University of Virginia Library

A Brief History Of The Raven Society

By Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr.
Professor of English, Emeritus

The following sketch, written
recently at the request of the
President of the Raven Society for
the information of its members and
initiates, will be of interest to the
University at large. It is published
with the permission of the
President of the Society, Reid Penn
Carter, and of its author. -Ed.

Article II of the present
Constitution of the Raven Society,
which differs only slightly from the
original document of 1904, states
the objects of the Society as
follows:

"This Society shall endeavor to
bring together the outstanding men
in the various schools of the
University, that they may derive
the benefits of mutual
acquaintance, and that by
cooperation they may be able the
more effectively to sustain the
honor and dignity of the
University; to advance its welfare
and interests as opportunity may
occur; to encourage diligent
scholarship; and to stimulate
intellectual activity beyond the
limits of systematic work in the
class room."

Founded 1904

The Raven Society was founded
in April 1904, four years before Phi
Beta Kappa's coming to the
University. At that time the
University had perhaps a
superabundance of organizations
stressing such things as fellowship
and conviviality in Eli Banana,
Tilka, the late lamented Hot Feet,
dance societies, and a score or more
of social fraternities.

There was obviously need for a
University-wide society stressing
scholarship and intellectual
qualities, the essential interests of a
university. This the Raven Society
undertook to do, adding also
dedication to the University as an
objective.

Founding Professors

Among professors active in the
preliminary planning of the Society
were Raleigh C. Minor, Richard
Heath Dabney, and Albert H.
Tuttle. First faculty members to be
elected, in addition to these,
included William Monor Life,
Charles W. Kent, John Staige Davis,
and William M. Thornton.

James M. Page, last Chairman of
the Faculty, and Edwin A.
Alderman, new first President of
the University, were early new
members. Equally impressive were
the first honorary members to be
elected from the alumni: Thomas
Nelson Page, Armistead C. Gordon,
the Reverend Arthur S. Lloyd, Dr.
Woodrow Wilson, and the Hon.
John Sharp Williams. Among the
student "founding fathers" are
many names of later distinction:
for instance, Thomas Pinckney
Bryan, of Richmond, Armistead M.
Dobie, of Norfolk, John W.
Wayland, of Harrisonburg, and
Robert H. Webb, of Suffolk.

Arrival Of Beta

With the arrival of Beta of
Virginia chapter of Phi Beta Kappa
in 1908, there was necessarily some
duplication of function with the
Raven Society, but the distinction
between them can be made. Phi
Beta Kappa normally elects just
before graduation, almost
exclusively on the basis of academic
record, and from the College and
Graduate School only.

Raven normally elects at least
one year before graduation, takes
into account other forms of
intellectual and literary interest and
worthwhile extracurricular
achievement, and values "service to
the University" as a qualification
for membership. It aims to bring
together the picked men of all
schools, undergraduate, graduate,
and professional.

During the course of its sixty-six
year history there have been
numerous revisions of the
constitution and by-laws designed
to clarify the criteria for election
and to keep pace with the changing
University. A recent formulation
states that members are selected "in
recognition of high scholastic
attainments, service to the
University of Virginia, and of
promise of future advancement in
the intellectual field." The
importance of extra curricular
activities has been variously
estimated by the membership.

Highlights in the history of the
Society would include (1) the
original adoption of the title of
Poe's most popular poem as the
name of the Society; (2) the
prominent part taken by the
Society in the Poe Centennial of
1909, and its subsequent furnishing
and custodianship of the Poe Room
at 13 West Range.

(3) the setting up of the Raven
Awards in 1933 for outstanding
contributions to the University and
to the ideals of the Society; (4) the
Semicentennial Celebration of
1954; and (5) in the spring of 1970
the first election of women to the
previously all-male Society.

Yearly Activities

The yearly activity of the
Society reaches its climax in the
formal initiation and banquet at
which the Raven Awards are
presented, some officers elected,
selected parodies of "The Raven"
required of initiates are read, plus
often a brief after-dinner speech.

Since its founding in 1904 the
Raven Society has been held in high
regard by students, faculty, and
alumni.