A “Like” from Andy

Andrew Dickson White, Cornell’s first president, believed in the value of fraternities (so much so he was a member of three of them). He was a strong promoter of fraternities as a means of teaching self-governance to young students. By 1900, twenty-eight chapters had been established at the university.

Trailblazing.

Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established for African-Americans, was founded at Cornell in 1906. . Alpha Zeta fraternity, the first Greek-lettered organization established for Latin Americans in the United States, was also founded at Cornell in 1890. In 1917 Sigma Delta Tau at Cornell became the first Jewish sorority in the United States. Cornell remains a leader with one of the most robust and flourishing fraternity systems in the US.

University with a Soul.

An Ivy League university with a Big Ten soul.

This blend of academic excellence and the “land grant” mission to serve society is at the heart of being a Cornell graduate and fraternity alumnus. Fraternities have always produced an inordinate share of campus and alumni leaders; it’s in our DNA. And centrally-isolated in Ithaca, students’ lives focus on each other, the Cornell community and our Ithaca neighbors.