In about 14 days, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. will be celebrating its 100 year mark in Indianapolis, IN. As a member of the fraternity, I have decided to countdown to this grand event and thought to myself, “What a better way to begin this countdown, than explain what the event actually is?”

Conclave (n) – a confidential or secret meeting. 

Centennial (n) – 100 years

Kappa Alpha Psi’s Centennial Conclave will be held from July 2nd – 9th in Indianapolis, IN. The events surrounding this occasion are a good balance of business and pleasure. 

Everyday until conclave, I will post some valuable information about our fraternity along with a highlight of one renowned member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

FACT: Kappa Alpha Psi was founded on January 5, 1911 on the campus Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. 

MEMBER HIGHLIGHT: Elbert Frank Cox

Elbert Cox was an American mathematician. He became the first black person in the world to receive a PhD in mathematics. 

In 1913, Elbert graduated from Clark High School and enrolled at Indiana University.  While at Indiana University, he joined Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and after graduating, he returned home to teach at Alves Street School in Henderson. 

In 1925 he earned a PhD in mathematics from Cornell University and became the head of the Math and Physics Departments at West Virginia State University. While visiting his brother Avalon’s church, Bethel AME in Princeton, he met and later married Beulah Kaufman. In 1929, Cox joined the faculty at Howard University.  He retired in 1965 and passed on in 1969.

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