Alpha Kappa

Phi Kappa Tau Northwest

Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

The Alpha Kappa Story

Founded as Omega Phi, January 1924
Chartered as Phi Kappa Tau, June 4, 1927

The idea for a new fraternity at Washington State was concieved by a group of engineering students during the winter of 1923-1924. Chester Calbrick was the first president, and Homer J. Dana was the first faculty member and became the first advisor. The group chose the name Omega Phi because the two letters were used in electrical calculations. A ritual was designed from pieces of other fraternity's rituals that friends were willing to reveal. A first house was rented at 1718 A Street in the summer of 1924, and two years later the fraternity obtained a mortgage to buy a former Delta Delta Delta Sorority house at 300 Colorado.

In 1927, the local petitioned Phi Kappa Tau, and upon approval, the installation took place in the parish house of the local Episcopal church. In 1938, the Alpha Kappa chapter moved into its newly constructed home at 607 California Street (since changed to 715 NE California). Advisor Homer J. Dana oversaw the construction and financial affairs of the chapter. While the house was rented out during World War II and Professor Dana was in military service, Mrs. Dana ran the corporation.

Soon after the war, the thirty-two man house was jammed with forty-five brothers, and in 1955 four lots adjacent to the chapter house were purchased for further expansion. Eventually, the two closest buildings were demolished to provide for a yard and parking spaces. The remaining two buildings were used as "senior annexes" until the mid 1990's when one was sold to retire old debt and the other is currently used as a rental property to increase revenue for the Omega Phi House Corporation. The original Omega Phi house sits right across A Street from the chapter and currently houses the Union of Christian Brotherhood.

Alpha Kappa Chapter celebrated it's 75th Anniversary in 2002 and held a celebration in the fall of 2003 in honor of our 80th year on the Washington State campus since Omega Phi was created in the fall of 1923.

Alpha Kappa won the Phi Kappa Tau Hap Angelo Award in 1985 as the Most Improved Chapter in the Fraternity and was a finalist for the Maxwell Award in 1986. Homer J. Dana, who served as the first Chapter Advisor from 1923 until 1971 and as the Chairman of the House Corporation from 1923 through 1967, became the 12th recipient of the highest Fraternity honor - the Palm Award - in 1952. In addition, Alpha Kappa has had a Shideler Award winner as the most outstanding graduating senior in Greg Stangle in 1980 and a Borradaile Alumnus Award winner for oustanding accompishment in their field of endeavor in Wes Stock in 1974 who was a major league baseball player and coach.

On campus, two buildings are named after Alpha Kappa members. Dana Hall is named for Homer J. Dana '27, and Todd Hall - the largest academic classroom building on campus - is named for C.C. Todd '27. Among the many accomplishments on campus, Alpha Kappa is most proud of it's string of having a Phi Tau recognized as the Senior of the Year for four consecutive years from 1991-1994 in John Thulen, Mike Harlan, John Bailey, and Lincoln Pirkle. Greg Stangle also won the award in 1980.

Current Officers

Resident Council

Board of Governors

Graduate Council

Kelly Higgins '92, President

Erik Mickelson '92, Vice President

Eric Lindstrom '94, Secretary/Treasurer

House Corporation

Jim Rowland '64, President

Anthony Anton '88

Do you know where our 199 lost brothers are?

Amble, David
Amoruso, John * Andresen, Bjorn * Angilletta, Dennis
Aselton, Daniel * Atchison, Sidney * Badgett, Raymond
Bain, Brian * Barnhart, Thomas * Bates, Gary
Batten, David * Bean, Charles * Beeler, John
Belknap, Harold * Blumenthal, Mitch * Bond, Brenden
Braden, James * Bresnahan, Cornelius * Brockway, H
Buckley, Edward * Buckman, Roger * Burpee, John
Butler, Douglas * Campbell, R * Carmichael, William
Carnes, Stephen * Casserly, John * Cassidy, King
Castille, Ronald * Clark, Dennis * Clark, William
Clayton, Gerald * Cone, Ronald * Cramblit, Jeffrey
Crawford, Larry * Crelley, Peter * Cunningham, Wallace
Danielson, Chris * Danz, Robert * Densmore, Lin
Dolson, Melvin * Doull, Robert * Doyle, Jack
Evans, Philip * Faires, Burdette * Ferguson, Gary
Fernandez, Ric * Fingland, Jack * Finney, Robert
Fowler, James * Fowler, Robert * France, David
Frankhouser, Wesley * Franklin, Ray * Frey, John
Garman, Morris * Gay, J
Gee, Robert * Gilbert, Scott * Giles, Fred
Gilmour, John * Gossard, David * Graham, Nicolas
Grant, Kenneth * Griffith, Lyle * Guenther, Robert
Hague, George * Hale, Daniel * Hall, William
Halstenrud, William * Halter, Bryan * Hamada, Randall
Hanford, Edwin * Hanson, Ronald * Hanson, Ted
Hart, Gerald * Harvey, Cale * Hendricks, Robert
Hewlett, Charles * Hole, David
Holtman, Daniel * Hoorn, H * Horn, Frank
Houg, Bradley * Hudson, Dean * Hurley, Francis
Inman, Chester * Irwin, Claude * Johansen, Anton
Johnston, Keith * Jones, Glenn
Keeton, Lewis * Kelso, Nathan * Kennedy, Reid
Kinney, David * Kirksey, William * Klein, Roy
Kuhn, Turner * Kutch, R. * Laplante, Aubrey
Larson, Elwood * Law, Dana * Lazaro, Peter
Lebow, William * Leland, Norman * Long, William
Lonneker, Robert * Lorentson, Brett * Mace, Robert
Mahrt, Peter * Martin, Daniel * Martin, Noel
Matheson, James * McClimans, Robert * McFarland, Richard
McGriff, Everett * McMechan, William * McWhirter, Donald
Merchant, Philip * Merz, Leslie * Mickelson, Roy
Miller, Gary * Mills, John * Minium, Jonathan
Mix, Michael * Molsness, Bryan
Montgomery, Michael * Morrow, Timothy * Mueller, Jeffrey
Myers, L * Nelson, Richard * Ness, Bradley
Nicholas, Harold * Nickerl, Jeffrey * Nyhus, Omar
Oakes, Michael * Padilla, Michael

Pears, Allen * Peckinpaugh, C * Peringer, Dale
Peterson, Bruce * Peterson, Joseph * Phillips, Thomas
Phillips, William * Pirkle, Lincoln * Powers, Alexander
Quinn, Mark * Rainbolt, Stephen * Ramirez, Frank
Rask, Harry * Reedy, Richard * Reichert, James
Richards, Robert * Richards, Theodore * Robbs, Bruce
Rosenkranz, Bob * Roth, David * Sangster, Corey
Santos, Rene * Scheller, John * Schmidt, Kasey
Semsak, Eric * Sheldon, Charles * Short, John
Shuman, George * Slagle, Eugene
Smith, Michael * Stangle, Gregory * Steilberg, Pete
Stenberg, Scott * Stevens, Scott * Surbrook, Scott
Swarthout, Fred * Tang, Curtis * Thomas, Michael
Thompson, Fred * Thompson, William

Thuemmel, John * Todino, M * Turner, Thomas
Vanderhyde, Michael * Vangelder, John * Wake, Bradley
Watson, David * Weir, Kevin * Westeren, Reider
Whitney, Harold * Williams, Jonathan * Williams, T
Wilson, Clayton * Wilson, Clifton * Wilson, Jess
Wilson, Robert * Wise, Fred * Workman, Andrew
Wurz, Max * Wusten, Armin * Young, Hubert