History

mission statement

These are the pillars that our fraternity stands to uphold:

Academic Excellence

The Fraternity creates a studious environment and encourages each of its members to achieve his greatest academic potential. The Fraternity supports all educational endeavors and recognizes exceptional academic achievement.

Asian-American Awareness

The Fraternity believes in learning Asian American culture, heritage and history. The Fraternity encourages its members to pass on this knowledge to others.

Brotherhood

The Fraternity encourages mutual respect, trust and loyalty among its members. The Fraternity creates an extended family that nurtures life-long friendships through the bonds of tradition, shared values, and unity.

Leadership

The Fraternity provides opportunities to fulfill important duties within the organization and helps members develop leadership skills in preparation for their future careers and endeavors.

Philanthropy

The Fraternity is committed to its responsibility to serve others and encourages participation in activities for the betterment of the community.

history

national

Our long-established tradition of brotherhood was established in 1926 at the University of California, Berkeley. The fraternity of Pi Alpha Phi was founded by six unique individuals: D. Wing Tom, Wing Chan, Elmer Leong, Chuck Chan, Tim Jang, and George Lee. Wing Chan was elected as the first President of the Fraternity. D. Wing Tom served as the Vice President and Elmer Leong as the Secretary. They wanted to establish an organization that would be based on the bonds of friendship, mutual experience, academic excellence and brotherhood. The name Pi Alpha Phi was derived from the initials of the Greek phrase meaning:

“To advance through brotherly ties; the thirst for learning.”

During this era, traditional Greek fraternities legally discriminated against all men of color. Since they were banned from joining a traditional Greek fraternity, the Founding Fathers wanted to ensure that Asian Awareness would always be an important part of the fraternity.

Pi Alpha Phi is the first Asian American interest fraternity. Since the founding of Pi Alpha Phi, our Fraternity has flourished with active chapters at campuses throughout the nation.

Today, the basic premise of the Fraternity remains largely unchanged. With brotherhood as our immutable asset, the lifelong bonds that we develop extend far beyond the university setting. Although the Fraternity is open to individuals of all ethnic backgrounds, it still retains its Asian American character. The basic goals of brotherhood achieved through shared experience, friendship and academic excellence remain unaltered. Although the organization evolves from generation to generation, the underlying vision and heart of the Fraternity is as solid today as it was for six young Berkeley men in 1926.

university of california, davis

The Gamma Chapter of Pi Alpha Phi at the University of California, Davis was established in the spring of 1990 by five founding fathers: Eugene Lee, Brian Takemoto, Joseph Yi, Tru Pham, and Johnny Kang. Along with the remaining eight Alpha class members, these 13 men laid a foundation towards a bond of unconditional brotherhood to be shared amongst all future generations of Pi Alpha Phi.

Their goal was to promote Asian awareness within the community, as well as to provide men with friendship, academic support, and most importantly, brotherhood amongst its members.