About us

Land Grant Universities In no other nation has there been such a widespread development of educational facilities for those of modest means. One of the foremost factors in this impetus to higher education was the Land Grant Act that became law in 1862. Knowledge of this Act is important to Alpha Gamma Rho men because our Fraternity was an outgrowth of the Land Grant system. The Land Grant Act was introduced into the House of Representatives by Justin Smith Morrill from Vermont in 1857. After several failed attempts at passage, the bill passed both houses and was signed by President Lincoln in 1862. The educational situation prior to this act is most clearly stated in Representative Morrill's words, "The thoroughly educated, being most sure to educate their sons, appear to be perpetuating a monopoly of education in consistent with the welfare and complete prosperity of American institutions." The Land Grant Act provided for the endowment and support of at least one college in each state where, besides classic studies, agriculture and mechanic art as well as military tactics were to be taught.

Non-Land Grant Universities A significant development in the field of higher education during the last several decades has been the growth of non-land grant universities. As many of these institutions added agriculture curriculums, AGR Chapters began to spring up. In fact, it is at these institutions where much of AGR's growth in the past decades has taken place and where future expansion of the fraternity will occur. The first non-land grant chapter was Alpha Xi at Arizona State University in 1958. Subsequently, many chapters have been established at non- land grant universities. Some of our strongest chapters today are located at institutions not covered by the provisions of the Land Grant Act. However, the Fraternity will continue to seek expansion at qualified schools as appropriate.

In the Beginning The National Fraternity of Alpha Gamma Rho became a reality on April 4, 1908, when to local fraternities combined. These were Alpha Gamma Rho founded at Ohio State University on October 10, 1904, and Delta Rho Sigma founded at University of Illinois on February 6, 1906. Members of these two groups happened to meet in 1906 at he International Livestock Exposition at Chicago. After finding that their individual interests and purpose were similiar, and after considerable correspondence and several trips back and forth, the two groups decided to incorporate and set up a National Fraternity. Delegates from both local fraternities met at the Claypool Hotel in Indianapolis on April 4, 1908 and drew up and signed a constitution for the Fraternity. The compromise effected at that meeting is noteworthy. The older local, Alpha Gamma Rho of Ohio State, gave its name to the organization but allowed the Illinois group to be the Alpha Chapter. The distinctive badge of Delta Rho Sigma was adopted- one that is practically identical to our official badge today. The charter members from Ohio State were: Brothers Francis Lorne Allen, Rudo Lorenzo Fromme, William Americus Martin, Glen T. Snyder, Burton Louis West, Emerson Scott Poston, and Robert C. Wallace. The charter members from the University of Illinois Chapter were: Brothers John H. Craig, Frank H. McKelvey, John L. Martin, Moses Greenleaf, R.E. Chambers, Roy E. Taylor, E.E. Stults, J.J. Mackay and E.E. Chester, Jr. These two groups are responsible for forming a Fraternity that has grown far beyond what many may have expected. But as Brother Poston stated, "From the start, it was our ambition that the name of AGR in every agriculture college would stand for all that is honorable and just." Yes, our Fraternity has grown into something that has not only elevated the social status of its members, but the physical, spiritual, academic, and professional status of thousands of young men. The National Officers were elected in 1908- the minutes penned on hotel stationery, only two pages approximately six inches square. The first issue of the SICKLE & SHEAF was published in 1910; a coat of arms, shingle, and a seal were adopted. Much pf the present Ritual traces to Beta's original ritual, but there have been may changes. The motto was adopted at the 1916 convention; and at the 1917 convention, the official esoteric AGR whistle was approved. Expansion began at the 1910 fall convention with the acceptance of the petitions from the locals at Penn State and Purdue. The Fraternity had begun its essential growth. At the turn of the twenty-first century, Alpha Gamma Rho consisted of 67 chapters and one colony. Each collegiate Chapter has a corresponding alumni corporation and in addition there exists several alumni Chapters across the nation. Further facts about the origin and development of Alpha Gamma Rho can be found in the published History of Alpha Gamma Rho.

Mythology As a Greek organization, we have chosen a goddess of Greek mythology to which we look for inspiration in a symbolic sense. She is Demeter known as Ceres in Roman mythology, the goddess of agriculture. It was her duty to watch over the fruits and grains of the earth. Her daughter's name was Persephone. Hades Kidnapped Persephone and carried her off to his kingdom in the Lower World. Demeter could not be consoled. She neglected the fruits and grains, and all plants died. At last, Zeus ordered Hades to let Persephone spend six months of the year with her mother, and return to the Lower World for the other six months. Demeter let the grains grow high during her daughters's months on earth. This myth helped the Greeks explain the seasons.