Jerry Pittman, Grand Polaris
Dwayne Dixon, Interim Executive Director
E-mail
8602 Sweet Autumn Drive
Baltimore, MD 21244
Phone (410) 594-9744
Fax (410) 594-9745
About the Iota's
On September 19, 1963, at Morgan State College (now Morgan State University), 12 students
founded what is now the nation's fifth largest, predominately African-American social service
fraternity: Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated.
The founders of Iota Phi Theta were: Albert Hicks, Lonnie Spruill, Jr., Charles Briscoe, Frank
Coakley, John Slade, Baron Willis, Webster Lewis, Charles Brown, Louis Hudnell, Charles
Gregory, Elias Dorsey, Jr., and Michael Williams.
The Honorable Founders of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
This group of men was unique for several reasons. First of all, many were long-time friends.
Spruill, Coakley, Dorsey, and Gregory had known one another since grade school, and Spruill
and Coakley's friendship extended to when the two were pre-schoolers.
Even more uniquely, many of these men were what are now referred to as "Non-Traditional
Students" and were 3-5 years older than the average college student. Gregory, Willis, and Briscoe
were all service veterans, and Brown, Hicks, and Briscoe were married with small children. Of this
group of 12, several were also working full-time jobs and all were full-time students.
Based upon their ages, heightened responsibilities, and increased level of maturity, this group had a
slightly different perspective than the norm for college students. It was this perspective from which
they established the Fraternity's purpose, "The development and perpetuation of Scholarship,
Leadership, Citizenship, Fidelity, and Brotherhood among Men." Additionally, they
conceived the Fraternity's motto, "Building a Tradition, Not Resting Upon One!"
Chapter Pages (Arranged by Chapter Name): Upsilon - Southern Illinois University Alpha Beta - Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Alpha Lambda - University of IllinoisM Alpha Rho - Illinois State University Beta Epsilon - University of Cincinnati Beta Chi - Bethune-Cookman College Gamma Alpha - Temple University Colony - University of Michigan
