The ALUMNI CHAPTER GUIDE is currently under revision, please contact Anita Snyder at 540-463-1865 for any information or questions regarding procedure.
The Alumni Chapter Annual Report/Application for Chartering online report is available HERE. The report along with the $100 annual dues and membership roster is due June 1, 2009 to be a recognized active alumni chapter.
Alumni chapters serve as a link for continuing active participation by alumni members in the work and brotherhood of their fraternity. It is the goal of the alumni chapter to extend the KA experience far past the undergraduate years.
As early members of Alpha and Beta left their schools in Virginia, they showed interest in organizing alumni groups which could be conducive to the establishment and upbuilding of active chapters.
Those early members established the first alumni chapter in Macon, Georgia, on December 18, 1869; a second chapter was established ten years later, in 1879, in Columbus, Georgia.
The provision for the establishment of alumni chapters did not actually exist until the Constitution of 1874, and it included the limitation that chapters would not have the authority to initiate new members.
The 17th Convention (1893 in Richmond, Virginia) encouraged the establishment of alumni chapters and declared that such chapters "when duly authorized and chartered by the Knight Commander shall have every privilege enjoyed by active chapters with the exception of initiating new members."
Since that time, provisions in the Constitution and Bylaws have allowed for the establishment of alumni chapters "to collaborate with the Order, and its active chapters, to further its objectives, intention, and purposes and to preserve and maintain its traditions and national reputation."
What does an Alumni chapter do?
As constitutional units of the Order, accredited alumni chapters have all the rights and privileges of an active chapter and may:
- Be represented and vote at Convention and Province Councils
- Recommend prospective new members
- Host regular social activities in KA fellowship
- Celebrate the Convivium as a chapter and, if desired, with any local active chapter
- Nominate members for election into the Province Court of Honor
- Recognize its members with certificates and awards as appropriate
- Adopt bylaws
There are over 100 Kappa Alpha alumni chapters across the country, each one started by a group of KAs who wanted to associate with men of like character. Each of these groups is a little different and each has its own agenda, social calendar and expectations, much like our undergraduate chapters.
That is one of the appealing aspects of establishing an alumni chapter - it can be just what you want it to be. Whether vigorously active or providing just an occasional get-together of fraternity brothers, the benefit of an alumni chapter is it brings together men who share the experience of initiation into the Order and helps perpetuate the idea of KA as a lifetime experience, one which extends far beyond the undergraduate years.
