendon, and Justice Louis Brandeis. According to McClendon, Krautheimer procured the funds for the first art history library at the University of Louisville, a feat Louis Brandeis had previously supported as vital to a liberal arts education.

"We are all part of the broader phenomenon, connected in a great intellectual, social and cultural endeavor," explained McClendon of academic interactions.

McClendon emphasized the importance of the past and the role it can play in influencing the future.

"We should all relate to this notion of building on the achievements of the past to provide direction for the future," he said, referring to the history of the stained glass windows in the Cathedral of Chartres in Central France. He also used works of medieval art like the Alfred Jewel and Fuller Brooch to encourage students to "remember you are part of a long tradition and process of inquiry."

He further advised students to engage with the world using all their senses. "Look closely and carefully. Ask questions of yourself and others. Learn from the past. Both distant and more recent; and build on it and with it," he said. "Only by being fully engaged both visually and mentally can we strive for an understanding of where we have been and where we are going and only then can we hope for a better world."

University President Frederick Lawrence welcomed and congratulated the new inductees in his opening remarks. "To have come to Brandeis itself is an accomplishment, to be graduating itself is an accomplishment, but to be graduating Phi Beta Kappa is an extraordinary accomplishment."