Alpha Phi Alpha was recently featured on townandcountrymag.com. In popular culture, frats have an unfortunate reputation for being drunken, boorish, and sexist—but the truth is that many top fraternities provide deeply meaningful experiences and close relationships that resonate for a lifetime. A 2014 Gallup survey found that men who join fraternities are not only happier than their non-Greek counterparts, but are also less stressed about money, physically healthier, more engaged in the workplace, and more fulfilled in their social relationships. And with alumni reportedly including 18 US Presidents, 85 percent of Supreme Court justices since 1910, 76 percent of Senators, and 85 percent of Fortune 500 Executives, men who pledge are in top company, too.
Picking the “best” fraternity is nearly impossible, so instead we’ve run the numbers to find out how popular men’s fraternities within the North-American Interfraternity Conference stack up.
The country’s first African-American intercollegiate Greek-lettered fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha was founded in 1906 at Cornell University and—in addition to a prestigious program of academic excellence and political and social leadership—boasts some serious star-wattage. Famous Alpha Phi Alpha members include Martin Luther King, Jr., NAACP Founder W. E. B. Du Bois, Frederick Douglass, Lionel Ritchie, Walt Frazier, Jesse Owens, Justice Thurgood Marshall, ESPN Sportscaster Stuart Scott, and Academy Award winning Moonlight director Barry Jenkins. Since its founding, more than 200,000 men have been initiated, with 706 chapters throughout the world and 850,000+ community service hours performed.