Alpha Rho Chi () is an American professional co-educational college fraternity for students studying architecture and related professions. The fraternity's name is derived from the first three letters of the Greek word for architecture, ἀρχιτεκτονική.
History
Founding
APX was founded on April 11, 1914, with the merger of Sigma Upsilon (local) at the University of Michigan and the Arcus Society (local) at the University of Illinois to form a national fraternity for Architecture and the allied arts.
Sigma Upsilon (local) had been founded four years prior by eight architecture students at Michigan, with the intent of eventually forming a national architecture fraternity, and had drafted their constitution and laws to reflect that. Two years after they were founded in 1912. they were recognized by their school as a fraternity and started negotiations with other schools to open up more chapters.
In 1911, the Arcus Society (local) was formed by fifteen architecture students as a secret society; it became public a year later. After recognition by their school, the Arcus Society started correspondence with several other schools to expand. One of those schools was the University of Michigan, which started the collaboration of the two founding brothers of , Leo M. Bauer of the Arcus Society and Chandler C. Cohagen of Sigma Upsilon.
According to fraternity history books, the Anthemios chapter at the University of Illinois claims to be the first chapter of the new fraternity. This was achieved by setting the meeting for the fraternity's organization and merger while Illinois was on break and Michigan was still holding classes. Iktinos at Michigan also claims to be the first chapter as their precursor organization existed before the society in Illinois. Both the Iktinos and Anthemios chapters are considered the founding chapters and share the same cadency mark.
Bauer and Cohagen met on , at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago, where they selected the name for the combined organization, the new constitution and by-laws, and the coat of arms. The brothers decided to keep the colors azure and sanguine, from the Arcus Society, and the white rose, a symbol of Sigma Upsilon. They also selected the chapter names from a list of prominent Greek and Roman architects; Egyptian architects were added at a later date. Illinois selected Anthemios as their name, and Michigan selected Iktinos.
Expansion to World War I
Alpha Rho Chi set expansion and becoming a national architecture fraternity as their first goal. Several existing architecture organizations petitioned to join, but only Tau Epsilon Chi of Ohio State University was accepted, being installed as the Demetrios chapter on February 25, 1916. The Cyma Club became the Mnesicles chapter at the University of Minnesota on October 10, 1916. Recruiting efforts slowed with the start of World War I because most of the brothers entered the armed services.
Great Depression and World War II
After the war, the Kallikrates chapter was installed at the University of Virginia on February 15, 1922. The Andronicus chapter was installed a month later, on March 11, 1922, with eleven charter members at the University of Southern California.thumb|right|[[University of Illinois chapter house]]
Symbols
Alpha Rho Chi's motto is or "Fidelity and Love of the Arts". Its colors are azure and sanguine. Its flower is the white rose. Its publications are The Archi and The Alpha Rho Chi Letter.
Chapter houses
The Anthemios chapter house at the University of Illinois is on the National Register of Historic Places. It has eighteen bedrooms, most of which used to be double occupancy. Currently, only rooms 5–7, 16, and 17 are double occupancy. Keeping up with the progressive era, the Anthemios house changed to coed bathrooms in the late 2000s due to the influx of female brothers.
The Andronicus chapter house is listed as a Historic Cultural Monuments by the City of Los Angeles and is awaiting placement on the Federal Register of Historic Structures.
Medals
The Alpha Rho Chi Bronze Medal is awarded annually at accredited schools of architecture in the United States and Canada to honor graduating seniors who have demonstrated leadership, service, and the promise of professional merit. The recipients of the medal are decided by the faculty of each school. Membership in the fraternity is not a criterion for the award, nor is membership conferred to the medal's recipients. The medal program was established in 1931. Designed by sculptor Robert Merrell Gage, the medal is cast in bronze and features an image of a seated Athena holding a skyscraper.
On occasion, Alpha Rho Chi recognizes other individuals with two other classes of medals. The fraternity awards the Alpha Rho Chi Silver Medal for fraternal service. The Gold Alpha Rho Chi Medal honors an outstanding practitioner of architecture or an allied art. Recent recipients of the gold medal include I.M. Pei and Samuel Balen.
Chapters
Chapters take their names from architects of ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome. Active chapters are in bold; inactive chapter are in italic.
{| class="wikitable sticky-header sortable" style="width:100%;"
!Chapter
!Charter date and range
!Institution
!Location
!Status
!
|-
|Anthemios
|
|University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
|Champaign, Illinois
|Active
|
|-
|Iktinos
|
|University of Michigan
|Ann Arbor, Michigan
|Active
|
|-
|Demetrios
| – xxxx ?; February 1, 2020
|Ohio State University
|Columbus, Ohio
|Active
|
|-
|Mnesicles
|
|University of Minnesota
|Minneapolis Minnesota
|Active
|
|-
|Kallikrates
| – xxxx ?
|University of Virginia
|Charlottesville, Virginia
|Inactive
|
|-
|Andronicus
|
|University of Southern California
|Los Angeles, California
|Active
|
|-
|Paeonios
| – 194x ?
|Kansas State University
|Manhattan, Kansas
|Inactive
|
|-
|Dinocrates
| – xxxx ?, xxxx ?
|University of Texas at Austin
|Austin, Texas
|Active
|
|-
|Polyklitos
| – 194x ?
|Carnegie Mellon University
|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
|Inactive
|
|-
|Theron
| –
|Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
|Stillwater, Oklahoma
|Inactive
|
|-
|Vitruvius
|
|Pennsylvania State University
|State College, Pennsylvania
|Active
|
|-
|Satyros
|
|Arizona State University
|Tempe, Arizona
|Active
|
|-
|Metagenes
|
|Virginia Tech
|Blacksburg, Virginia
|Active
|
|-
|Xenocles
| – xxxx ?
|University of Texas at Arlington
|Arlington, Texas
|Inactive
|
|-
|Daphnis
| – xxxx ?
|University of Arkansas
|Fayetteville, Arkansas
|Inactive
|
|-
|Daedalus
|
|California Polytechnic State University
|San Luis Obispo, California
|Active
|
|-
|Cleisthenes
|
|University of Houston
|Houston, Texas
|Active
|
|-
|Heracleides
| – xxxx ?
|University of Oklahoma
|Norman, Oklahoma
|Inactive
|
|-
|Rhoecus
| – xxxx ?
|University of Kansas
|Lawrence, Kansas
|Inactive
|
|-
|Apollodorus
|
|University of Florida
|Gainesville, Florida
|Active
|
|-
|Pytheos
|
|University of Nebraska–Lincoln
|Lincoln, Nebraska
|Active
|
|-
|Seshait
|
|Florida A&M University
|Tallahassee, Florida
|Active
|
|-
|Rabirius
|/
|University of Cincinnati
|Cincinnati, Ohio
|Active
|
|-
|Imhotep
| – 20xx ?
|University of Memphis
|Memphis, Tennessee
|Inactive
|
|-
|Nicon
|
|Florida International University
|Miami, Florida
|Active
|
|-
|Domitian
|
|New Jersey Institute of Technology
|Newark, New Jersey
|Active
|
|-
|Senenmut
|
|University at Buffalo
|Buffalo, New York
|Active
|
|-
|Hadrian
|
|Tulane University
|New Orleans, Louisiana
|Active
|
|-
| (Decimus) Cossutius
|
|California College of the Arts
|San Francisco, California
|Active
|
|-
|Sostratus
|
|Washington State University
|Pullman, Washington
|Active
|
|-
|Agamedes
|
|University of Miami
|Coral Gables, Florida
|Active
|
|-
|Isidorus
|
|Miami University
|Oxford, Ohio
|Active
|
|-
|Severus<!--https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q97934880-->
|
|Kent State University
|Kent, Ohio
|Active
|
|-
|Philon
|
|Washington University in St. Louis
|St. Louis, Missouri
|Active
|
|-
|Callimachus
|
|University of California, Berkeley
|Berkeley, California
|Active
|
|-
|Hemiunu
| – 20xx ?
|Howard University
|Washington, D.C.
|Inactive
|
|-
|Hippodamus
|
|Mississippi State University
|Starkville, Mississippi
|Active
|
|-
|Polyidus
|
|Southern Polytechnic State University
|Marietta, Georgia
|Active
|
|-
|Numisius
|
|NewSchool of Architecture and Design
|San Diego, California
|Active
|
|-
|Aristobulus
| – 20xx ?
|Clemson University
|Clemson, South Carolina
|Inactive
|
|-
|Theodorus
|
|University of Tennessee
|Knoxville, Tennessee
|Active
|
|-
|Amenophis
|
|Southern Illinois University
|Carbondale, Illinois
|Active
|
|-
|Skopas
|
|Syracuse University
|Syracuse, New York
|Active
|
|}
Master architects
Master Architect is a special classification of fraternity membership to honor brothers who have gained national prominence in the field of architecture and the allied arts, or who have made significant contributions to the built environment. The following individuals have been installed as Master Architects (with year honored):
- Nathan Clifford Ricker (1914)
- Cass Gilbert (1924)
- Eliel Saarinen (1942)
- John Wellborn Root Jr. (1951)
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1966)
- Richard Buckminster Fuller (1970)
- I.M. Pei (1981), the only Master Architect who is not to be a fraternity member
- Robert Ivy (2010)
See also
- Professional fraternities and sororities