Around 50 members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity from the Class of 1967 to current students met on campus in September to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UD chapter of the Black fraternity whose national membership included W.E.B. Dubois and Martin Luther King Jr.
On May 3, 1947, it was the first Greek organization to be chartered on UD’s campus. Today, UD is home to 19 chapters.
Members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity from the Class of 1967 to now.
Service is central to the fraternity, and it held a prominent place in the weekend’s celebrations, said John S. Kendall ’85. Brothers helped fill 100 backpacks with supplies and delivered them to a Dayton elementary school.
Other events included a dialogue between current students and alumni, a cookout and a concert. During a tribute held in Kennedy Union Plaza, the men laid yellow roses at the monument to Alpha Phi Alpha and recounted the names of the UD chapter’s seven founders.
Kendall said the fraternity continues to be important in his life, connecting him to an international brotherhood of leaders and to today’s UD students.
"We were founded as a brotherhood to bring about change through our aims 'manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind,' and we still see that work is needed, even more today than ever before," he said.
