Alpha Gamma Upsilon (ΑΓΥ) was a social fraternity founded in 1922 at Anthony Wayne Institute in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In May 1965, it was absorbed in part by Alpha Sigma Phi (ΑΣΦ).[1][2]

Alpha Gamma Upsilon
ΑΓΥ
The official coat of arms of Alpha Gamma Upsilon
FoundedOctober 10, 1922; 102 years ago (1922-10-10)
Anthony Wayne Institute
TypeSocial
AffiliationIndependent
StatusMerged
Merge DateMay 1965
SuccessorAlpha Sigma Phi and scattered
ScopeNational
MottoΑΔΕΛΦΟΣ ΑΝΔΡΙ ΠΑΡΕΙΗ
Colors  Black and   Gold
FlowerPink Rose
PublicationLinks
   Forum/Fraternity Forum
Chapters14
HeadquartersRoyal Oak, Michigan
United States

History

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Alpha Gamma Upsilon was founded by Herbert R. Carter, Homer H. Iden, Alfred C Koeneke, and Dale R. Odneal at Anthony Wayne Institute in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[3][4] It was incorporated in Indiana on October 10, 1922.[4] Its purpose was:[4]

to promote friendship, comradeship, and mutual understanding among its members; to encourage excellence in scholarship; to develop good character; to uphold the ideals of the colleges where its chapters were located; and to foster the highest ideals of Christian conduct and good citizenship.

The Alpha chapter closed in 1933 when the Anthony Wayne Institute closed because of the Great Depression.[4][3] Chapter growth had stalled by 1951. Several chapters closed by mid-decade. The fraternity's national headquarters was in Detroit before moving to Royal Oak, Michigan.[3]

In 1962, the healthy Kappa chapter at Defiance College went local and sought membership in a larger national. Under these pressures, the faculty advisor for Alpha Gamma Upsilon's Lycoming College chapter, Dr. Otto Sonder (an alumnus of Alpha Sigma Phi) who was knowledgeable of the discussion of a possible merger, introduced the National Officers of Alpha Gamma Upsilon to Alpha Sigma Phi's Executive Secretary, Ralph F. Burns.

In 1965, the Alpha Gamma Upsilon chapter at Lycoming was installed as the Gamma Rho chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi. Chapters at Detroit Institute of Technology, Indiana Institute of Technology, and Eastern Michigan University followed suit in 1966. Those four chapters were, under the terms of the merger agreement, considered chartered in Alpha Sigma Phi as of their chartering dates in Alpha Gamma Upsilon, which were 1951, 1930, 1932, and 1948, respectively. The merger was completed when Lawrence Institute of Technology was re-accredited and its 55-year-old Alpha Gamma Upsilon chapter chartered in 1967. Thus, Alpha Sigma Phi gained five chapters from the merger.

Unlike Alpha Sigma Phi's mergers with Phi Pi Phi and Alpha Kappa Pi, there was no blanket invitation to Alpha Gamma Upsilon alumni to be initiated into Alpha Sigma Phi. However, some of the more prominent leaders of Alpha Gamma Upsilon did so. Alpha Gamma Upsilon's Delta chapter at General Motors Institute did not participate in the merger but sought and received a charter from Phi Gamma Delta. Alpha Gamma Upsilon's Lambda chapter at Trine University sought and received a charter from Sigma Phi Epsilon.[5]

Symbols

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Alpha Gamma Upsilon Pin

The motto of Alpha Gamma Upsilon was ΑΔΕΛΦΟΣ ΑΝΔΡΙ ΠΑΡΕΙΗ.[4] The fraternity's colors were black and gold.[4] Its flower was the pink rose.[4]

Its badge was a diamond-shaped shield of black enamel that was with the Greek letters ΑΓΥ.[2] In the area above these letters appear two links; below is a miniature dagger.[2] The standard badge was 3/8" x 5/8".[2] The badge was in gold and had the option of being bordered with emeralds, pears, or rubies.[4] Smaller badges were presented to mothers, wives, sisters, and fiancees of fraternity members.

Activities

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The fraternity celebrated Omega Day on February 1 and Founders' Day on October 10.[4] It presented several awards to the chapters annually. It presented the Alumni Cup to the chapter that best met the ideals of the fraternity.[4] Its Founders' Award was presented for service to the community and college.[4] Its Counselors' Cup was given for excellence in educating pledges.[4] The fraternity also gave the Regents' Award for the greatest improvement in chapter management, pledge instruction, and public relations.[4] The President's Plaque was presented to the chapter that excelled in the field of chapter journalism.[4]

Alpha Gamma Upsilon published The Pledge Manual and The Procedures Manual.[4] Its magazine,The Links, was established in 1924 and was published annually in May.[4][3] The Forum, its monthly bulletin, was published to keep information flowing from the chapters to the alumni and to bring briefs of national organization activities; it was discontinued in 1943 and restarted 1950 as The Fraternity Forum.

Auxiliary

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In 1947, a women's auxiliary to Alpha Gamma Upsilon named Alpha Alpha Pi was created and made open to mothers, wives, fiancées, sisters, and daughters of active and alumni brothers.

Chapters

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Following is a list of Alpha Gamma Upsilon chapters.[1][4][3] Inactive chapters and institutions are in italics:

Chapter Charter date and range Institution Location Status References
Alpha October 10, 1922 – ≤September 1933 Anthony Wayne Institute Fort Wayne, Indiana Inactive [a]
Old Beta December 12, 1927December 1928 Universal Institute Reassigned [b]
Gamma April 12, 1930May 13, 1966 Detroit Institute of Technology Detroit, Michigan Merged (ΑΣΦ) [6][c]
Delta January 16, 1932November 7, 1964 General Motors Institute Flint, Michigan Withdrew (local) [d]
Second Beta May 14, 1932May 5, 1966 Indiana Technical College Fort Wayne, Indiana Merged (ΑΣΦ) [7][e]
Epsilon June 18, 1933November 11, 1967 Lawrence Institute of Technology Southfield, Michigan Merged (ΑΣΦ) [8][f]
Zeta March 25, 1934 – 1957 University of Detroit Detroit, Michigan Inactive [g]
Eta Spring 1947–Fall 1962 Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan Withdrew (local) [9][10][h]
Theta May 15, 1948 – 1956 University of Toledo Toledo, Ohio Inactive
Iota June 6, 1948September 24, 1966 Michigan State Normal College Ypsilanti, Michigan Merged (ΑΣΦ) [11][i]
Kappa April 24, 1949May 1962 Defiance College Defiance, Ohio Merged (ΤΚΕ) [12][13][14][15][j]
Lambda May 8, 1949May 4, 1968 Tri-State College Angola, Indiana Merged (ΣΦΕ) [16][17][k]
Mu 1951–1957 Rider College Lawrence Township, New Jersey Inactive [l]
Nu March 18, 1951May 22, 1965 Lycoming College Williamsport, Pennsylvania Merged (ΑΣΦ) [18][m]
  1. ^ The Wayne Institute closed in the fall of 1933.
  2. ^ The chapter's charter was rescinded by the national fraternity because granting a charter to an unaccredited college was considered an error.
  3. ^ Became the Gamma Sigma chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi.
  4. ^ Formed a local, then became Alpha Gamma chapter of Phi Gamma Delta.
  5. ^ Became the Gamma Tau chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi.
  6. ^ Became the Gamma Psi chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi.
  7. ^ Chapter became Zeta Omega, then Phi Sigma Kappa.
  8. ^ Chapter withdre and became Epsilon Tau Alpha. It then merged and became the Kappa Alpha Tau chapter of Phi Epsilon Pi.
  9. ^ Became the Gamma Upsilon chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi.
  10. ^ Chapter formed from Alpha Kappa (local), established in 1921. It become the Iota Phi chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon.
  11. ^ Chapter formed from Phi Sigma Chi (local), established in 1927. It became the Indiana Theta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
  12. ^ Chapter formed from Kappa Phi (local), established in 1929.
  13. ^ Chapter formed from Beta Kappa Upsilon (local), established in 1950. It became the Gamma Rho chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities. Baird's Manual Foundation, Incorporated. 1991. pp. VIII–1.
  2. ^ a b c d History of Alpha Gamma chapter at General Motors Institute
  3. ^ a b c d e Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (April 24, 2024) "Alpha Gamma Upsilon". Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed May 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Robson, John, ed. (1963). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc. pp. 360-361.
  5. ^ Alpha Sigma Phi 1941-1970
  6. ^ Alpha Sigma Phi Detroit Institute of Technology
  7. ^ Alpha Sigma Phi Indiana Institute of Technology
  8. ^ Intended merger into ΑΣΦ was delayed one year due to the need for re-accreditation of the school. See Alpha Sigma Phi Lawrence Institute of Technology, accessed 10 March 2022.
  9. ^ This chapter had reverted to local status, becoming Epsilon Tau Alpha (local) in the Fall of 1962 before joining Phi Epsilon Pi's Kappa Alpha Tau chapter, which itself had recently been a unit of Kappa Nu, the following Spring. In 1970 ΦΕΠ would merge into Zeta Beta Tau, but the Wayne chapter of the fraternity (several predecessor groups?) all became dormant between 1963 and 1970. See the Wayne State Student Organization rosters 1960-1969
  10. ^ Wayne University Griffin yearbook 1950
  11. ^ Alpha Sigma Phi Eastern Michigan University Alpha Sigma Phi
  12. ^ This chapter had its origin in the Alpha Kappa fraternity, formed in 1921. It chose the name Delta Chi Rho (local) for nine months until petitioning ΤΚΕ to become a colony. It was granted a ΤΚΕ charter on February 28, 1964.
  13. ^ Noted in The Defender yearbook, May 18, 1962, accessed 30 Oct 2020.
  14. ^ ΤΚΕ merger per The Oraculum yearbook, 1963, p.63, accessed 30 Oct 2020.
  15. ^ ΤΚΕ national website shows now-inactive Iota Phi chapter at Defiance College, accessed 30 Oct 2020.
  16. ^ This chapter had its origin as Delta Epsilon chapter of Phi Sigma Chi, formed in 1927.
  17. ^ Was this Phi Sigma Chi the high school fraternity that reportedly had 117 chapters? In its early days, Tri-State was non-accredited, thus many early fraternities placing chapters here had to release them to join the larger NIC or NPC conferences. Accreditation was resolved in 1963, and this chapter soon after joined Sigma Phi Epsilon.
  18. ^ Alpha Sigma Phi Lycoming College