Alpha Pi Zeta (Indiana University)

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.

From the description of Indiana University Alpha Pi Zeta records, 1924-1950, bulk 1924-1928. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 56528492

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.

From the guide to the Indiana University Alpha Pi Zeta records, 1924-1950, bulk 1924-1928, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)