CHAPTER
HISTORY

​The Rho chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was chartered on Tuesday, November 3, 1914, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a city-wide chapter, encompassing the Medical and Dental Schools of the University of Pennsylvania and the Medico-Chirurgical College. Rho is the first chapter established in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the only single-letter alumni chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 

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Efforts to establish an Alpha chapter in Philadelphia began as early as 1907. However, according to Jewel Dr. Callis, many brothers believed there weren’t enough students of color at an institution like the University of Pennsylvania. In 1910, during the Annual Convention (now called the General Convention), discussions about establishing a chapter in Philadelphia were further held, but no ongoing efforts were made to select a chapter. 

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During the 1912-1913 academic year at Lincoln University, the Nu chapter was established in the fall (November 22, 1912), and another initiation took place in the spring (March 21, 1913). Brothers Harry L. Pelham and Joseph H. Taylor, two of the three organizers of the Rho chapter, were initiated during the spring ceremony. These brothers met with Brother Kirksey L. Curd (initiated in the Fall of 1910 through the Alpha chapter at Cornell University) to establish a chapter in Philadelphia. Brothers Curd, Pelham, and Taylor are recognized as the organizers of the Rho chapter. 

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Bro. Curd was studying for his medical doctorate at the Medico-Chirurgical College and was already affiliated with many Nu chapter charter members who were also in medical and dental school at the Medico-Chirurgical College and the University of Pennsylvania. Some of the Nu chapter brothers had classmates from Lincoln University who were also in medical and dental schools but were not members of the fraternity and would be exceptionally qualified for initiation. 

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Under Bro. Curd’s leadership, ten graduate students were selected for initiation into the mysteries of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. On election day, Tuesday, November 3, 1914, in Bro. Dr. Charles A. Lewis’ office at 1535 Lombard Street, not only were those men initiated, but it also marked the chartering of the Rho chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. The sixteen charter members of the Rho chapter are as follows:

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•    Dr. Kirksey L. Curd,
•    Dr. Theodore T. Nichols 
•    Dr. John T. Anderson
•    Dr. Emile E. Raven
•    Dr. Griffin A. Saunders
•    Dr. William A. Forsythe, Jr.
•    Dr. Walter F.  Jerrick
•    Dr. Wesley C. Redd
•    Dr. DeHaven Hinkson
•    Dr. Frederick G. Slade
•    Dr. Harry E. Bouden
•    Dr. Robert N. Gardiner
•    Dr. Leon W. Bivins
•    Dr. Charles A. Lewis
•    Dr. Francis T. Jamison 
•    Prof. Clinton V. Freeman 

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​The Rho chapter was home to several nationally notable Brothers, including Dr. O. Wilson Winters and Dr. Walter F. Jerrick, the fraternity’s first two life members; George Lyle (the 10th Rho Chapter President), the husband of Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, a founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; and Raymond Pace Alexander, the husband of Dr. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, the first National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

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