Alpha Kappa Psi
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| Alpha Kappa Psi (ΑΚΨ) |
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| Founded | October 5, 1904 New York University, New York, NY |
| Type | Professional (Business) |
| Scope | International United States Canada United Kingdom |
| Vision Statement | Alpha Kappa Psi is recognized as the premier developer of principled business leaders |
| Colors | Navy Blue and Old Gold |
| Symbol | Phoenician Galley |
| Flower | Yellow Rose |
| Jewel | Blue Sapphire |
| Publication | The Diary of Alpha Kappa Psi |
| Chapters | 318 chartered, 200 active |
| Members | 9,978 students (6,001 initiated in 2006-2007) currently 241,000+ total lifetime |
| Free label |  |
| Headquarters | 7801 East 88th St Indianapolis, Indiana, USA |
| Homepage | Alpha Kappa Psi Website |
ΑΚΨ (Alpha Kappa Psi) is a co-ed professional business fraternity. The Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904 at New York University, and was incorporated on May 20, 1905. It is currently headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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[edit] History
The story of Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity begins at New York University, Washington Square, New York. After the passage of the Certified Public Accountants Act of 1896 in New York State, an increasingly urgent demand arose for adequate education in all branches of higher accountancy. There also developed an important calling known as the profession of administration. To meet this double need for higher commercial education and for a college of accountancy, the Council of New York University decided to establish a school on a broad basis of advanced instruction in political economy, accounting, and commercial law.
On July 28, 1900, the Chancellor of New York University, Henry Mitchell MacCracken, authorized the opening of the new evening School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance on the same basis as the seven other traditional schools and colleges of the university. The Financial Record for September 12, 1900 asserted "the new school raises accounting from an avocation to a profession and places the accountant on the same plane as the lawyer and the physician." The school's establishment on October 2, 1900 was directly traceable to forceful insistence on the part of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants for university instruction in the sciences immediately connected with practical life. The October 13, 1900 issue of the New York Post indicated that the setting up of this school is "generally regarded as one of the most significant signs of the times...It is recognized that a specialized higher education...is inevitable, because more and more demanded."
The official announcement of the School of Commerce stated its objects, "to elevate the standards of business education and to furnish a complete and thorough course of instruction in the higher professional accountancy." At first there was a roster of 62 matriculates. Study extended over a two year period, with classes held from 8 to 9 and 9 to 10 o'clock Monday through Friday evenings for eight months a year. At the outset it was uncertain whether a university degree would accompany the diploma offered by the school. Then the School of Commerce at New York University became the first to offer a degree in a night school in business.
Prime movers behind the school included Charles Waldo Haskins, senior member of Haskins and Sells and President of the State Society of Certified Public Accountants; Leon Brummer, Secretary of that Society; and Dr. Charles Ezra Sprague, President of the Union Dime Savings Bank. All three men joined the faculty of the school. Haskins was appointed its first dean, but he lived only long enough to see the institution fairly well established on the road to success. At the beginning, the school was burdened with the manifold problems of organization. Fourteen courses were offered to the enrolled students by the faculty of fourteen members. Proper college textbooks as known today had not yet been written.
In the fall of 1902, after the university had awarded the first of the new degrees in business, a stronger basis for instruction was introduced, more faculty members were added, and the curriculum was enlarged and correlated anew. The group that entered in 1902 was the first three-year class working toward the Bachelor of Commercial Science degree. Then all students took the same subjects. The first year had demonstrated the need for a strong administrator to concentrate his full time and energy on the development of the school. The man chosen for this position was Joseph French Johnson; previously he had for eight years been Professor of Finance at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. In 1901 he accepted the post of Secretary of the Faculty at the NYU. School, and in 1903 he became its second Dean and Professor of Political Economy and Finance. At this critical time, some members of the Class of 1905 came forward to reassure the new Dean that they had complete faith in his policies and that they would, in every way possible, endeavor to promote the success of the school, to work to make the new degree respected and valued.
These same eager, serious-minded students later were to become the founders and the first elected members of Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity. From the start the group had firm support from the Dean; in addition, Cleveland F. Bacon, Professor of Law at the School of Commerce, acted as their attorney and legal advisor. The students occupied the same seats in class five nights a week in the eighth floor classrooms of the new University Building on Washington Square. Since they all worked by day and had school work too, they had little time for any school social activities, but the early members managed to get together on Friday nights and have a social time, spent mostly in talk of the school. It was only natural that, without any apparent design or effort the Four should meet each night after classes to take advantage of the quietness of lower Broadway to walk south for twenty-five minute to City Hall and thence across the Brooklyn Bridge to their homes. They talked over their mutual problems. They soon acquired a new name and were widely heralded as the Brooklyn Four.
But too little has been said and not enough generally known about two other outstanding men of the Class of 1905 who likewise exercised and talked over their various problems while walking from class but in the opposite direction, north, toward midtown Manhattan. They were Robert Stuart Douglas and Daniel Vincent Duff.
Perhaps it was in their first year, but surely not later than their second, that Frederic R. Leach suggested the organization of a fraternity. The idea met with unanimous approval. Leach and the other members of the Brooklyn Four mulled over the idea of fraternity for some time. In the winter, during the 1903-04 school year, much further spadework was accomplished. At the beginning, several meetings of those students who were the founders of Alpha Kappa Psi were conducted in a somewhat informal manner in conjunction with banquets held at various hotels in Manhattan. By late April plans had assumed definite shape; at the close of the academic year a date was set for a meeting in the Hotel St. Denis.
On June 9,1904, Douglas, Camp, Duff, Wright, Rachmil, Lane, Leach, Bergen, and Jefferson met at this hotel. All the men were strongly in favor of forming a fraternity, and many points thought worthy of being incorporated into a constitution were suggested. The men realized that the B.C.S. degree then was of relatively little or no commercial value in the community. They firmly believed, however, that it could be made to be of as much significance as the C.P.A. and that this change could be accomplished through the united efforts of men of strong character from the school. They were convinced that higher education for businessmen was a vital need in America, and they were willing to dedicate themselves to assist in encouraging such college training.
The group appointed the Brooklyn Four to draft an acceptable constitution to be presented the next time they gathered. After agreeing to meet on an excursion trip during the summer, they parted. The committee conferred several more times, embodying their ideas into a tentative constitution which they were then ready to report on at a meeting held on July 16, 1904, at Sea Cliff, Long Island. The trip there was made by steamer, but owing to several absences from the city because of vacations and other unforeseen events, only five of the men were present: Douglas, Lane, Rachmil, Leach, and Bergen. The constitution as submitted was read, and new plans were also suggested and considered.
Nothing more was accomplished until after school reopened in the fall. The plan of organization, though, was still quite alive, and on October 5, 1904, the charter members met in the Assembly Room, 32 Waverly Place; all ten were there. They decided to set up a professional fraternity at once, along the lines of the constitution which had been presented by the Brooklyn Four Committee, and to choose a president, secretary, and treasurer in accordance therewith, these officers to assume similar positions under the constitution when it was finally adopted. On written ballots, R. S. Douglas was elected President; H. M. Jefferson, Secretary; Nathan Lane, Jr., Treasurer; W.O. Tremaine, Vice-President; and Morris S. Rachmil, Financial Secretary, a choice made unanimous by acclamation. A committee of three, Rachmil, Tremaine, and Camp, was appointed to study the constitution draft, criticize and revise it, and report recommendations as soon as possible. This marked the founding date of the Fraternity, October 5,1904.
[edit] International Expansion into Canada
Alpha Kappa Psi became an international fraternity on Saturday, April 18, 1931 when the Beta Kappa Chapter was installed at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. The ceremony was held at the Hotel London, and it was conducted by Grand President O. Arthur Kirkman, Grand Secretary-Treasurer J.D. Sparks, District Councilor J.R. Gabell, and members of from Phi Chapter of the University of Michigan, Beta Theta Chapter of Detroit College, and Beta Iota Chapter of Buffalo.
[edit] Women in AKΨ
In June of 1972, Title IX of the "Education Amendments Act of 1972" prohibited sex discrimination in federally assisted educational programs and amended parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Professional fraternities were included in Title IX. Around this time, the brothers of the Delta Chi Chapter at Clarkson University introduced legislation to amend Alpha Kappa Psi's Constitution to include women as brothers. Though supported by several other chapters, the proposed amendments were easily defeated. In the fall of 1973, the Delta Chi chapter admitted four women into their Chapter and soon granted females full rights and privileges. Delta Chi went on to elect a female president and attempted to send her to the national convention as their voting delegate. As a result, Alpha Kappa Psi revoked the charter of the Delta Chi Chapter.
In December of 1973, a complaint was filed with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare against thirteen colleges and universities which recognized chapters of a professional business fraternity. In 1973, the Fraternity Alliance for Inalienable Rights, a seventeen member organization which included Alpha Kappa Psi, was formed to oppose Title IX as it applied to professional fraternities. In October 1975, Alpha Kappa Psi initiated a fund drive to combat Title IX. A write-in campaign was also started as an attempt to sway legislators. At the national convention, the Committee on Female Membership moved that the fraternity should bar women, advocating a continuance of the struggle to secure legislation. Such a law was later introduced in Congress in May, but it was defeated. The convention voted the Board of Directors the authority to change Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution by deletion of the words "must be men and." When it became apparent that legislation would not be approved, the Board of Directors voted, August 7, 1976, to admit women into the fraternity.
At the 54th Chapter Congress in Washington, DC, the Fraternity elected its first female president, Andrea Nemeth, for the 2007-2009 term. She had previously been the first Executive Vice President of Alpha Kappa Psi.
[edit] International Expansion into the United Kingdom
In March of 2000, the Board of Directors of AKPsi approved expansion of the Fraternity into the United Kingdom. As a result, in 2001, new chapters were installed at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), Manchester University and Manchester Metropolitan University. The installations were led by National President M.C. Moore, Chairman of the Board David P. Wendroff, Foundation Vice President R.K. Lee, CEO Gary L. Epperson, and five other brothers. This expansion prompted the creation of the 14th region of the Fraternity. In 2004, UMIST merged with Manchester University, and around the same time, the chapter at Manchester Metropolitan closed, leaving only one college chapter remaining in the UK. As a result, the United Kingdom Region was dissolved and the remaining chapter was moved under the authority of the Mideast Region.
[edit] Volunteer Structure
Alpha Kappa Psi is managed by a cadre of Fraternity volunteers, all of which are un-paid and provide their time, talent, and treasure for the Fraternity.
- Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is the supreme legislative, judicial, and oversight body of the Fraternity outside of meetings of the Chapter Congress (held every 2 years at the Convention). It is made up of 9 alumni, elected for 3-year terms, staggering 3 elected each year. Other BOD officers are the Vice Chairman, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. The Executive Committee is responsible for supervising the CEO and Heritage Center staff. The current Chairman of the Board is Dan Roselli, the highest-ranking volunteer in AKPsi.
- Foundation Board of Directors. The Foundation Board of Directors (FBOD) manages the Alpha Kappa Psi Foundation. The Alpha Kappa Psi Foundation was established in 1951 as a public, charitable and educational foundation. Its mission is "Providing resources for enhancing the educational experience of future business leaders." Currently, the Foundation distributes more than 30 grants and scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students. It also supports educational programs that develop leadership and professional development skills. The Foundation also publishes The Diary of Alpha Kappa Psi. The current Chairman of the Foundation Board is Richard McVay.
- Management Team. The Management Team is made up of the elected executive-level leadership of the Fraternity. This body was previously known as the Grand Council until 1959 when it became known as the Board of Directors. In 1995, a separate Board of Directors was formed, so the President, Vice Presidents, Regional Directors then became known as the National Management Team. Recently, "National" was dropped from the title to reflect the Fraternity's international scope, even though the Fraternity has actually been international since 1931. Members of the current Management Team include the Fraternity President, Executive Vice President, and the 13 Regional Directors. The head of the Management Team is the Fraternity President.
- President. The President is the presiding officer at all meetings of the Chapter Congress and the Management Team and has general supervision, direction, and control of the business and affairs of the Fraternity subject to the direction of the Board of Directors. The President, in cooperation with the Chief Executive Officer, has general responsibilities for the transaction of the business of the Fraternity and supervision over the activities of the Fraternity. The President shall sign and execute all routine papers on other instruments of the Fraternity and such other documents as directed by the Board of Directors. The current Fraternity President is Andrea Nemeth.
- Executive Vice President. Position established in 2005; the Executive Vice President (EVP) assists the President and have such other duties as the President may direct. In the absence of the President, the EVP shall serve as President of the Fraternity until such time the President can resume his or her duties until the term of the President's office has expired if the President is permanently unable to resume his or her duties. The current Fraternity EVP is Alexander Sultan. The EVP is also the chair of the UK Expansion Committee.
- Regional Director. Elected by each of the 13 regions for a term of 2 years, serves as a member of the Management Team and leads their respective Regional Management Teams (RMT). The position of Regional Director is acknowledged as the most difficult volunteer position in the Fraternity.
- Section Director. Supervises particular parts of a region, appointed by the Regional Director.
- Regional Manager. Assists the Regional Director in areas they designate, including recruitment, technology, risk management, and operations. Appointed by the Regional Director.
- Chapter Advisor. Responsible for the proper conduct of the College Chapter in all local, regional and Fraternity matters, and is accountable to the Regional Director. In that advisory and representative capacity, it is the Chapter Advisor's duty to report to the Regional Director any violations of the laws or policies of the Fraternity within the College Chapter. The Chapter Advisor is the front-line and most important position in AKPsi, as it has been proved that chapter with a long-term and involved advisor succeed more.
- Chapter Advisory Board. Similar to the regional managers, but focus on one chapter. Appointed by the Chapter Advisor.
[edit] Heritage Center & Staff
In 1923, Alpha Kappa Psi became the first professional fraternity to have a headquarters facility, and since then, has moved from location to location as the Fraternity grew. Today, AKPsi occupies a 9,400 square-foot building on Indianapolis' northeast side that serves as the headquarters for both the Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity and Alpha Kappa Psi Foundation. The two corporations have been operating from the Heritage Center since April and dedicated the facility in June 2005. The members of the professional staff of Alpha Kappa Psi are the Fraternity's only full time paid employees. Working collaboratively with the members of the Fraternity Management Team, the Fraternity Office staff serves as a source of input, advice and feedback to the board of directors; and implements programs in the areas of education, marketing, membership growth, and general Fraternal development for students, alumni and volunteers.
- Chief Executive Officer: Gary Epperson, CAE
- Chief Operating Officer of the AKPsi Foundation: Jess LaNore
- Senior Director of Finance and Expansion: Brian D. Parker
- Director of Information Services: Daniel Mendoza
- Director of Chapter Services & Meetings: Jessica Seitz
- Director of Alumni Development: Molly Sollie
- Director of Training and Development: Chrissy Vasquez
- Expansion Coordinator: Jennifer Adamany
- Member Service Representative: Debby Orff
- Member Service Representative: Cathy Cole
- Member Service Representative: Melinda Rosenthall
- Member Service Representative: Hazel Collier
- Member Service Representative: Jane Hankins
[edit] Statistics & Trivia
- Number of active student chapters: 204 in the United States, 3 in Canada (plus 1 colony), and 1 in the United Kingdom
- Number of Chapters chartered since founding in 1904: 318
- New charters granted in 2007-2008 (to date): 1 (Binghamton University (Omega Zeta))
- Chapters re-chartered: 3 (Boston University (Nu), George Washington University (Beta Mu), University of New Mexico (Beta Tau)
- Initiates in 2005-2006: 5,697
- Initiates in 2006-2007: 6,001
- Initiates since 1904: more than 247,000
- Number of current student members: 9,978
- 2005 Convention attendance (Las Vegas): 805
- 2007 Success Institute attendance: 2,351
- Alpha Kappa Psi first admitted women into the fraternity in August 1976.
[edit] Objects
- To further the individual welfare of its members;
- To foster scientific research in the fields of commerce, accounts, and finance;
- To educate the public to appreciate and demand higher ideals therein; and
- To promote and advance, in institutions of college rank, courses leading to degrees in business administration.
[edit] Literature of ΑΚΨ
[edit] The Diary of Alpha Kappa Psi
The official magazine of the Fraternity first appeared on January 1, 1908, as The Alpha Diary. Howard M. Jefferson chaired the editorial committee that published the original four page monthly pamphlet of the Alpha Chapter. The name was changed in 1913 to The Diary of Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity to reflect its new fraternity-wide scope. The format remained the same, although increasing in number of pages, until it became a full fledged magazine, 6 x 9 inches in size, in 1917. The title was also changed that year to The Alpha Kappa Psi Diary. John D. Sparks was appointed editor in 1928, and page size of The Diary was increased to 8½ x 11 inches with two and three column pages and a different two-color cover for each issue. In 1929 under Sparks, the magazine also adopted its current name, The Diary of Alpha Kappa Psi.
The Diary is currently published three times a year in October, February, and June by the Alpha Kappa Psi Foundation. It features information on Fraternity and Foundation news, as well as educational articles focusing on professional development. In recent years, the magazine has earned several College Fraternity Editors Association (CFEA) awards.
- 2nd place Content and Design award for Annual Report (2006)
- 3rd place Design Award for Two-Page or Less Layout (2006)
- 1st place Design Award for Two-Page or Less Layout (2005)
- 3rd place Design Award for Cover Design (2005)
- 3rd place Fred F. Yoder Award for Overall Excellence (2005)
- 2nd place Fred F. Yoder Award for Overall Excellence (2004)
- 2nd place Banta Total Communications Award (2004)
- 2nd place Design Award for Critic's Choice Cover (2004)
- 2nd place Design Award for Logo Design (2004)
- 3rd place Design Award for Two-Page or Less Layout (2004)
[edit] The Pledge Manual of Alpha Kappa Psi
The original Pledge Manual was issued in 1934. Several revised editions have been published since its inception. Around 2001, The Pledge Manual departed from its 8½ x 11 inch size to a new 5½ x 8½ inch size, and more recently to a 6 x 9 inch size. A more in-depth, full color, larger (9 X 12), pledge manual was issued as the current edition in fall 2007. It is called the PEP Manual. The PEP Manual is supplemental material provided with the PEP (Pledge Education Program).
[edit] The Handbook of Alpha Kappa Psi
The Handbook of Alpha Kappa Psi is a comprehensive information source and guide for members and officers of the Fraternity. The publication includes topics such as a detailed history of AKPsi, a directory of notable alumni, organizational structure, awards, emblems, alumni information, chapter administration, finances, public relations, ritual, and a great deal of other useful information. The origin of the handbook is traced to 1926 when Ralph L. Power of Nu Chapter, issued a publication titled Handbook of Alpha Kappa Psi, a Manual for Nu Chapter. The handbook was first published Fraternity-wide in 1934, and it has since been followed by several more comprehensive and revised editions. The last edition published was the seventh edition in 1997, edited by Theodore G. Ehrsam. Ehrsam was also working on the eighth edition before he entered Audit Eternal in July 2004. The eighth edition was to be published in fall 2004 as part of the Fraternity's Centennial Celebration.
[edit] Creed
Alpha Kappa Psi recognizes that
We live in deeds, not years;
In thought, not breath;
In service, not in figures on the dial.
We count time by heart-throbs,
When they beat for God, for man, for duty.
He lives most who thinks most,
Is noblest, acts the best.– Dr. D. Shaw Duncan, Beta Chapter
[edit] Notable Alumni
Members of Alpha Kappa Psi have held every major political position in the United States, including the presidency and vice-presidency. Many members have gained notable positions on boards of directors and executive management teams of some of the world's most well known companies.
[edit] Chapters
Since the Fraternity was established in 1904, more than 300 chapters of Alpha Kappa Psi have been chartered, 199 of which are currently active. AKPsi is actively expanding their number of chapters through the colonization process at various prestigious universities. The latest Chapter installation was on January 27, 2008 at The George Washington University. Current colonies include Drexel University, the University of Louisville, the University of British Columbia, and Western Washington University.
[edit] External links
- Official web site
- AKPsi New Chapter Development Site
- Political Graveyard: A list of prominent political members of AKPsi
- BusinessWeek: Should You Join a Professional Fraternity?
- AKPsi Alumni LinkedIn Group
[edit] References
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