Matthew Michael Howell inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at Wofford College

2016 May 12

Matthew Michael Howell, a member of the class of 2016, was accorded Wofford College's highest academic honor Tuesday, May 3, when he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Howell is majoring in biology, chemistry and mathematics with a concentration in applied mathematics and emphasis in computational science. He has conducted research with the faculty in the biology department and on a joint project in chemistry and mathematics. He also did summer research at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, England, and will conduct microbiology research this summer at the Virginia Institute of Technology in Blacksburg, Va. Howell has been a tutor in biology, a teaching assistant in biology and chemistry, and is a member of the biology honor society Beta Beta Beta. A recipient of the Papadopoulos Scholarship and the Watson Brown Scholarship, Howell will graduate in May 2016. He then plans to attend graduate school with a long-term goal of conducting biomedical research on treating human cancers as a university professor..

Thirty-six Wofford College students and recent graduates were initiated as members-in-course during the ceremony that marked the 75th anniversary of Phi Beta Kappa at Wofford.

Students are normally considered for election to Phi Beta Kappa at Wofford after they have earned 100 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.600. Election is not automatic. Resident members of the chapter consider scholarship, character, intellectual curiosity, creative thinking, diversity of academic interests and pursuits, and other factors in the election process The chapter may elect only 10 percent of a graduating class in any year.