Alpha Eta Rho () is a coed international professional college aviation fraternity. Established in 1929 at the University of Southern California, it was the first professional aviation fraternity. The fraternity's purpose was to bring together students interested in commercial aviation for education and research and to connect them with professionals in the various aviation branches.

Along with Hill, the fraternity's founding members were John Bonadiman, Joe Burchman, Adam E. Diehl, Dr. Rudolph Hirschberg, Richard Mogle, and Walter Sykes. Mogle was elected the student chapter's first president.

By the end of 1933, the fraternity had 39 collegiate members, 72 alumni members, and 55 associate members. New members were selected based on scholarship, character, and an interest in aviation.

Because it accepted international students and its founders included an exchange professor from Germany, the fraternity called itself "international".

The fraternity's activities included meetings with guest speakers, weekly luncheons, trips to airplane factories and related industries, and cross-country flights. The fraternity also awarded scholarships for aviation students.

As of 2023, Alpha Eta Rho has more than 50,000 alumni. Its alumni work in all facets of the aviation industry and related management fields, including airline captains, military aviation flag officers, corporate CEOs, NASA engineers, flight attendants, aircraft mechanics, aviation museum directors, aerospace engineers, and pilots.

Alpha Eta Rho is incorporated in the state of Missouri. Its quarterly newsletter is The Beam. The letter Alpha also means "first and foremost". The letter Eta represents the fraternity's seven founders because it is the seventh letter in the Greek alphabet.

The fraternity's colors are chrome yellow, red, and black. Its motto is "Collegiate Aviation Leaders of Today... Aviation Industry Leaders of Tomorrow."

Notable members

  • Pretto Bell (Beta) – aviator and second licensed female pilot in the United States
  • Kenneth P. Bergquist (Pi Honorary) – brigadier general and Assistant Secretary of the Navy
  • John Franklin Bruce Carruthers (Associate) – minister and aviation historian
  • Ira C. Eaker (Alpha) – aviation pioneer and aerobatic pilot
  • Earle Foxe (Associate) – silent film actor, president, and co-owner of the Black-Foxe Military Institute
  • Harold Gatty (Associate) – navigator and record-setting aviation pioneer
  • George Allan Hancock (Iota) – aviator, banker, railroad engineer, and the namesake of Allan Hancock Field and Allan Hancock College
  • Herbert Hoover Jr. (Associate) – engineer, United States Under Secretary of State, and eldest son of President Herbert Hoover
  • Ronald D. Kelly (Sigma Second) – aviation academic and director of the Southern Illinois University Air Institute and Service
  • Rufus B. von KleinSmid (Associate) – president of the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona
  • Frank Kurtz (Alpha) – record-setting aviator and champion high diver at the 1932 Summer Olympics
  • Charles Lindbergh (Alpha) – aviator who made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris
  • Jean Piccard (Associate) – chemist, engineer academic, and high-altitude balloonist
  • Elliott Roosevelt (Associate) – brigadier general, general manager of Gilpin Airlines, and the son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt
  • Lee Shippey (Honorary) – journalist and author
  • Ernie Smith (Alpha) – professional football player
  • Robert E. Stuck (Eta) – United States Army Air Force pilot
  • Roscoe Turner (Associate) – record-breaking aviator

See also

  • Professional fraternities and sororities

References