About Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. develops leaders, promotes brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our communities.
The first intercollegiate Greek-lettered fraternity established for African American college students, was organized at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, in 1906. The seven visionary founders at Cornell – Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy – labored during a time of severe economic struggle and racial conflict in the United States.
Despite their organizational difficulties, in this untried field of student life, the early fraternity pioneers succeeded in laying a firm foundation. They remained steadfast in their goals – the espousing of the principles of good character, sound scholarship, fellowship, and the uplifting of humanity (especially the struggling African American minority in America).
The fraternity has grown steadily in influence throughout the years. Since its founding in 1906, over 125,000 men have been initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha. It has been interracial since 1945. There are now 350 college chapters on campuses and 350 alumni chapters in local communities, located in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Our objectives:
to stimulate the ambition of its members
to prepare them for the greatest usefulness in the causes of humanity, freedom, and dignity of the individual
to encourage the highest and noblest form of manhood
to aid downtrodden humanity in its efforts to achieve higher social, economic and intellectual status
Our aims:
Manly deeds
Scholarship
Love for all mankind
Bro. Dr. Willis L. Lonzer, III
Bro. Dr. Willis L. Lonzer, III is our 36th General President of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. As our General President, Bro Lonzer is a respected leader in our fraternity, business, and his community. He is an executive scientist with 20 years of global pharmaceutical research and development and global medical affairs experience. Bro. Dr. Lonzer attended Delaware State University, where he was a Charles Waples Scholar in Chemistry and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. While at Delaware State, he joined the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. through the Gamma Sigma Chapter on November 15, 1986. He also holds the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biochemistry from The University of Akron, where he was a prestigious Patricia Roberts Harris Predoctoral Fellow. Bro. Dr. Lonzer was also a postdoctoral fellow in Physiology and Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine.