Alpha Chi Alpha () was an American recognition society for women in the field of journalism. It was established in 1919 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alpha Chi Alpha established fourteen chapters before merging into Pi Delta Epsilon in 1944.
History Alpha Chi Alpha International Collegiate Honorary Journalistic Fraternity was founded at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee on December 17, 1919.Silver Spruce (yearbook) Colorado State University , 1926. p. 206. via Digital Collection of Colorado. It was created as an honorary women's fraternity to recognize women who were active in collegiate publications and to advance the study of journalism. It was considered a sister fraternity to Pi Delta Epsilon, a journalism honor fraternity for men.
Alpha Chi Alpha became a national organization in 1921 when chapters were established at Franklin College, Florida State College for Women, and Ripon College. These were followed by chapters at Northwestern University and University of Southern California in 1924, and at Colorado Agricultural College in 1925. In 1926, chapters were chartered at Carnegie Institute of Technology, Cornell University, and Georgetown College.
Alpha Chi Alpha was reorganized in 1928. In 1929, following the establishment of a chapter at Salem College, the honor sorority had seven active and four inactive chapters. The organization held biennial annual meetings, with the fourth meeting being held in Los Angeles, California, in July 1936. In December 1938, the society held its first national Alpha Chi Alpha Week, featuring discussions about the press at campuses with chapters.
In 1940, Alpha Chi Alpha had grown to include nine active and five inactive chapters. On June 31 and July 1–2, 1944, the fraternity's national convention was held in Vermillion, South Dakota. On July 1, 1944, Alpha Chi Alpha voted to merge into Pi Delta Epsilon.
Symbols
Alpha Chi Alpha's badge was shield-shaped, with the Greek letters "" over a crossed sword and quill superimposed on a scroll, with a star on the upper part of the scroll on the background of black enamel. Its colors were gold and white, replacing its original colors of orange and white. Its flower was a yellow rose, replacing the daisy that was its original flower. Its publication was The Al-Cri, published three times an academic year.
Membership Membership was open to women who had worked for at least one and a half years for a collegiate publication.
Chapters Following are the chapters of Alpha Chi Alpha, with inactive chapters in italics.
ChapterCharter date and rangeInstitutionsLocationStatusAlpha 1919University of TennesseeKnoxville, TennesseeMerged ()BetaFranklin CollegeFranklin, IndianaInactiveGamma1921Florida State College for WomenTallahassee, FloridaMerged ()Delta1921Ripon CollegeRipon, WisconsinMerged ()Epsilon1924Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IllinoisInactiveZeta1924University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaMerged ()EtaColorado Agricultural CollegeFort Collins, ColoradoMerged ()Theta1926Carnegie Institute of TechnologyPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaMerged ()Iota1926Cornell UniversityIthaca, New YorkInactiveKappa1926Georgetown CollegeGeorgetown, KentuckyInactiveLambda1929Salem College Winston-Salem, North CarolinaMerged ()MuUniversity of South DakotaVermillion, South DakotaMerged ()Nu1933University of California at Los AngelesLos Angeles, CaliforniaMerged ()XiUnassignedOmicron1938Alabama College, State College for Women Montevallo, AlabamaMerged ()
Notable members
Zona Gale, novelist, short story writer, playwright, and the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama Mary Holland Kinkaid (honorary), novelist and journalist
See also
Honor society Professional fraternities and sororities
Notes
References