Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

So here's an ad from October's JFP:

*153. MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY, Starkville, MS. Contingent upon funding. Asst. or Assoc. Prof., tenure-track. 3 courses per semester, usual non-teaching duties, research and publication expected. AOS: Open, but the department has special interests in aesthetics, bioethics, philosophy of religion or history and philosophy of science. AOC: History of philosophy. Applicant must be a member of PBK, able to teach full range of introductory--

Wait. What? Applicants must be a member of Phi Beta Kappa? You might think, what the fuck for?

In fact, that's exactly what I did think when I read that ad. Now, via a trusted friend of PJMB comes word that, yes, applicants must be members of PBK. Apparently Mississippi State's got some initiative going where, for god knows what reason, they're trying to increase the number of faculty who are PBK members. So get this: the line is contingent on the new hire being a PBK member.

Now get a load of PBK, with real class, bragging about how exclusive they are:

Only about 10 percent of the nation's institutions of higher learning have Phi Beta Kappa chapters.

Only about 10 percent of the arts and sciences graduates of these distinguished institutions are selected for Phi Beta Kappa membership.

What does this mean for Mississippi State's search? It could be worse, I suppose. The line could be contingent on finding someone who was in their junior high audio/visual club. And who knows? Maybe they'll be able to find a good hire. But I'd bet they'd make a better hire if the search was wide open. I can't help thinking the department knows that too. I sort of feel a bit bad for them.