The National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA) is an umbrella council for twenty Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American fraternities and sororities (Greek Letter organizations) in universities in the United States.[1]
National APIDA Panhellenic Association | |
---|---|
NAPA | |
Founded | 2005 |
Type | Trade association |
Affiliation | Independent |
Status | Active |
Emphasis | Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi-American fraternities and sororities |
Scope | National |
Slogan | "The gold standard for APIDA fraternities and sororities" |
Members | 20 organizations active |
Headquarters | 9703 Camino Real Frisco, Texas United States |
Website | www |
History
editIn the summer of 2004, nine fraternal organizations that served Asian and Pacific Islander students at US schools came together to form what was then called the APIA Greek Alliance (AGA), a partnership with APIA Vote aimed at registering voters in advance of the 2004 United States elections. These nine organizations were alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Alpha Iota Omicron, Delta Phi Lambda, Lambda Phi Epsilon, Kappa Phi Lambda, Nu Alpha Phi, Pi Alpha Phi, Pi Delta Psi, and Sigma Psi Zeta.[2]
The success of this partnership led to additional collaboration. The AGA hosted the first-ever leadership summit in the summer of 2005 with support from OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates. By the end of this summit, the fraternities and sororities present formed the North American Greek Council (NAGC) which comprised seven organizations: alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Alpha Phi Gamma, Delta Phi Lambda, Pi Alpha Phi, Pi Delta Psi, Sigma Beta Rho, and Sigma Psi Zeta.
In 2006, the NAGC formalized its constitution and renamed itself to the National APIA Panhellenic Association or the National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association (NAPA) and recognized the following nine organizations as charter members:[3][4]
- alpha Kappa Delta Phi
- Alpha Phi Gamma
- Delta Phi Lambda
- Delta Kappa Delta
- Kappa Phi Lambda
- Pi Alpha Phi
- Pi Delta Psi
- Sigma Beta Rho
- Sigma Psi Zeta
In 2017, the member organizations unanimously voted to add Desi to its formal name, a word describing people from the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, and in doing so adopted the acronym APIDA, to explicitly reflect their service of groups with South Asian membership. NAPA remains the preferred abbreviation.[5] The organizations at the time were:
- alpha Kappa Delta Phi
- Alpha Phi Gamma
- Beta Chi Theta
- Chi Sigma Tau
- Delta Epsilon Psi
- Delta Phi Lambda
- Delta Kappa Delta
- Delta Phi Omega
- Delta Sigma Iota
- Iota Nu Delta
- Kappa Phi Gamma
- Kappa Phi Lambda
- Lambda Phi Epsilon
- Pi Alpha Phi
- Pi Delta Psi
- Sigma Beta Rho
- Sigma Psi Zeta
- Sigma Sigma Rho.
Pi Alpha Phi's membership was withdrawn in October 2023 when the fraternity closed its collegiate chapters.[6]
NAPA has worked with peer organizations like NALFO, NMGC, NIC, NPC and NPHC on legislative issues. For example, in 2018 they successfully opposed legislation that would ban Greek life across all colleges and universities in Tennessee.[7]
Membership Requirements
editAPIDA requires that its members (organizations) meet Fraternal Information and Programming Group (FIPG) guidelines in Risk management, hazing, and liability insurance. The decision to do so was made in 2006 with then-current groups allowed two years to meet these requirements.[8]
Member organizations
editThe alphabetical list of NAPA member fraternities and sororities.[9][10]
Former members of National APIDA or its Predecessors
editOrganization | Symbols | Type | Date founded | Founding location | Chapters | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alpha Iota Omicron | ΑΙΩ | Fraternity | October 16, 1998 | University of Michigan | 6 | |
Beta Chi Theta | ΒΧΘ | Fraternity | June 2, 1999 | University of California, Los Angeles | 29 | |
Nu Alpha Phi | ΝΑΦ | Fraternity | March 18, 1994 | State University of New York at Albany | 9 | |
Pi Alpha Phi | ΠΑΦ | Fraternity | February 1, 1929 | University of California, Berkeley | 28 |
See also
editExternal links
editReferences
edit- ^ National APIDA Panhellenic Association Archives – Student Life and Culture Archives – U of I Library, accessed 12 Jun 2021.
- ^ Brian Gee; Hannah Seoh (2020). Pietro A. Sasso; J. Patrick Biddix; Mónica Lee Miranda (eds.). Supporting Fraternities and Sororities in the Contemporary Era: Advancements in Practice. Myers Education Press. pp. 225–232. ISBN 978-1-975502-70-6.
- ^ Sasso, P. A.; Miranda, M. L. (2019). Foundations, Research, and Assessment of Fraternities and Sororities: Retrospective and Future Considerations (1 ed.). Stylus Publishing, LLC. pp. Section: History of Asian American GreekLetter Organizations. ISBN 9781975502669. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ Founding and organizational information from the NAPA website, accessed 12 Jun 2021.
- ^ Noted in a 2016 press release, accessed 12 Jun 2012.
- ^ Shah, Suhani (2023-10-15). "NAPA Announces Departure of Pi Alpha Phi Fraternity, Inc". National APIDA Panhellenic Association. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- ^ Jones, LaMont (August 24, 2018). "New Semester, Old Challenges for Fraternities, Sororities". Diverse Issues in Higher Education. CMA. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors - Essentials E-Magazine September 2019
- ^ From the NAPA website, list of organizations, accessed 12 Jun 2021.
- ^ William Raimond Baird; Carroll Lurding (eds.). "Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive), main page. Most NAPA fraternities and sororities are listed; send in a correction with the appropriate details if not". Student Life and Culture Archives. University of Illinois: University of Illinois Archives. Retrieved 31 December 2021..
- ^ alpha Kappa Delta Phi prefers that the leading "alpha" in their name not be capitalized.