Alpha
Kappa Psi history When New
York University announced in 1900 that it would open an evening school for instruction
in commerce, accounts, and finance, and would give a university degree to those
who, having successfully qualified for admission, should successfully complete
the course, the announcement was received with doubt throughout the country. The
doubt manifested and the need of student loyalty in supporting the new idea were
in no small measure the reason for Alpha Kappa Psi's coming into being. The
class that entered NYU in the fall of 1902, four months after the first of the
new degrees had been awarded by the university, was unique in several respects.
First, it was the three-year class; second, all students studied the same subjects;
third, there were no textbooks -- everything was new and somewhat crude; fourth,
Dean Haskins died during the first semester; and fifth, Dean Johnson was promoted
to the deanship during the same year. Other
things occurred that had a strong bearing on the early development of the Fraternity.
The founders occupied the same seats five nights a week. They became acquainted
with one other. Four men from Brooklyn (Bergen, Jefferson, Lane, Leach), later
known as the Brooklyn Four, walked home from school together over the Brooklyn
Bridge. The spirit of brotherhood grew so strong in the hearts and in the minds
of the men from Brooklyn that early in the second year they decided to suggest
to the other members of their class that something be done to perpetuate it, and
Alpha Kappa Psi, the first professional fraternity in business, was founded at
an organization meeting help October 5, 1904. On
March 20, 1905, formal application was made to the State of New York for a charter
of incorporation for Alpha Kappa Psi. This application was drawn up in the handwriting
of Frederic R. Leach and was signed by the ten Founders: George L. Bergen, Irving
L. Camp, Robert S. Douglas, Daniel V. Duff., Howard M. Jefferson, Nathan Lane,
Jr., Frederick R. Leach, Morris S. Rachmil, William O. Tremaine, and Herbert M.
Wright. The application was approved and the
charter of incorporation officially issued in the name of Alpha Kappa Psi on May
20, 1905. In 1910, Beta Chapter at the University
of Denver was installed; in 1911, Gamma at Northwestern University; in 1912, Delta
was established at the University of Pittsburgh. Thus began the national development
of Alpha Kappa Psi. In 1951, the Alpha Kappa
Psi Foudation was established as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting
the ideals of Alpha Kappa Psi. The Foundation provides scholarships, awards, and
programs to students, educators, and the business community. In
August of 1976 women were admitted into the Fraternity under President Richard
Reis at the Minneapolis Convention. Now, over
250 college chapters and over 90 alumni chapters have been installed, over 170,000
members have been inducted and Alpha Kappa Psi is one of the largest of American
college fraternities. |