Alpha Zeta () is a professional fraternity for students and industry professionals in the agriculture and natural resources fields. Founded in 1897 at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

, Alpha Zeta is the first and oldest collegiate society for agriculture. Today, Alpha Zeta has over 125,000 alumni and 1,000 student members at 30 universities.

History

The fraternity was founded on November 4, 1897 by Charles Burkett, John Cunningham, and ten other agriculture students at

.''Baird's manual of American college fraternities''. Volume 19. 1977. p 558

Chapters

Chapters are named for individuals prominent in some way with respect to agriculture or after the locality of the chapter. * Townshend -

- 1897 * Morrill - Pennsylvania State University - 1898 * Morrow -

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

- 1900 * Cornell -

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

- 1901 * Kedzie -

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

- 1902 * Granite - University of New Hampshire - 1903 * Nebraska - University of Nebraska-Lincoln - 1904 * North Carolina -

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...

- 1904 * Wilson -

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

- 1905 * Green Mountain - University of Vermont - 1905 * La Grange -

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

- 1905 * Centennial - Colorado State University - 1906 * Babcock -

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

- 1906 * Maine - University of Maine-Orono - 1906 * Missouri -

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

- 1907 * Elliott -

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

- 1907 * Purdue -

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

- 1908 * California - University of California-Berkeley - 1908 * Kansas -

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public insti ...

- 1909 * Dacotah - North Dakota State University - 1909 * Montana - Montana State University - 1912 * Scovell -

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...

- 1912 * Georgia -

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

- 1914 * Delaware -

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

- 1916 * Oklahoma -

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

- 1916 * Florida -

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

- 1922 * Cook -

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

- 1922 * South Dakota - South Dakota State University - 1924 * Virginia -

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

- 1932 * Nevada - University of Nevada, Reno - 1963 * California Eta - California State University, Chico - 2004 * California Epsilon - California State University, Fresno - 2005

Notable members

Morris N. Abrams Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

- Louisiana educator (LSU) * John R. Block - Secretary of Agriculture under Ronald Reagan *

Norman Borlaug Norman Ernest Borlaug (; March 25, 1914September 12, 2009) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multipl ...

- Nobel laureate * Earl Butz - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1971–1976) (Purdue, '31) * Robert C. Baker - Professor Emeritus of Food Science, Cornell University; Inventor of the chicken nugget (Cornell '43) * Herman Cain - former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza * Walter Clore - Father of the Washington Wine Industury * Dwight D. Eisenhower - U.S. President *

Arthur Rose Eldred Arthur Rose Eldred (August 16, 1895 – January 4, 1951) was an American agricultural and railroad industry executive, civic leader, and the first Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). As a 16-year-old candidate for the highest rank ...

- Agriculturalist, first Eagle Scout recognized by the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth partici ...

(Cornell '16) * Dan R. Glickman - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1995–2001); current president of the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distri ...

* Edwin Jackson Kyle - Former U.S. ambassador to Guatemala (1945–1948), namesake of Texas A&M's Kyle Field (Cornell, '02) *

Henry C. Wallace Henry Cantwell "Harry" Wallace (May 11, 1866 – October 25, 1924) was an American farmer, journalist, and political activist who served as the Secretary of Agriculture from 1921 to 1924 under Republican presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin ...

- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1921–1924) (Honorary, '22) * William Jardine - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1925–1929) (Kansas, '11) *

Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...

- Vice President of the United States, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1933–1940), Founder of Pioneer Hi-Bred, Secretary of Commerce (Wilson, '08) * Ezra Taft Benson - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1953–1961) (Honorary, '53) *

Orville Freeman Orville Lothrop Freeman (May 9, 1918February 20, 2003) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 29th Governor of Minnesota from January 5, 1955, to January 2, 1961, and as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1961 to 1969 under ...

- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1961–1969), Minnesota Governor (Honorary, '62) * Clifford Hardin - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1969–1971) (Purdue, '53) * Richard Lyng - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1986–1989) (Wilson, '74) * Albert Schatz - Co-discoverer of streptomycin with Selman Waksman (Cook) * Selman Waksman - Discoverer of streptomycin and coined the word "

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy, ...

", Nobel laureate (Cook) * Kenneth E. Wing - President (1992–2002) of

SUNY Cobleskill The State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill (SUNY Cobleskill) is a public college in Cobleskill, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It began as the Schoharie State S ...

(Cornell '58) * Clayton Yeutter - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1989–1991) (Nebraska, '50) * Lester Brown - Founder of the Earth Policy Institute (Cook)

References

External links

* http://www.alphazeta.org/ - Official Page * http://www.alphazeta-cornell.org/ - Cornell Chapter Website {{Professional Fraternities Student organizations established in 1897 Professional fraternities and sororities in the United States 1897 establishments in Ohio Professional Fraternity Association