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Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members and over 300,000 lifetime initiates.

Pi Kappa Alpha

March 1, 1868 (1868-03-01)
University of Virginia

Social

NIC

International

  Garnet
  Old Gold

The Oak Tree, Shield & Diamond, Dagger & Key

Lily of the Valley

Diamond

Shield and Diamond

225[1]

300,000[1] lifetime

Pikes

8347 West Range Cove
Memphis, Tennessee 38125
United States

pikes.org

Traditions and symbols[edit]

The fraternity's rituals were based on those of Independent Order of Odd Fellows.[8]


Shield & Diamond is the official quarterly publication of Pi Kappa Alpha. It was first printed in December 1890 by Robert Adger Smythe, the then Grand Secretary and Treasurer, under the name The Pi Kappa Alpha Journal. The name was changed to Shield & Diamond in 1891.[6]

Foundation and educational programs[edit]

PIKE University[edit]

Pike University is the name used for all of the fraternity's leadership programs. The program is administered by the fraternity's professional staff.[9]


Founded in 1948 as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization for charitable, literary & educational purposes. Events held by the university include International Convention, the Academy, the Chapter Executives Conference, and several regional Leadership Summits. Pike University grants more than $100,000 in scholarships each year.

The PIKE Foundation[edit]

In 1948, Pi Kappa Alpha established and chartered the "Pi Kappa Alpha Memorial Foundation" as a 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation grants $350,000 in scholarships and grants to undergraduate members each year. It also provides funding to the fraternity and its chapters for leadership programs, scholarships, and chapter house facilities. The foundation grants initiation fee scholarships to undergraduates inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Order of Omega, Phi Kappa Phi, and Tau Beta Pi honoraries.[6][10] The Pike Foundation also maintains and operates the Memorial Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. This facility houses professional staffs, the Harvey T. Newell Library, and the Freeman Hart Museum.[11] The building is a war memorial built in 1988 to recognize the military services of members who died in the line of duty.[11] A Gold Star Memorial was dedicated on August 1, 2008.[11][12][13]

The 1976 death of Samuel Mark Click, a pledge at who was killed by a train while participating in a scavenger hunt as part of a hazing event.[15]

Texas Tech University

In 2002, Albert Santos, a pledge at the , drowned in a lake participating in a hazing ritual. He and several pledges were told to swim in a lake in their underwear but Santos could not swim.[16]

University of Nevada at Reno

In 2012, Pi Kappa Alpha pledge David Bogenberger died of a triggered by alcohol poisoning. According to police, Bogenberger and other pledges at an unsanctioned Northern Illinois University event were pressured into drinking large quantities of alcohol in a two-hour time.[17] Bogenberger and 18 other pledges drank to unconsciousness. Five fraternity officers and 17 other members were convicted of misdemeanors in one of the largest hazing prosecutions in U.S. history. The chapter was suspended by the fraternity.[18]

cardiac arrhythmia

In March 2015, the chapter at the was suspended after a Pike member was found dead in a private home near campus that had beer kegs and St. Patrick Day decorations on the porch. The Richland County Coroner's Office called it a "suspicious death".[19]

University of South Carolina

In July 2017, the chapter at was kicked out of their house and lost recognition and affiliation with the school after knowingly serving alcohol to minors and refusing to stop knowingly serving alcohol to minors at the schools "Founders Day" event on campus, all whilst in the middle of a hazing investigation. The school stated that it had attempted to work diplomatically and educationally with the chapter several times, and that it's decision was both non-reversible and permanent.[20]

Lehigh University

List of social fraternities and sororities

Official website