Alpha Kappa Psi is the legacy of four men who attended New York University together beginning in 1902. Friendships eventually developed and soon the men began spending more and more time with one another, and ended every day by walking home together over the Brooklyn Bridge. Over the course of their stint at the university, it came to their attention that something had to be done to further the fi
eld of business, and as their brotherhood grew stronger, and their fortitude to draw attention to business as a practical field increased, they decided to found Alpha Kappa Psi at an organizational meeting on October 5, 1904. Soon after these four men, now known as the Brooklyn Four (George L. Jefferson, Nathan Lane Jr., and Frederic R. Camp, Robert S. Douglas, Daniel V. Duff, Morris S. Rachmil, William O. Tremaine, and Herbert M. Wright), signed a charter for the fraternity, thus beginning a great tradition of professionalism and brotherhood. Today, Alpha Kappa Psi consists of over 200,000 members, around 200 student chapters, and 30 alumni chapters worldwide. Over the years, many prominent alumni have come from the AKPsi ranks, including Malcolm Forbes, Jr., Sam Walton, Lee Iacocca, J.E. Davis, J.C. Penny, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and countless more executives and leaders. For more information on the history of Alpha Kappa Psi, visit the national website www.akpsi.org
The Case Western Reserve University colony of Alpha Kappa Psi evolved from the Weatherhead Business Association (WBA). In August 1998, Gary J. Previts, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs for the Weatherhead School of Management, and Kevin C. Carduff, one of Weatherhead's undergraduate management academic advisers, approached Elizabeth Boyd, a Weatherhead student, about the possibility of attracting a professional business fraternity. Expressing her interest, she researched and contacted a number of professional business fraternities. She decided Alpha Kappa Psi was the best choice for CWRU. After consulting with Weatherhead students Kenneth Ashe, Amit Kanodia, Tim Nangle, Anandh Rajamohan, Ananda Somayaji, and Colin Speakman, they agreed a professional business fraternity would be more beneficial for Weatherhead undergraduate students. The Alpha Kappa Psi National Organization agreed to begin the colonization process. Beginning at the 1998 New Student Activities Fair, Boyd and Weatherhead student Stephanie Plant publicly announced Alpha Kappa Psi's colonization. Colony rush events included CWRUopoly, a modified version of the board game Monopoly, on September 8, and a donuts and coffee reception in the Weatherhead Undergraduate Lounge on September 24. On October 6 and 7, Michael Anthony, Alpha Kappa Psi's national expansion coordinator, held information sessions to discuss the benefits of Alpha Kappa Psi. On October 8, the first induction for the CWRU colony of Alpha Kappa Psi was held. In attendance were Previts, Carduff, and Ajai K. Singh, Associate Professor of Banking and Finance and the colony's faculty advisor. Forty pledges were inducted on this date. In the next three weeks, two more inductions were held, and total membership rose to 48 pledges (plus one brother, a transfer student). At that time, elections were held and the colony choose its first executive committee: Elizabeth Boyd (President), Stephanie Plant (Vice President of Administration), Axijna Kotelenez (Vice President of Membership), Anand Raval (Secretary), Steve Jenkins (Treasurer) and Dave Walker (Historian). Alpha Kappa Psi's first non-rush event took place October 9, with Weatherhead graduate Andrew Medvedev from J.P. Morgan discussing investment banking. On October 13, Jennifer Enseleit and David Wyle (both CWRU alumni) from GE Capital spoke about life after graduation. Later, on October 22, the colony held its first professional event with speaker Shawn Peck from PPG Industries. The Omicron Chi chapter was officially chartered on December 5th, with 38 of the student members becoming brothers.
