Alpha Rho Endowment Surpasses $311K Market Value + Review Of Other Funds Inspired By Alpha Rho Men
Launched in 2014 in conjunction with the 90th Anniversary of the Alpha Rho Chapter, the APCAA's landmark fundraising initiative signaled the launch of the association's 10-year march toward the January 5, 2024 Centennial Great Gathering of Alpha Rho Chapter Men in Atlanta, Georgia. Today, more than 75% of the living members have made a donation to the college in one-time or recurring instances.
Donors to the fund are celebrated (by initiation period) on the iconic 90th Anniversary Memorial Obelisk situated on the Century Campus Green on the Morehouse College Campus in Atlanta, Georgia. Each group with 75% or more participation in the 2015 campaign are inscribed in "old gold leaf" on the obelisk. Groups joining the APCAA post 2015 are recognized in unveiling ceremonies during college homecoming weekends at five year intervals.
Alongside the development of the APCAA endowed fund, the alumni members initiated a world-wide exploratory campaign to document the entire roster of Morehouse College Men who have been initiated via the Alpha Rho Chapter dating back to the fraternal charter date. To that end, an absolute listing of the 1,293 men has been ratified for historical purposes in the 2016 Alpha Rho International Census (APIC) and published on the official association website, www.alpharhoalumni.org.
Among those at the starting line of the 10-year countdown to APCAA's Centennial where Brothers who fully understood the assignment and recognized that there were multiple initiatives that would need to be organized along the way -- in addition to the endowed fund and memorial obelisk. Those pioneers included Brothers E. David Ballard (Fall 1974), Kevin M. Beasley (Fall 1978), Deshaun L. Bennett (Spring 2013), Aty Twelo Biswese (Spring 2002), Jonathan Noel Brown (Fall 1989), Earl Norman Caldwell (Fall 1982), Ralph Bernard Everett (Fall 1970), Hardy "Petey" Rogers Franklin, Jr. (Fall 1980), Gordon Dwayne Greenwood (Spring 1984), Clinton Love Johnson (Spring 2009), Jerome Anthony Luke (Fall 1976), Joshua Hubert McNair (Fall 2003), Leonard Murray II (Fall 1988), Adam Lorenzo Smith (Spring 1984), the late Henry Allen Stewart (Spring 1999), George Bernard Walker, Jr. (Fall 1989), and John Lee Gaston White (Spring 2005).
ChAPterly submitted,
Brother BMaynard Scarborough (Fall 1980)
President
Alpha Rho Chapter Alumni Association (APCAA)
Aside from the APCAA's endowed fund, several Alpha Rho Men have been recognized with memorial tributes that highlight their individual impact on the Morehouse College experience. Additionally, Brothers Rev. Otis Moss, Jr. and Dr. Uzee Brown have been honored with endowed funds established in their living honor, and Brothers Dr. Charles Stephens and William Alexander Clement, Jr. both initiated living namesake endowed funds that provide annual scholarship support to undergrads in specific areas of study.
Brother Dr. Artis Andre White is unique in his planned giving to Morehouse College -- establishing an endowed fund during his engagement as the Chairman of the college Board of Trustees, and outlining an additional endowed path of scholarship support in his personal bequest disclosed following his passing in 2015.
**EDITOR'S NOTE: The following profiles of existing endowed funds at Morehouse College are not financially linked to the APCAA Endowment fund profiled in the the cover story above, and their market value is not part of the calculation cited therein. They were established under the auspices of the the individual or group identified in the introductory sentences below and are all independent of APCAA and provide separate scholarship funding.
Hugh M. Gloster Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship was established by the Board of Trustees in honor of President Emeritus of Morehouse College, Dr. Hugh Morris Gloster, Sr.
Dr. Gloster (May 11, 1911 - February 16, 2002) was the seventh president of Morehouse College, responsible for establishing the Morehouse School of Medicine and the international studies program. He was also one of the founders of the College Language Association.
Gloster was chosen as Morehouse's next president by Dr. Benjamin Mays, the previous president, with the agreement of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., then on the Board of Trustees. He was the first alumnus president of Morehouse College.
Under Gloster's leadership the Morehouse College campus doubled in size, as well as in the number of faculty members and their salaries. After retiring he served on the Board of Trustees until his death on January 16, 2002, at the age of 90.
The Hugh Gloster Building at the Morehouse School of Medicine is named in his honor.
Carl W. Rhetta Endowed Scholarship
The Carlton Walter Rhetta Endowed Scholarship commemorates the life of a Morehouse alumnus who demonstrated high ethical standards and great concern for others.
Brother Rhetta was a long-time educator (Booker T. Washington High School) and municipal administrator (Coordinator of Adult Education for Dade County) in and around the Miami, Florida area.
He was a former president of the Beta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and served as a principal organizer for the 40th General Convention "By The Shore" held December 27-30, 1954 in Miami, Florida.
Brother Rhetta entered Omega Chapter on October 15, 1995 at the age of 80.
Dr. Artis A. White Endowed Scholarship and
Diamond in the Rough Endowed Scholarship
These scholarships are made possible by the generosity of Dr. Artis A. White. Brother White, a native of Middleton, Ohio, was a prominent Maxillofacial Prosthedontist who practiced dentistry for 57 years in the Los Angeles, California marketplace.
He was a longtime member (and former Chairman) of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees.
Brother White entered Omega Chapter on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at the age of 88.
Dr. Otis W. Smith '47 Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship was made possible by the generosity of members of the Class of 1947 in honor of Dr. Otis Wesley Smith ’47.
The scholarship recognizes the unique accomplishments of a particular group of Morehouse Alumni who have represented their College and peers with honor and distinction, since World War II, during the second half of the 20th Century.
In their respective communities throughout America and abroad, each member, in his own way and profession has provided leadership to a people not yet fully emancipated in American life and served as role models for decency and justice, character and integrity to on-coming generations who are carrying the practice of Morehouse leadership ideals into the 21st Century.
Dr. Smith was the first African-American Board Certified Pediatrician to practice in the State of Georgia. As a student, Smith ran out of funds while attending Meharry Medical College. His mentor and Morehouse College President Dr. Benjamin Mays asked fellow Atlantan and “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell to provide an anonymous scholarship to Otis Smith. Dr. Smith was one of nearly 50 African-American medical students to benefit from Mrs. Mitchell’s ongoing contributions.
He was the first recipient of the "Bennie Award" from Morehouse College in 1989.
Brother Smith, 81, entered Omega Chapter on February 5, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.
T. M. Alexander Jr. Memorial Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship is made possible through generous donations in loving memory of T.M. Alexander, Jr. and established by Janis A. Perkins.
Brother Alexander was born on June 22, 1932 in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his B.A. degree from Morehouse College in 1952, and subsequently earned a Masters in Business Administration from New York University, and a Masters in Economic Geography from Columbia University.
Brother Alexander was the First Vice President, Public Finance National Accounts for E.F. Hutton & Company. Prior to joining E.F. Hutton, he served as President of the Atlanta Economic Development Corporation. He had also worked for Chase Manhattan Bank and Dun & Bradstreet during the mid-1950s, prior to going into business for himself as President of Alexander & Associates, Real Estate Brokers, from 1958 through 1966.
He become the first Black investment banker for Courts & Company in Atlanta in 1969, and in 1979 he was appointed by United States President Richard Milhous Nixon as the Regional Administrator and as Assistant Federal Housing Administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
He is a member of one of the most storied legacies in the Alpha Rho family tree -- having both his father, long-time Morehouse College Board of Trustees member and former Chairman T.M. Alexander, Sr. (Fall 1929) and son Tedd M. Alexander III (Fall 1981) enter the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity via the Alpha Rho Chapter.
Following a boating mishap off the coast of Honduras, Brother Alexander was presumed drowned on April 15, 1983.
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr. Scholarship
This scholarship is made possible by the generosity of Dr. William F. Pickard.
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. (born February 26, 1935) is an American pastor, theologian, speaker, author, and activist. Moss is well known for his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and his friendship with both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin Luther King, Sr. He is also the father of Otis Moss III, the current pastor of the famous Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
Moss was born and raised in LaGrange, Georgia<