100 YEARS
THE NU CHAPTER CENTENNIAL
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Acknowledges the Centennial of the Purdue University Chapter, the Nu of Kappa Alpha Psi
By Aaron Williams and Jerry Burris O n October 5, 2020, over 100 Nu Chapter initiates spanning seven decades conducted a virtual obser- vance of the centennial university of the chapter's chartering on Zoom. Kevin Johnson (Nu 1994) and Damon Hous- ton (Nu 1994) chaired the Centennial Celebration Planning Committee. On the call, brothers reminisced about the chapter, reconnected with one another, and discussed ideas to support Pur- due and its African American students further. 74 th Elder Watson Diggs Awardee Myron L. Hardiman (Nu 1966) provided a historical perspective of the Nu Chapter, highlighting his role during the transfer of the chapter from Indianapolis to Purdue in 1968. Reverend James Foster (Nu 1970) provided the invocation emphasizing how blessed the chapter has been over the past 100 years, and James Bly (Nu 1969) closed the virtual event with a celebratory toast.
school for the Nu Chapter; however, by the 1960s, Nu Chapter members at Pur- due began efforts to move the chapter’s charter from Indianapolis to Purdue. Myron Hardiman recalled, “When I ar- rived on Purdue's campus in the fall of 1965, there were a few Kappas on cam- pus, but no chapter. The black fraterni- ties on Purdue's campus were Alpha Phi Alpha and Omega Psi Phi. Since Nu Chapter had been non- functioning as an undergraduate chapter for many years, I started the process of petitioning the North Central Prov- ince and the Grand Board to move the chapter charter from the University of Indianapolis to Purdue. During my term as Chapter Polemarch, I worked with North Central Province Polemarch Eldridge T. Freeman Jr. to support this initiative, which he did. The Grand Board approved the re- chartering of Nu Chapter to Purdue in 1968. I also worked with the Purdue University administration to recognize the Nu Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fra- ternity, Inc. on Purdue's campus, which they approved. Kappa Alpha Psi became
Chapters. By 1926, Nu was a member of the Central Province, a precursor to the present-day North Central Province, Alpha, Beta, Theta, Iota, Chicago (IL) Alumni, and Indianapolis (IN) Alumni Chapters.
Indianapolis Era of Nu
For nearly half a century, Nu Chapter operated as a “city-wide chapter” with other Indianapolis area colleges, primar- ily Butler University, comprising the membership of Nu Chapter. Several Nu initiates from its earliest decades were graduate school students from Indiana University Schools of Dentistry and Law, respectively. While Nu Chapter pub- lished articles in the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal in the 1920s and 1930s, little in- formation exists from the “Indianapolis” era. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, interest in the Fraternity at the India- napolis schools apparently dissipated. In contrast, the interest in the Fraternity was growing at Purdue University in nearby West Lafayette, IN.
Chartering
Led by Founders Ezra D. Alexander and Guy L. Grant, the second Grand Polemarch Irven Armstrong, and the Grand Board established the Nu of the Kappa Alpha Psi at the Indiana Central College (now known as the University of Indianapolis), with Gordon Ross as the chapter's inaugural Polemarch. The Nu Chapter charter initiates were Lionel F. Artis, Howard Dangerfield, Robert L. Bailey, Lucian B. Mer- riweather, Theodore W. Cable, and Frederick D. Smith . A year after its chartering, Nu, Beta, Gamma, Theta, Eta, Iota, and Chicago (IL) Alumni, comprised Fraternity’s the newly created District 2. In 1923, Nu became a member of Region 1 with Alpha and Indianapolis (IN) Alumni
Nu Moves to Purdue
Purdue University was a satellite
From the October 1929 Issue of The Journal.
THE JOURNAL ♦ FALL-WINTER 2020 | 17
Publishing achievement for more than 105 years
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