# Alpha Zeta (professional)

Alpha Zeta (ΑΖ) is an honorary professional fraternity for students and industry professionals in agricultural and natural resources fields. It was founded in 1897 at Ohio State University and was the first collegiate society for agriculture.

## History

Charles W. Burkett and John F. Cunningham, roommates and students at the College of Agriculture at Ohio State University, founded the Alpha Zeta fraternity on November 4, 1897. Three years prior, Burkett and Cunnigham had the idea of forming an organization to support agricultural students, create fellowship, and promote agriculture. They recruited ten other agriculture students who became the fraternity's charter members, including
* Arthur G. Abbott
* Charles Burkett
* Clarence Clawson
* John Cunningham
* Vernon H. Davis
* Donnelley H. Duncan
* Oscar Erf
* Marion Imes
* Arthur G. McCall
* Carl J. Miller
* Charles B. Stewart
* Leonard C. Warden
Alpha Zeta formed as a professional fraternity but became an honorary fraternity in 1936. Its chapters were limited to land-grant institutions until 1951.
At the fraternity's 1940 Conclave, a proposal was presented to open membership to non-white males. This was presented at each Conclave for twelve years, finally passing in 1952. Also in 1952, a proposal to admit women was defeated with a tied vote. The fraternity's constitution was amended in 1972, allowing its chapters to initiate women.
The fraternity was headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the 1960s. It was located in Lafayette, Indiana from 1974 to 1994, when it moved to St. Louis, Missouri. Its headquarters is currently located in Paducah, Kentucky. As of 2023, Alpha Zeta has chartered 74 chapters.
Its print publication was the Quarterly of Alpha Zeta, first published in the early 20th century. AZ News is now its primary publication.

## Symbols

The fraternity's badge is a monogram of the letter Α on top of the letter Ζ, with a small star at the center of the Α. Its key is the shape of two overlapping circles in gold and black. Its colors are old gold (mode) and sky blue. Its flower is the pink carnation.

## Charitable activities

In 1942, Alpha Zeta began issuing scholarships to a select number of members for graduate studies. The Washington, D.C. Alumni Association helped form the National Alpha Zeta Foundation of America, Inc. in 1960, allowing the expansion of the scholarship program. The foundation accepts and manages donations for "scientific, educational and charitable purposes which best advance agriculture for the public good."
The Alpha Zeta Foundation, Inc. was formed in Indiana on April 4, 1984, to oversee the fraternity's national scholarship program and to support its leadership development program.

## Governance

The fraternity is overseen by a seven-member High Council that is elected by student representatives of each chapter at Biennial Conclaves held on odd calendar years. The council includes the High Chancellor, High Censor, High Scribe, High Treasurer, High Chronicler, Alumni Representative, and student representative. Alpha Zeta also has staff who oversee the fraternity's operations and communications.

## Membership

To be eligible for membership in Alpha Zeta, students must be majoring in agriculture or a related field, must have completed one year of study, and must be in the upper two-fifths of their class. Prospective members are also evaluated for character and leadership.
As of 2023, Alpha Zeta has initiated 125,000 members and has 1,000 active members. Its membership types are student, alumni, associate, and honorary. Honorary members can be nominated by chapters every ten years after their Charter date.
Membership was limited to white males for the fraternity's first 55 years but became open to any male in 1952. Membership was made open to women starting in 1972.

## Chapters

Following is a list of Alpha Zeta chapters. Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are in italics. Chapters are named in some way concerning agriculture or after the locality of the chapter.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Institution | Location | Region | Status |
| Townshend | November 4, 1897 | Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio | Northeast | Active |
| Morrill | 1898–1900; 1903 | Pennsylvania State University | University Park, Pennsylvania | Northeast | Active |
| Morrow | June 1, 1900 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Urbana, Illinois | North Central | Active |
| Cornell | June 11, 1901 | Cornell University | Ithaca, New York | Northeast | Active |
| Kedzie | 1902 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, Michigan | North Central | Inactive |
| Granite | 1903 | University of New Hampshire | Durham, New Hampshire | Northeast | Inactive |
| Nebraska | 1904 | University of Nebraska–Lincoln | Lincoln, Nebraska | North Central | Active |
| North Carolina | 1904 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, North Carolina | Southeast | Active |
| La Grange | February 22, 1905–1973 | University of Minnesota | Saint Paul, Minnesota | North Central | Inactive |
| Green Mountain | 1905 | University of Vermont | Burlington, Vermont | Northeast | Inactive |
| Wilson | November 27, 1905 | Iowa State University | Ames, Iowa | North Central | Active |
| Babcock | 1906 | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Madison, Wisconsin | North Central | Inactive |
| Centennial | 1906 | Colorado State University | Fort Collins, Colorado | Western | Inactive |
| Maine | 1906 | University of Maine | Orono, Maine | Northeast | Inactive |
| Missouri | 1907 | University of Missouri | Columbia, Missouri | North Central | Inactive |
| Elliott | 1907 | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | Western | Inactive |
| California | 1908–1957 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, California | Western | Inactive |
| Purdue | May 9, 1908 | Purdue University | West Lafayette, Indiana | North Central | Active |
| Kansas | 1909 | Kansas State University | Manhattan, Kansas | North Central | Active |
| Dacotah | 1909 | North Dakota State University | Fargo, North Dakota | North Central | Inactive |
| Scovell | 1912 | University of Kentucky | Lexington, Kentucky | Southeast | Inactive |
| Morgan | 1912 | University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Tennessee | Southeast | Inactive |
| Georgia | 1914 | University of Georgia | Athens, Georgia | Southeast | Inactive |
| Louisiana | 1916 | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Southeast | Inactive |
| Oklahoma | 1916 | Oklahoma State University–Stillwater | Stillwater, Oklahoma | Southwest | Active |
| Arkansas | 1917 | University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, Arkansas | South Central | Inactive |
| Oregon | 1918 | Oregon State University | Corvallis, Oregon | Western | Inactive |
| Maryland | 1920 | University of Maryland | College Park, Maryland | Northeast | Inactive |
| Idaho | 1920 | University of Idaho | Moscow, Idaho | Western | Inactive |
| Montana | 1922 | Montana State University | Bozeman, Montana | Western | Active |
| Florida | 1922 | University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida | Southeast | Active |
| Cook | 1922 | Rutgers University | New Brunswick, New Jersey | Northeast | Active |
| West Virginia | 1922 | West Virginia University | Morgantown, West Virginia | Northeast | Inactive |
| South Dakota | 1924 | South Dakota State University | Brookings, South Dakota | North Central | Active |
| New Mexico | 1927 | New Mexico State University | Las Cruces, New Mexico | South Central | Inactive |
| Arizona | 1927 | University of Arizona | Tucson, Arizona | Western | Inactive |
| Mississippi | 1928 | Mississippi State University | Starkville, Mississippi | Southeast | Inactive |
| South Carolina | 1930 | Clemson University | Clemson, South Carolina | Southeast | Inactive |
| Virginia | 1932 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, Virginia | Southeast | Active |
| Wyoming | 1933 | University of Wyoming | Laramie, Wyoming | Western | Inactive |
| Rhode Island | May 29, 1936 | University of Rhode Island | Kingston, Rhode Island | Northeast | Inactive |
| California Beta | 1937–1961 | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | Western | Inactive |
| Utah | 1939 | Utah State University | Logan, Utah | Western | Inactive |
| California Gamma | 1940 | University of California, Davis | Davis, California | Western | Inactive |
| Alabama | 1941 | Auburn University | Auburn, Alabama | Southeast | Inactive |
| Delaware | 1949 | University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware | Northeast | Active |
| Texas Alpha | 1951 | Texas A&M University | College Station, Texas | Southwest | Active |
| Texas Beta | 1951 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, Texas | Southwest | Active |
| Connecticut | 1952 | University of Connecticut | Storrs, Connecticut | Northeast | Active |
| Massachusetts | 1956 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, Massachusetts | Northeast | Inactive |
| California Delta | 1959 | California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, California | Western | Inactive |
| Puerto Rico | 1959 | University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | Southeast | Active |
| Illinois Beta | 1960 | Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Carbondale, Illinois | North Central | Active |
| California Epsilon | 1962–xxxx?; 2005 | California State University, Fresno | Fresno, California | Western | Active |
| Nevada | 1963 | University of Nevada, Reno | Reno, Nevada | Western | Inactive |
| Arizona Beta | 1964 | Arizona State University | Tempe, Arizona | Western | Inactive |
| Louisiana Beta | 1964 | Southwestern Louisiana University | Lafayette, Louisiana | South Central | Inactive |
| California Zeta | 1966 | California Polytechnic State University | San Luis Obispo, California | Western | Inactive |
| Illinois Gamma | January 29, 1966 | Western Illinois University | Macomb, Illinois | North Central | Active |
| Utah Beta | 1970 | Brigham Young University | Provo, Utah | Western | Inactive |
| Wisconsin Beta | 1971 | University of Wisconsin–Platteville | Platteville, Wisconsin | North Central | Active |
| Texas Gamma | 1972 | Tarleton State University | Stephenville, Texas | Southwest | Active |
| Wisconsin Gamma | 1972 | University of Wisconsin–River Falls | River Falls, Wisconsin | North Central | Active |
| Illinois Delta | 1974 | Illinois State University | Normal, Illinois | North Central | Active |
| Louisiana Gamma | 1974 | Louisiana Tech University | Ruston, Louisiana | Southwest | Active |
| Tennessee Beta | 1976 | University of Tennessee at Martin | Martin, Tennessee | Southeast | Inactive |
| Texas Delta | March 26, 1977 | West Texas A&M University | Canyon, Texas | South Central | Inactive |
| Alabama Carver | 1979 | Alabama A&M University | Huntsville, AL | Southeast | Inactive |
| Murray | 1981 | Murray State University | Murray, KY | Southeast | Inactive |
| Mount Berry | 1987 | Berry College | Mount Berry, Georgia | Southeast | Active |
| Oklahoma Beta | 1989 | Oklahoma Panhandle State University | Goodwell, Oklahoma | Southwest | Active |
| Western Kentucky | 1991 | Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green, KY | South Central | Inactive |
| California Eta | 2004 | California State University, Chico | Chico, California | Western | Active |
| Louisiana Delta | 2023 | Southern University | Baton Rouge, LA | Southeast | Colony |
* ↑ Chapter was named for Norton Townshend, professor, and trustee of Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Ohio State).
* ↑ Chapter was named after George E. Morrow, the first dean of the University of Illinois College of Agriculture.
* ↑ Chapter formed from the Berkshire Club (local). It joined Alpha Zeta with the assistance of Dr. C. P. Bull. The chapter was named to recognize Bull's leadership in The Grange, a progressive farm organization.
* ↑ Chapter was named in honor of James Wilson, the first professor of agriculture and the first director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the Iowa Agricultural College. He was also a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
* ↑ Chapter named for Dr. Steven Babcock who developed a ground-breaking butterfat test while teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
* 1 2 This chapter went defunct when the agriculture program was moved to another branch of the University of California system.
* ↑ Chapter named for Cook College, a division of Rutgers.
* ↑ Chapter formed from the Alpha Zeta Club (local), established in 1968.

## Notable members

| Named | Chapter and year | Notability |
| George Aiken | Green Mountain 1956 (Honorary) | horticulturist, Governor of Vermont, U.S. Senate |
| Alfred Atkinson | Montana | agronomist, President of Montana State University, and president of University of Arizona |
| Liberty Hyde Bailey | Cornell 1901 (Honorary) | Horticulturalist, founder of American Society for Horticultural Sciences, first dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. |
| Robert C. Baker | Cornell 1943 | Inventor of the chicken nugget and professor emeritus of Food Science at Cornell University |
| Leon Dexter Batchelor | Granite | horticulture professor and director of the University of California Citrus Experiment Station |
| Ezra Taft Benson | 1953 (Honorary) | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| John Rusling Block | | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| Norman Borlaug | La Grange | Nobel laureate |
| Edgar B. Brossard | La Grange | college professor; economist; and chair of the U.S. Tariff Commission |
| Lester R. Brown | Cook | founder of the Earth Policy Institute |
| Earl Butz | Purdue 1931 | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| Herman Cain | | former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza |
| Elbert N. Carvel | | Lieutenant Governor of Delaware and fertilizer manufacture |
| Arthur B. Chapman | Elliott (Honorary) | Animal genetic researcher |
| Walter Clore | Oklahoma (Honorary) | Father of the Washington wine industry |
| John Eliot Coit | North Carolina | horticulture professor specializing in avocado, citrus and carob |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | Morrill (Honorary) | President of the United States |
| Arthur Rose Eldred | Cornell 1916 | Agriculturalist, first Eagle Scout recognized by the Boy Scouts of America |
| Orville Freeman | 1962 (Honorary) | Governor of Minnesota, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| Dan Glickman | | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; president of the Motion Picture Association of America |
| John A. Hannah | Kedzie (Honorary) | president of Michigan State College |
| Clifford M. Hardin | Purdue 1953 | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| Otto Frederick Hunziker | Purdue | pioneer in the dairy industry, educator, and technical innovator |
| William Marion Jardine | Kansas 1911 | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, agronomist and president of Kansas State Agricultural College |
| W. Pat Jennings | Virginia 1941 | United States House of Representatives |
| Edwin Jackson Kyle | Cornell 1902 | U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala and namesake of Texas A&M's Kyle Field |
| Jerry Litton | Missouri | United States House of Representatives |
| Richard Lugar | Purdue (Honorary) | United States Senator |
| Richard Lyng | Wilson 1974 (Honorary) | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| Al Maeder | La Grange | Professional football player |
| Ron Micheli | Wyoming | director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and Wyoming House of Representatives |
| Gerald A. Miller | Virginia | agronomist, professor, and associate dean emeritus at Iowa State University |
| Henry A. Munger | Cornell 1936 | Vegetable breeder, professor and department chair Cornell University |
| Robert B. Patterson | Mississippi | football player, planter, and founder of the first Citizens' Councils |
| Stanley M. Powell | Kedzie | farmer and Michigan House of Representatives |
| Roland Renne | Cook | economist and president of Montana State College - Bozeman |
| Scott Rivkees | Cook | Surgeon General of Florida |
| Nelson Rockefeller | Cornell 1962 (Honorary) | Governor of New York, Vice President of the United States |
| Richard Rominger | California Davis | Deputy Secretary of Agriculture (1993-2001) |
| Henry P. Rusk | Missouri | dean of the Department of Agriculture, University of Illinois |
| Albert Schatz | Cook | microbiologist and co-discoverer of streptomycin |
| Robert W Scott | North Carolina | Governor of North Carolina |
| Bob Sikes | Georgia | United States House of Representatives |
| Mark G. Thornburg | Wilson | Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa |
| Victor A. Tiedjens | Babcock | horticulturist, agronomist, biochemist, and soil chemist |
| Selman Waksman | California Alpha | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, microbiologist, and co-discoverer of streptomycin |
| Henry A. Wallace | Wilson 1908 | Vice President of the United States, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Secretary of Commerce |
| Henry Cantwell Wallace | 1922 (Honorary) | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| Herbert John Webber | Nebraska | plant physiologist, professor, and first director of the University of California Citrus Experiment Station |
| James Wilson | Wilson (Honorary) | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, academic |
| M. L. Wilson | Wilson 1907 | Agronomist, professor, and Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture |
| Kenneth E. Wing | Cornell 1958 | President of State University of New York at Cobleskill |
| Dale E. Wolf | Nebraska | Lieutenant Governor of Delaware and temporary Governor of Delaware |
| Clayton Yeutter | Nebraska 1950 | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |