The Phi Beta Kappa Society Announces Winner of
2024-2025 Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship
WASHINGTON, DC — November 26, 2024 — The Phi Beta Kappa Society is pleased to announce that Debra Satz of Stanford University has been awarded the 2024-2025 Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship. Satz was nominated for this award by the Phi Beta Kappa Chapter of California at Stanford University.
The Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship was established in 1983 by Phi Beta Kappa member Patrick Romanell and his wife Edna. Patrick graduated from Brooklyn College and was the H.Y. Benedict Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas, El Paso. The Professorship is awarded annually to scholars in the field of philosophy, without restriction to any one school of philosophical thought and carries with it a stipend of $7,500. The recipient gives a series of three special lectures during the year of the professorship at the nominating Phi Beta Kappa chapter sheltering institution. These lectures are open to the general public as well as to the academic community.
Debra Satz is the Vernon R. and Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences; Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of Ethics in Society; Professor of Philosophy and, by courtesy, Political Science; and Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. Her research focuses on the ethical limits of markets, the meaning of equality, and ethics and education. In 2004, Satz received the Walter J. Gores Award, Stanford’s highest teaching honor. Among her publications are Why Some Things Should Not Be for Sale: The Moral Limits of Markets (Oxford University Press, 2010) and Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy and Public Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2016) (with Dan Hausman and Michael McPherson.) She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Satz was awarded the Romanell Professorship for her proposed lecture series on the effects of economic markets, not only as mechanisms for efficient production and distribution but also in how they shape our culture and social institutions.
“Debra Satz’s work illuminates the profound ways in which markets shape our social and cultural landscape,” said Frederick M. Lawrence, Phi Beta Kappa Secretary and CEO. “Her insights not only deepen our understanding of economics and ethics, but also challenge us to think critically about freedom, equity, and the role of education in a democratic society. We are honored to recognize her accomplishments with this award.”
Nominations for the 2025 Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship can be sent to awards@pbk.org and will be accepted until June 15, 2025. You can find the nomination form here.
About The Phi Beta Kappa Society
Founded on Dec. 5, 1776, The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation's most prestigious academic honor society. It has chapters at over 290 colleges and universities in the United States, nearly 50 alumni associations, and more than 700,000 members worldwide. Noteworthy members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 42 U.S. Supreme Court Justices and more than 150 Nobel Laureates. The mission of The Phi Beta Kappa Society is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought, and recognize academic excellence. For more information, visit www.pbk.org.