Fraternity Creates Memories, Endowment to Celebrate 50th Anniversary
"While many of us have taken various paths in life, we still share the common Kappa Alpha Psi bond of ‘achievement in every field of human endeavor."
- Ron Pirtle '77
The alumni of the Eta Eta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. wanted their 50th anniversary celebration to have a lasting impact.
While the weekend festivities did produce memories to last a lifetime, several brothers had something bigger in mind when they pledged a minimum of $50,000 over the next five years to fund the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Eta Eta Chapter Scholarship Endowment. Scholarships, subject to renewal with a minimum 2.5 GPA and a satisfactory Co-op performance evaluation, will be available to Black or Hispanic students.
The brothers let their donations speak to their desire for impact because they secured $50,000 in commitments within two weeks. Most groups take four to six months to complete this task.
“We feel a responsibility to give back and help other young people of color who are talented with tons of potential but may not be able to reach their full potential because of the lack of financial resources,” said Ron Pirtle ’77. “Being able to give back financially to future generations is very gratifying.”
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity is a national historically black fraternity founded at Indiana University in 1911. The Eta Eta Chapter formed at Ƶ (formerly General Motors Institute) on July 20, 1973, when 21 young men were initiated as founding members. It was the first national African American Greek-letter organization on campus. The chapter received its charter in March 1974 and has expanded to include University of Michigan-Flint students.
Many brothers returned to Flint for a July weekend to celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary with a reception. They also toured the Ƶ campus, met with current students and visited potential students participating in the Academically Interested Minds (AIM) program.
Started in 1984, AIM is a free, five-week, residential precollege
summer program for multicultural students in 11th grade who have a strong interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Students enroll in college-level courses to develop their functional, quantitative and qualitative skills.
“Meeting the students was both interesting and enjoyable. They appeared to be both knowledgeable and inquisitive,” said Reggie Linebarger ’76. “We hope we were able to provide them with some insight that will be helpful in their futures.”
Pirtle also enjoyed meeting AIM students and the campus visit.
“We had a wonderful all-day visit that Friday. The campus was beautiful, much larger, more student-friendly with more excellent academic and athletic facilities than when I attended in the 1970s,” he said. “The University’s leadership was impressive and very accommodating. We also met some impressive current students and future students in the AIM program.”
Linebarger said the reception was his favorite part of the weekend. For Pirtle, it was the time spent with his brothers.
“I saw brothers I had not seen in decades! I also met new generations of Kappa Alpha Psi brothers,” he said. “The bonding and brotherhood was awesome! While many of us have taken various paths in life, we still share the common Kappa Alpha Psi bond of ‘achievement in every field of human endeavor.’”
Next, the group hopes to reestablish its presence at Ƶ.
“We will increase support to our undergraduate brothers in Kappa Alpha Psi-Eta Eta Chapter, which covers Ƶ and the University of Michigan-Flint,” Pirtle said. “We believe strongly that membership in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity helps young men succeed in undergraduate school, in their professions and in life overall.”
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