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Indiana University Alpha Pi Zeta records, 1924-1950, bulk 1924-1928

A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives


Electronic finding aid encoded by Dina M. Kellams

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
Alpha Pi Zeta (Indiana University)

Title
Indiana University Alpha Pi Zeta records, 1924-1950,  bulk 1924-1928

Collection No.
C259

Extent
.2 cubic feet

Language
Materials are in English.

Abstract
The Indiana University chapter of the Alpha Pi Zeta social science fraternity was organized in 1925. The purpose of the society was to encourage the investigation and scholarship in the social sciences. Active membership was open to professors, instructors, staff members, and select graduate students who had shown achievement in social sciences. Collection consists of minutes, financial records, correspondence, membership lists, meeting announcements, and constitutions.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Advance notice is required.

Administrative History

On December 31, 1924, representatives from 14 universities met in Chicago to discuss the establishment of a new social science honorary society. At that meeting, they approved the following resolutions:
  1. A national organisation should be adopted.
  2. Alpha Pi Zeta is a very fitting name for the organisation.
  3. This organisation shall have the character of an honorary society.
  4. It shall encourage investigation and scholarship in the field of the social sciences.
  5. The local societies should exercise a large degree of autonomy as to the methods of work and details of organisation.
  6. Until the question of uniform membership is decided by national action of the society, the matter of the determination of full, associate, honorary and permanent membership shall be left to the chapters according to their separate problems and situations.

The name Alpha Pi Zeta derives from the initials of Aristotle’s characterization of man, “anthropos politikon zoon.” The purpose of the society was to encourage the investigation and scholarship in the social sciences. Chapters could be established at any educational institution that offered a “considerable amount” of advanced graduate work in the social sciences. Active membership was open to professors, instructors, or staff members of the institution who had shown achievement in social sciences as well as graduate students who had shown “initiative, independence and ability to carry on sustained investigation in one of these sciences.”

The IU society met monthly during the school year. At the meetings, they discussed developments in social science scholarship and had featured speakers on a social science topic. Speakers were sometimes IU faculty members, other times campus visitors. By the mid-1930s, meetings were more infrequent, and the minute book reports “No regular meetings were held during 1936-37 or 1937-38. Special meetings were held on call of the President to consider special emergency problems pertaining to the field of the Social Sciences.” At their October 3, 1939 meeting, then-President Moffatt moved that meetings be held only upon call of the officers. This is the last entry in the minute book, although there are a few loose minutes dating from the 1939-1940 school year as well as a few items in the collection from later years, including a 1950 meeting announcement. However, due to a lack of minutes, the main activities of the society are not known after 1942.

Arrangement

Organized into three series: Correspondence, Administrative files, and Minutes.

Scope and Content Note

The IU society met monthly during the school year. At the meetings, they discussed developments in social science scholarship and had featured speakers on a social science topic. Speakers were sometimes IU faculty members, other times campus visitors. By the mid-1930s, meetings were more infrequent, and the minute book reports “No regular meetings were held during 1936-37 or 1937-38. Special meetings were held on call of the President to consider special emergency problems pertaining to the field of the Social Sciences.” At their October 3, 1939 meeting, then-President Moffatt moved that meetings be held only upon call of the officers. This is the last entry in the minute book, although there are a few loose minutes dating from the 1939-1940 school year as well as a few items in the collection from later years, including a 1950 meeting announcement. However, due to a lack of minutes, the main activities of the society are not known after 1942.

The Correspondence series is arranged in chronological order and spans 1925-1942, but the bulk of the correspondence dates from 1925-1928. In the correspondence, there is quite a bit of discussion about the establishment of the group at Indiana University. The correspondence is not only between the members of the Indiana chapter but also between members of the national organization and chapters at other universities throughout the country.

The Administrative files series spans 1924-1950 and includes membership lists for both IU and other chapters throughout the state, reports, meeting announcements, constitutions, and financial records. The financial records primarily consist of notices and payments of dues and receipts for various expenditures. There is one item in the meeting announcements folder that dates to 1950, the only item in the collection dated that late.

The final series, Minutes, 1924-1940, includes 2 folders. The first folder holds a bound minute book that begins with the group’s first meeting on December 10, 1924. The last entry in the book is from October 3, 1939. The loose minutes consist of some draft minutes, minutes of the national organization’s December 31, 1924 meeting, and some loose minutes that had been tucked into the minute book.

Additional information about the group can be found in Herman B Wells’ presidential files.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information
Deposit; Oscar Osburn Winther; 1968; Accessions 1124-1125.

Accession 7986 added February 2013.

Usage Restrictions
The donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.

Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University Alpha Pi Zeta records, Collection C259, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
Deposited by Prof. Oscar Osburn Winther, who was a member and one-time Secretary-Treasurer of the organization.
Processing Information
Processed by Dina M. Kellams.

Completed in 2004.

Accession 7986 processed into the collection February 2013.


Series: Correspondence, 1925-1942 

1925 

1926 

1927-1928 

1930-1942  

Series: Administrative files, 1924-1950 

Committee on Procedure report, undated 

Constitutions, 1924-1927,  undated 

(for IU and national organization)


Financial records, 1925-1927,  1939-1941 

Meeting announcements, 1925-1930,  1939,  1950 

Membership lists, 1925-1928,  1939,  undated 

(incl. IU and other chapters)


“Report to the National Secretary-Treasurer on the local chapter for the year Sep. 1926- June 1927,” 17 Sep 1927 

Series: Minutes, 1924-1940 

Bound volume, 1924-1939 

Loose minutes, 1924-1927,  1939-1940  

(incl. IU and some national organization meetings)


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