Happy 90th Anniversary to the Alpha Nu Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
On April 14, 1933, the Alpha Nu Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated was established at the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina. It was the 36th chapter, and the first of four chapters established that year by the growing brotherhood. The charter members of the Alpha Nu Chapter were Vincent A. Burgess, William W. Capeheart, James E. Charlton, Curl C. Grifin, Robert L. Harbison, Luther A. Kaiser, H. B. Short, and John T. Speller.
The chapter’s first advisor was Dr. Wadaran L. Kennedy, (W. L. Kennedy Drive on the A&T Campus), a longtime professor of agriculture and the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in dairy husbandry. He served as an advisor until 1949 and was the founder of the Greensboro alumni chapter. Other early supportive faculty included Donald Wheeler Wyatt, a professor of history, Charles Gerald Green, head of dramatics, and Dr. Harry James Green Jr., who became later the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemical engineering.
When exploring the Alpha Nu Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi collection in the Bluford Library, there are multiple stories of how Kappas have served their campus and their communities. Many Alpha Nu students have engaged in memorable community service projects, provided scholarships and became outstanding leaders around the nation.
Notable alumni of Kappa Alpha Psi through the decades have included many of Aggieland’s finest men the late John L. Withers Sr. ‘36, the father of former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, John L. Withers II; Howard C. Barnhill ‘38, former president of the North Carolina A&T State University Alumni Association, Inc.; Attorney J. Kenneth Lee ‘46; Chief Justice Henry E. Frye ‘53; and the late Dr. Alvin J. Blount Jr. ‘43, civil rights leader who integrated the health care system in Greensboro, N.C. (The Student Health Center is named after Dr. Alvin V. Blount, Jr.)
The archives are missing A&T Register student newspapers from Winter-Spring of 1933 that would have accounts of the earliest days of the Alpha Nu Chapter. For more information about the story, to access historical materials about Greek Life at A&T, or if you would like to contribute to these collections, please visit the F. D. Bluford Library Archives and Special Collections, or contact us at libraryarchives@ncat.edu.
One Comment
Terrance G Blount
Congratulations to Alpha Nu on 90 years of producing achievers in every field of endeavor. Recall that in 1940, my father [Alvin V. Blount, Jr] was one of three students identfied by (then) Polemarch J. Neal King to establish a tradition that remains an integral part of the Alpha Nu culture, namely, the GPAs of its potential members would exceed the minimum requirement of the college and Kappa Alpha Psi. Continue the tradition of achievement and I am certain the office of Grand Polemarch will seek an Alpha Nu alumnus.