a. The President  presides at all meetings of the chapter;

represents the chapter publicly in the college and in the community;

appoints all standing and special committees;

makes a welcoming address to the initiates at the time of thier induction into the Society;

takes responsibility for arranging special meetings and obtaining speakers for meetings and banquets;

serves as the guardian of the liberal arts tradition of the Society on the campus, bringing to the chapter's attention any concern about issues that might endanger the life and health of the chapter or the liberal arts character of the institution.

In most chapters, the President holds office only for a year or two, as prescribed by the chapter bylaws, and may be a distinguished alumnus not on the teaching staff of the sheltering institution.  Some chpaters have a Vice President chosen from the faculty members of the chapter one year and from the alumni members the next, each of whom in turn succeeds to the presidency.  This alternation works well and has its advantages.

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keeping minutes of chapter meetings in a formal minute book containing the valid records of elections, initiations, and other important business;

keeping an accurate record of members with regard to initiation dates, official actions, and particularly names, degrees, and classes.  It is also useful to keep an alphabetical database showing each member's full name, college class, election and initiation dates, and current address;

serving as Secretary of the Executive Committee and of the Committee on Members in Course;

notifying new members of their election, orienting the members-elect, ordering jewelry and membership certificates, and informing the news media and campus public relations office of the names of the electees;

filing initiation reports and enrollment cards for new members with the national office promptly after each initiation;

filing an annual report of chapter activities and officers by June 30;

seeing to it that the other officers perform their duties, and serving as their link with the Society and its national office through correspondence, with the appropriate staff person;

being the lead delegate of the chapter to the triennial meetings of the Council;

maintaining relations with the district officers, representing the chapter at meetings of the district, and obtaining from the chapter names of suitable candidates for district officers and district senators. The Secretary should also forward to the Council Nominating Committee the name of any candidate(s) the chapter proposes for nomination as Senator at Large;

arranging, in consultation with the President, meetings of the chapter and seeing that meetings are held at appropriate intervals as needed.  Because the office of the President usually changes frequently, the Secretary must keep the President informed of his or her duties;

serving as the institutional and chapter memory on prior actions and programs by keeping accurate records, publications, and materials at hand.

For the roughly forty chapters that elect more than 100 members each year, the chapter may need to arrange formal aid for secretarial assistance from the university's administration.  In areas where Phi Beta Kappa associations exist, members of these groups may be willing to help with secretarial chores (e.g., writing notices of election and invitations to initiations).

collects fees, pays bills, and writes all checks;

keeps accurate financial records;

makes an annual report of the treasury status to the chapter;

maintains the chapter's bank account;

arranges for an annual audit of the chapter's books.

keeps the archives of the chapter;

gives a brief history of the Society and of the local chapter to the initiates during the induction ceremony.

a. The Executive Committee.  The officers, plus one or more elected members of the chapter and, usually, the immediate past President, constitute an Executive Committee; it can handle most of the regular business of the chapter except the election of members and officers and amendments of the bylaws. 
The Executive Committee has less responsibility in a very small chapter than in a large one and may not even be needed.