Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 300,000 lifetime initiates.

Pi Kappa Alpha
ΠΚΑ
FoundedMarch 1, 1868 (1868-03-01)
University of Virginia
TypeSocial
AffiliationNIC
ScopeInternational
Colors  Garnet
  Old Gold
SymbolThe Oak Tree, Shield & Diamond, Dagger & Key
Flag
FlowerLily of the Valley
JewelDiamond
PublicationShield and Diamond
Chapters225[1]
Members300,000[1] lifetime
NicknamePikes
Headquarters8347 West Range Cove
Memphis, TN 38125
United States
Websitewww.pikes.org

History
Pi Kappa Alpha at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Pi Kappa Alpha was founded on March 1, 1868, in Room 47 in West Range (The Range) at the University of Virginia by six graduate students:

Three of the Founders had been former cadets, having served on both sides of the recently concluded Civil War. One had been a Union hospital officer, another a Confederate veteran, and a third, a repatriate. Expansion was considered early in the fraternity's history; on March 1, 1869, exactly one year after the Alpha chapter at the University of Virginia was formed, the Beta chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha was founded at Davidson College.[3] Its Gamma chapter was placed at William and Mary just two years later, and a total of seven chapters formed in the first decade. This period of early growth slowed though, and by 1889 only four chapters remained active.[4]

A call for a national convention was sent out, and delegates of three of the four active chapters met in what would become the "junior founding" of the Fraternity at what they called the Hampden–Sydney Convention, held in a dorm room at Hampden–Sydney College. This marked the start of a new wave of prosperity and substantial growth and the end of almost a decade of decline. Theta chapter, at Rhodes College, took over the responsibilities of Alpha chapter, granting chapters for a short period before this duty was taken over by an administrative office. John Shaw Foster, a junior founder from Theta chapter, helped to reestablish Alpha chapter at the University of Virginia. Theta chapter is the longest continual running chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha, having been founded in 1878. The four delegates to the Hampden–Sydney Convention are referred to as the Junior Founders.[4]

Pi Kappa Alpha was not originally organized as a sectional fraternity; however, by constitutional provision it became so in 1889, and for twenty years would only open chapters south of the Mason-Dixon Line.[5]

Pi Kappa Alpha members have supported the nation's armed conflicts in large numbers. In WWI, one out of every six members of the fraternity served in uniform. In WWII, 15,000 of its 33,000 active members served, including General Courtney H. Hodges, a four-star general and commander of the US First Army in Europe.[4]

Sectarian and other restrictions that were in place during the early years have since been modified or removed entirely: Pi Kappa Alpha remained a southern fraternity until the New Orleans Convention in 1909 when the Fraternity officially declared itself a national organization.[6][4] Like many other social fraternities at the time, Pi Kappa Alpha had limited its membership to white males. All race restrictions were removed in 1964.[7]

Rituals

The Fraternity's rituals are based on those of Independent Order of Odd Fellows.[8]

Shield & Diamond

Shield & Diamond is the official quarterly publication of Pi Kappa Alpha. It was first printed in December 1890 by Robert Adger Smythe, the then Grand Secretary and Treasurer, under the name The Pi Kappa Alpha Journal. The name was changed to Shield & Diamond in 1891.[6]

Foundation and educational programs

PIKE University

Pike University is the name used for all of the fraternity's leadership programs. The program is administered by the fraternity's professional staff.[9]

Founded in 1948 as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization for charitable, literary & educational purposes. Events held by the university include International Convention, the Academy, the Chapter Executives Conference, and several regional Leadership Summits. Pike University grants more than $100,000 in scholarships each year.

The PIKE Foundation

In 1948, Pi Kappa Alpha established and chartered the "Pi Kappa Alpha Memorial Foundation" as a 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation grants $350,000 in scholarships and grants to undergraduate members each year. It also provides funding to the fraternity and its chapters for leadership programs, scholarships, and chapter house facilities. The foundation grants initiation fee scholarships to undergraduates inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Order of Omega, Phi Kappa Phi, and Tau Beta Pi honoraries.[6][10] The Pike Foundation also maintains and operates the Memorial Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. This facility houses professional staffs, the Harvey T. Newell Library, and the Freeman Hart Museum.[11] The building is a war memorial built in 1988 to recognize the military services of members who died in the line of duty.[11] A Gold Star Memorial was dedicated on August 1, 2008.[11][12][13]

List of Pi Kappa Alpha brothers
Main article: List of Pi Kappa Alpha brothers

See also

References
  1. "404 Page Not Found - Pikes.org". www.pikes.org. Retrieved 26 March 2018. Cite uses generic title (help)
  2. Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. "Founding History". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  3. Beta chapter, Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. "A History of Beta". Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  4. Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. III-99–102. ISBN 978-0963715906.
  5. "Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities" (9th ed.). James T. Brown. 1920. Retrieved 26 March 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. Garnet & Gold Pledge Guide (15th ed.). Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. 1970.
  7. Hughey, Matthew W (Winter–Spring 2006). "Black, White, Greek...Like Who?: Howard University Student Perceptions of a White Fraternity on Campus" (PDF). Educational Foundations. 20 (1–2): 9–35. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  8. Hodapp, Christopher; Kannon, Alice Von (4 February 2011). Conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118052020. Retrieved 26 March 2018 – via Google Books.
  9. Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. "About Pike University". Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  10. Folmsbee, Stanley (1960). History of Tennessee, Volume 4. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 838.
  11. Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. "About Memorial Headquarters". Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  12. Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. "Fast Facts". Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  13. United States of America Congressional Record 111th Congress, Vol. 155 - Part 7. Government of United States. 2009. p. 9673.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.