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| Alpha Rho Chi | |
|---|---|
| ΑΡΧ | |
 | |
| Founded | April 11, 1914; 111 years ago (1914-04-11) Sherman House Hotel,Chicago,Illinois |
| Type | Professional |
| Affiliation | PFA |
| Former affiliation | PIC |
| Status | Active |
| Emphasis | Architecture and the allied arts |
| Scope | National |
| Motto | Fidelitas, Amor et Artes Fidelity and Love of the Arts |
| Member badge |  |
| Colors | Azure and Sanguine |
| Flower | White Rose |
| Publication | The Archi The Alpha Rho Chi Letter |
| Chapters | 30 collegiate chapters, 16 alumni associations |
| Headquarters | 1217 86th Street North Bergen,New Jersey 07047 United States |
| Website | www |
Alpha Rho Chi (ΑΡΧ) is an Americanprofessional co-educational collegefraternity for students studyingarchitecture and related professions. The fraternity's name is derived from the first three letters of theGreek word forarchitecture, ἀρχιτεκτονική.[1]
APX was founded on April 11, 1914, with the merger of Sigma Upsilon (local) at theUniversity of Michigan and the Arcus Society (local) at theUniversity of Illinois to form a national fraternity for Architecture and the allied arts.
Sigma Upsilon (local) had been founded four years prior by eight architecture students at Michigan, with the intent of eventually forming a national architecture fraternity, and had drafted their constitution and laws to reflect that. Two years after they were founded in 1912. they were recognized by their school as a fraternity and started negotiations with other schools to open up more chapters.
In 1911, the Arcus Society (local) was formed by fifteen architecture students as a secret society; it became public a year later. After recognition by their school, the Arcus Society started correspondence with several other schools to expand. One of those schools was the University of Michigan, which started the collaboration of the two founding brothers ofΑΡΧ,Leo M. Bauer of the Arcus Society andChandler C. Cohagen of Sigma Upsilon.
According to fraternity history books, theAnthemios chapter at the University of Illinois claims to be the first chapter of the new fraternity. This was achieved by setting the meeting for the fraternity's organization and merger while Illinois was on break and Michigan was still holding classes.Iktinos at Michigan also claims to be the first chapter as their precursor organization existed before the society in Illinois. Both theIktinos andAnthemios chapters are considered the founding chapters and share the same cadency mark.
Bauer and Cohagen met onApril 11, 1914, at the Hotel Sherman inChicago, where they selected the name for the combined organization, the new constitution and by-laws, and the coat of arms. The brothers decided to keep the colors azure and sanguine, from the Arcus Society, and the white rose, a symbol of Sigma Upsilon. They also selected the chapter names from a list of prominent Greek and Roman architects; Egyptian architects were added at a later date. Illinois selectedAnthemios as their name, and Michigan selectedIktinos.
Alpha Rho Chi set expansion and becoming a national architecture fraternity as their first goal. Several existing architecture organizations petitioned to join, but only Tau Epsilon Chi ofOhio State University was accepted, being installed as theDemetrios chapter on February 25, 1916. The Cyma Club became theMnesicles chapter at theUniversity of Minnesota on October 10, 1916. Recruiting efforts slowed with the start ofWorld War I because most of the brothers entered the armed services.
After the war, theKallikrates chapter was installed at theUniversity of Virginia on February 15, 1922. TheAndronicus chapter was installed a month later, on March 11, 1922, with eleven charter members at theUniversity of Southern California.[2] Expansion continued at a rapid pace with the addition of members atKansas State University, which formed thePaeonios chapter on February 10, 1923. Ten members of the Delta Club at theUniversity of Texas at Austin were initiated on April 19, 1924, to form theDinocrates chapter. ThePolyklitos chapter at Carnegie Tech (nowCarnegie-Mellon University) was established on May 24, 1924. With the addition of theTheron chapter at Oklahoma A&M (nowOklahoma State University) on May 23, 1926, the fraternity stood at ten active chapters and was truly national in stature.
TheGreat Depression andWorld War II affected the strength of the local chapters, and several failed to survive. Only six chapters returned–Anthemios,Iktinos,Demetrios,Mnesicles,Andronicus, andKallikrates–with strong alumni support and renewed membership. In 1954, theVitruvius charter was established atPennsylvania State University and was installed as a chapter on March 27, 1955.
Next to be installed was a group fromArizona State University, which became theSatyros chapter on May 13, 1962. Two representatives from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) were initiated at the 31st National Convention; in turn, they assisted with the installation of theMetagenes chapter on March 23, 1969. With the addition of theXenocles chapter at theUniversity of Texas at Arlington on September 13, 1970, Alpha Rho Chi returned to its former high point of ten active chapters.
During the early 1970s, fraternity membership, in general, dropped as controversy raged on college campuses over theVietnam War and any "establishment" organization. Alpha Rho Chi continued, installing theCleisthenes chapter at theUniversity of Houston on March 11, 1972. In the 1980s, college fraternities enjoyed a renaissance and Alpha Rho Chi added four new chapters. In June 1980, theDaedalus chapter was founded at theCalifornia Polytechnic State University to become the fraternity's second West Coast chapter. After an initiation night at theAnthemios chapter house, theDaphnis chapter of theUniversity of Arkansas was installed on November 23, 1980. TheHeracleides chapter of theUniversity of Oklahoma was installed before a Texas-style bar-b-que atXenocles chapter on September 6, 1981. After collecting the required ten members for initiation, theRhoecus chapter was installed at theUniversity of Kansas on April 8, 1984.
TheApollodorus charter was bussed for thirteen hours from theUniversity of Florida toMetagenes chapter; they were officially installed as a chapter on April 10, 1986, inGainesville, Florida. On March 29, 1992, Alpha Rho Chi installed thePytheos chapter at theUniversity of Nebraska. TheSeshait chapter atFlorida A&M University was installed on March 12, 1994, becoming the first chapter with an Egyptian namesake.
The co-op program at theUniversity of Cincinnati created a unique installation for theRabirius chapter, whose members were initiated in two separate ceremonies; one held inCincinnati on November 4, 2000, and the other on January 20, 2001. In September 2001, a professor began a correspondence with the fraternity in hopes of establishing a chapter at theUniversity of Memphis. Up to this point, Alpha Rho Chi had limited expansion to accredited schools of architecture; however, after revisiting the fraternity's original objectives and mission, it was determined that there was no reason to exclude the University of Memphis. On October 19, 2002, theImhotep chapter was installed inChampaign, Illinois.
Improved communications, including a website and email access, helped interested architecture students discover and contact the national fraternity, accelerating the pace of the expansion of new and reactivated chapters.Nicon chapter was established atFlorida International University on July 11, 2004. In the Northeast, theVitruvius chapter sponsored two new chapters simultaneously.Vitruvius installed theDomitian chapter at theNew Jersey Institute of Technology on January 30, 2005, and theSenenmut chapter at theUniversity at Buffalo on February 26, 2005. A charter atTulane University was preparing its petition to establish a chapter whenHurricane Katrina struckNew Orleans, closing the school for a semester and scattering the students across the country. After regrouping, theHadrian chapter was finally installed on November 4, 2006.
Students at theCalifornia College of the Arts inSan Francisco formed theCossutius charter, and were installed at theAndronicus chapter house on January 20, 2008. Representatives fromAndronicus,Daedalus,Satyros,Anthemios,Hadrian, andVitruvius chapters were on hand to usher in the newest chapter.
The Anthemios Alumni Association held a centennial celebration beginning in 2014. In 2014, theOlynthius chapter was installed at theUniversity of Maryland. In the spring of 2017, Alpha Rho Chi welcomed two new chapters; theTheodorus chapter was established at theUniversity of Tennessee-Knoxville in February and was followed by theAmenophis chapter atSouthern Illinois University-Carbondale in April.Skopas chapter atSyracuse University is the most recent addition, installed in May 2021.
The fraternity's national headquarters is inNorth Bergen, New Jersey.[3]
Alpha Rho Chi's motto isFidelitas, Amor et Artes or "Fidelity and Love of the Arts". Its colors are azure and sanguine. Its flower is the white rose. Its publications areThe Archi andThe Alpha Rho Chi Letter.
TheAnthemios chapter house at the University of Illinois is on theNational Register of Historic Places. It has eighteen bedrooms, most of which used to be double occupancy. Currently, only rooms 5–7, 16, and 17 are double occupancy. Keeping up with the progressive era, theAnthemios house changed to coed bathrooms in the late 2000s due to the influx of female brothers.
TheAndronicus chapter house is listed as aHistoric Cultural Monuments by the City of Los Angeles and is awaiting placement on the Federal Register of Historic Structures.
The Alpha Rho Chi Bronze Medal is awarded annually at accredited schools of architecture in the United States and Canada to honor graduating seniors who have demonstrated leadership, service, and the promise of professional merit. The recipients of the medal are decided by the faculty of each school. Membership in the fraternity is not a criterion for the award, nor is membership conferred to the medal's recipients. The medal program was established in 1931. Designed bysculptorRobert Merrell Gage, the medal is cast in bronze and features an image of a seatedAthena holding askyscraper.
On occasion, Alpha Rho Chi recognizes other individuals with two other classes of medals. The fraternity awards the Alpha Rho Chi Silver Medal for fraternal service. The Gold Alpha Rho Chi Medal honors an outstanding practitioner of architecture or an allied art. Recent recipients of the gold medal includeI.M. Pei andSamuel Balen.
Chapters take their names from architects of ancientEgypt,Greece, orRome.[4] Active chapters are inbold; inactive chapter are initalic.[4][5]
Master Architect is a special classification of fraternity membership to honor brothers who have gained national prominence in the field of architecture and the allied arts, or who have made significant contributions to the built environment. The following individuals have been installed as Master Architects (with year honored):
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