Phi Beta Kappa, America's premier honor society, originated as a secret literary society at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1776. The founders named their society after the initials of the words in its Greek motto: Philosophia Biou Kubernetes, or "Love of Wisdom, the Helmsman of Life." Meetings featured formal and often heated debates over various political and philosophical questions then rendered vitally significant by the American Revolutionary War. The war finally forced the suspension of the Virginia chapter, which remained inactive for the next sixty-eight years. In 1780, the Alpha chapter of Connecticut at Yale College was founded, followed in 1781 by the Alpha of Massachusetts Bay at Harvard. In 1787, the two Alphas united to establish the Alpha of New Hampshire at Dartmouth. Until 1817, these three chapters constituted the only members of the society.

At the 1881 celebration of the centennial of the Harvard University chapter, delegates put forward a plan for closer ties between chapters. A constitution was adopted in the following year which established the National Council, a representative governing body, and the Senate, an executive committee. Local chapters were to elect delegates to attend the triennial meetings of the National Council. It was left to the Senate, which wielded full authority between meetings of the Council, to approve applications for new chapters.

The campaign for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Oberlin got underway in 1904. Led by Associate Professor of French, Kirk L. Cowdery (1866-1946), the General Faculty sought some form of recognition for their students' academic excellence. At the time, there were already five chapters of Phi Beta Kappa in Ohio: Western Reserve (1847), Kenyon (1858), Marietta (1860), Cincinnati (1899), and Ohio State (1904). According to trustee William Cox Cochran (1848-1906; B.A. Oberlin 1869), one of the reasons for the lateness of an Oberlin chapter was Oberlin's austere theological position, which held that "while all men were justly entitled to punishment...no man was entitled to a reward." Oberlin's antipathy for acknowledging scholarly achievement began during the presidency of Henry Churchill King (1858-1934). Institutional opposition to secret societies was overcome by the recognition that Phi Beta Kappa had long ceased to be a such a fraternity, and that its sole purpose was the promotion of scholarship.

In April, 1905, the general faculty voted to establish a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Oberlin. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Charles Nelson Cole (1871-1945), took charge of securing the necessary institutional support for Oberlin's application to the United Chapters. Endorsement was received from seven Phi Beta Kappa chapters, two more than were necessary, and the Senate's vote in favor of Oberlin's petition was unanimous.

The Zeta Chapter of Oberlin College held its first organizational meeting in the office of President King on October 4, 1907. At that meeting, it was voted to adopt the prescribed Constitution of the United Chapters. Chapter By-Laws, drawn up by members Frank Fanning Jewett (1844-1926), John Taylor Shaw (1854-1932), and William James Hutchins (1871-1958), were approved on October 29, 1907. The By-Laws were amended in 1931, twice in 1985, and in 1990. The 1907 By-Laws established four officers: a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Together, these officers constituted the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee was to meet three times per year: for the election of undergraduate members, for a business meeting, and for one public meeting. Section four of Article III provided that "no meetings of the chapter shall be secret." The Nominating Committee, consisting of three members appointed by the presiding officer from among the members present at the annual meeting, elected chapter officers and eligible persons, other than students, for membership in the chapter.

Oberlin's thirteen charter members consisted of the President of the college and members of the faculty who were already members of the chapters of other institutions. These were Henry Churchill King (chapter President), Frank Fanning Jewett (Yale, 1870, chapter Vice-President), Charles H. A. Wager (Colgate, 1892, chapter Secretary-Treasurer), Edward Increase Bosworth (Yale, 1883), John Roaf Wightman (Johns Hopkins, 1896), Frederick Orville Grover (Dartmouth, 1890), William James Hutchins (Yale, 1892), George Walter Fiske (Amherst, 1895), John Taylor Shaw (Brown, 1876), Edwin Bayer Branson (Kansas, 1903), William Stearns Davis (Harvard, 1900), John W. Bradshaw (Middlebury), and Albert Henry Currier (Bowdoin, 1857).

One of the first actions of the Oberlin chapter was the election of members from classes which graduated prior to 1908. In May 1908, it was voted that all graduates of Oberlin College who would have been eligible for membership in Phi Beta Kappa at the time of their graduation (if a Chapter had existed) be elected to membership. Accordingly, records were examined as far back as 1878 (earlier records had been destroyed in the 1903 chapel fire), and alumni members were elected from each of thirty college classes. For classes prior to 1878, the committee corresponded with all surviving members of those classes and examined pertinent college records. Their task was completed in 1910, the year of the first initiation banquet. Among those to whom keys were awarded posthumously were Oberlin College President James Harris Fairchild (A.B. 1838), Professor of Geology George Nelson Allen (A.B. 1838), Mrs. George Nelson Allen (Mary Caroline Rudd, A.B. 1841), and Jacob Dolson Cox (A.B. 1851).

Membership in Phi Beta Kappa is based upon scholarly achievement and moral character. As academic standards and systems of grading have changed over the years, it is difficult to interpret historical variations in levels of scholarship required for election. On the whole, the percentage of the graduating class elected to membership at Oberlin has remained constant, fluctuating between not more than 12% in 1912 and not more than 15% in 1990. In 1912, a grade point average of 4.4 was required of students in residence three or four years, and 4.5 for students in residence less than two years. (The scale ran from 4.9 to 3.2, from A+ to D). Presently, the qualifying grade point average "floats," dependent upon the strength of the graduating class. In 1989, a grade point average equal to or greater than 3.79 was required for juniors and equal to or greater than 3.54 required for seniors. By-Laws amended in 1985 add to scholarly achievement the requirement of "broad cultural interests."

Sound moral character remains a requirement for election to Phi Beta Kappa. The 1907 By-Laws require that moral character be "irreproachable." The 1985 By-Laws stipulate "good character," which is verified through consultation with the college Deans and with faculty members. A judicial violation disqualifies a student from election.

Traditionally, the Secretary of the local chapter directs the election of new members, conducts the chapter's correspondence and maintains all records of the chapter. The position at Oberlin came to incorporate the duties of the Treasurer; thus, both an annual report and a Treasurer's report are prepared for submission to the United Chapters. Other duties of the Secretary-Treasurer include planning for the spring initiation banquet, organizing the annual Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars Program (initiated by the United Chapters in 1942), and ordering keys and certificates. Since 1907, the term of the office has varied between two and three years but is now set at two. Meetings are held in the fall and spring to elect new members to the society.