Alpha Kappa Psi History
The Ten Founding Fathers of Alpha Kappa Psi
The legacy of the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business Fraternity began at New York University, Washington Square, New York.
The 1896 Certified Public Accountants Act, in New YorkState, sparked a sudden demand for sufficient education in all areas of higher accountancy, and profession of administration. To provide for this urgent demand, the council of New YorkUniversity decided to estabish a school on the basis of advanced instruction in general business studies.
On July 28, 1900, the Chancellor of New York University Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken authorized the opening of the evening School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. By the fall of 1902, the university had awarded the first of the new degrees in business.
Soon, the Class of 1905 would become the founders and first elected members of the Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity—with great support from the Dean Joseph F. Johnson and Cleveland F. Bacon, of course.
Nathan Lane, Jr., George L. Bergen, Howard M. Jefferson, and Frederick R. Leach, students of the evening class would sit together every night and make their way home by walking over the BrooklynBridge. There was little time for social or leisure activities, due their busy schedule (work by day and school by night). However, this group of students, known as the “Brooklyn Four”, found time to meet on Friday nights and talk about different things.
The idea of a professional Fraternity that should for the ideas and standards that their where taught and followed was Leach’s during in the winter of 1903-04. With much work on be done, the foundering members accomplished the unthinkable. On October 5, 1904, the “Brooklyn Four” and six other classmates, decided to set up the professional fraternity along the lines of the constitution, marking the founding date of Alpha Kappa Psi.
On March 20, 1905, a formal application was made to the State of New York for a charter of incorporation for the Fraternity. 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, the Beta Chapter at the University of Denver was installed…In 1911, the Gamma Chapter at NorthwesternUniversity began…In 1912, the Delta Chapter was established at the University of Pittsburgh—thus begun the national development of Alpha Kappa Psi. Now, over 300 college chapters and over 90 alumni chapters have been installed, over 300,000 co-ed members have been inducted and Alpha Kappa Psi is one of the largest of American college fraternities.
*This is just a brief summary of the historic tale of Alpha Kappa Psi. For the detailed version, please visit the national website at www.akpsi.org.