Alpha Kappa Phi

For legal fraternity with the same namefounded at Northwestern University in 1902, see Delta Theta Phi.

Alpha Kappa Phi
ΑΚΦ
Founded	c. 1858; 168 years ago (1858) Centre College
Type	Social
Affiliation	Independent
Status	Merged
Merge date	1879
Successor	Beta Theta Pi
Scope	National
Chapters	14
Headquarters	United States

Alpha Kappa Phi (ΑΚΦ) was an American college fraternity. It was established in c. 1858 at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. The fraternity chartered at least fourteen chapters. It merged into the Beta Theta Pi fraternity in 1878 and 1879.

History

Alpha Kappa Phi was established c. 1858 at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky as a social fraternity.^[1][2] In the first edition of American College Fraternities, William Raimond Baird noted the fraternity's exact date of formation was not known because Alpha Kappa Phi's records were lost during the Civil War.^[3] However, a bill to incorporate the fraternity was submitted to the Kentucky General Assembly in December 1859.^[4]

The fraternity quickly added chapters in the Southern United States. Chapters were added at Bacon College and LaGrange College in 1859, followed by the University of Mississippi and the University of Louisville in 1860.^[2] It was incorporated as Alpha Kappa Phi Society in the Commonwealth of Kentucky on February 4, 1860.^[5][6] The fraternity also claimed to have added chapters in the Northern United States.^[3]

Alpha Kappa Psi's operations were disrupted during the Civil War, with chapters and colleges going inactive.^[1][2] After the Civil War, some chapters were reactivated, including Centre College and the University of Mississippi.^[2] At first, the fraternity seemed to rebound, establishing new chapters at Transylvania University in 1867 and Princeton University and Georgetown University in 1869.^[2]

However, only the chapters at Centre College and the University of Mississippi continued to operate past 1875.^[2] In 1878, the Centre College chapter disbanded and its members joined the campus's existing chapter of Beta Theta Pi in 1878.^[2] The University of Mississippi chapter became the Beta Beta chapter of Beta Theta Pi in 1879.^[1][2][3] The chapter at Southern University continued operating as a local fraternity into the 1890s.^[7][8]

Symbols

Alpha Kappa Phi's badge was a shield with concave-curved sides, bearing the Greek letters "ΑΚΦ" in its center, under a pair of clasped hands.^[3] Below the Greek letters were three links of chain, surrounding the Greek letters "ααπ".^[3]

Chapters

The exact names and numbers of Alpha Kappa Phi's chapters are unknown due to the loss of records during the Civil War.^[1][2] It was not connected with the literary society by the same name at Hillsdale College. Following are the known chapters of Alpha Kappa Phi, with inactive chapters in institutions indicated in italics.^[2]

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	c. 1858–1878	Centre College	Danville, Kentucky	Merged (ΒΘΠ)	[1][a]
Beta	1859–186x?	Bacon College	Georgetown, Kentucky	Inactive	[1][b]
	185x ?–18xx ??	LaGrange College	LaGrange, Georgia	Inactive	[1]
Psi (see Epsilon)	1860–1865	University of Mississippi	University, Mississippi	Merged	[3]
Gamma	1860–1861	University of Louisville	Louisville, Kentucky	Inactive
Delta	1867–18xx ?	Transylvania University	Lexington, Kentucky	Inactive
Epsilon (see Psi)	1867–1879	University of Mississippi	University, Mississippi	Merged (ΒΘΠ)	[3][1][c]
Zeta	186x ?–186s ?		Washington County, Virginia	Inactive
Eta	1869–18xx ?	Princeton University	Princeton, New Jersey	Inactive
Theta	1869–1873	Georgetown College	Georgetown, Kentucky	Inactive
	18xs ?–18xx ?	Cumberland University	Lebanon, Tennessee	Inactive	[1]
	18xx ?–18xx ?	Bethel College	Russellville, Kentucky	Inactive	[1]
	18xx ?–18xx ?	Oakland College	Rodney, Mississippi	Inactive	[1][d]
	18xx ?–after December 1895	Southern University	Greensboro, Alabama	Withdrew (local)	[9][10][7][8][e]

1. The chapters withdrew and joined Beta Theta Pi.
2. Bacon College became Kentucky University in 1858 and closed in 1861.
3. The chapter became the Beta Beta chapter of Beta Theta Pi.
4. The college closed in 1871.
5. The college merged with Birmingham College to form Southern-Birmingham College in Birmingham, Alabama in 1918

References

1. Shepardson, Francis Wayland, ed. Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 12th edition. Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press/George Banta Publishing Company, 1930. p. 647. via Hathi Trust.
2. Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (October 26, 2025) "Inactive Men's Organizations". Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed October 28, 2025.
3. Baird, William Raimond, ed. American College Fraternities, 1st edition. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.,1879. p. 32-33. via Hathi Trust.
4. "Leave to Bring in Bills". The Daily Commonwealth. Frankfort, Kentucky. 1859-12-16. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Titles of Acts Approved December Session 1859-60". Tri-Weekly Kentucky Yeoman. Frankfort, Kentucky. 1860-03-02. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Kentucky Legislature". Tri-Weekly Kentucky Yeoman. Frankfort, Kentucky. 1860-02-06. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "University Notes". Alabama Beacon. Greensboro, Alabama. 1895-01-09. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Social". Alabama Beacon. Greensboro, Alabama. 1895-12-18. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Town & County". Evergreen Star. 1886-06-10. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Southern University". lost-colleges. Retrieved 2025-10-28.