The Delta Sigma Lambda, Gamma Delta and Pi Psi chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity will celebrate the 105th Founders Day of its fraternity at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at St. James United Methodist Church, 900 University Drive.
The speaker for this year’s event is Dr. Robert J. Smith of Memphis. Smith is a general surgeon and originally practiced in Pine Bluff, where he practiced general surgery for many years.
This will be the first time all three chapters have celebrated Founders Day together. This year each chapter will recognize a brother of the year. This year’s brothers are:
William Campbell — Delta Sigma Lambda Chapter. Campbell is a native of Reed and is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in vocational education. He has 66 hours towards his doctorate degree in leadership in higher education. He is employed with the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services at Pine Bluff as a field manager II. He currently serves as recording secretary for the chapter but has also served as director of educational activities.
Kent J. Broughton II — Gamma Delta Chapter. Broughton is a native of Pine Bluff and is a senior studying political science at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and serves as president of the Student Government Association. He is a member of the Honors College, Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society, Political Science Club, and a Thurgood Marshall-TRQP Fellow Recipient. He plans to obtain a juris doctorate and study educational policy.
Terry Montgomery — Pi Psi Chapter. Montgomery is a native of Watson and is a senior at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, where he is majoring in criminal justice with minors in Spanish and physical education. He currently serves as chaplain and director of educational activities for the chapter and he is the first non-African American of the chapter. He is a RA and assistant program director for the men’s dormitory on campus. He has worked with Arkansas Enterprises for the Developmentally Disabled for the past six years and has attended numerous mission trips to places such as Mexico, Scotland and Las Vegas.
Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek Letter Fraternity established for African-Americans, was founded at Cornell University at Ithaca, N.Y., in 1906. The fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudices, both educationally and socially. The organization is now international with more than 175,000 members and has included such prominent members as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, and Adam Clayton Powell. The fraternity’s mission is to develop leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence while providing service and advocacy for the community.