Alpha Gamma Kappa
Alpha Gamma Kappa ( or AGK) is the oldest and largest professional fraternal organization for students and practitioners of podiatric medicine in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1939 at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. Mission statement The mission of Alpha Gamma Kappa Podiatric Fraternity is "to promote and perpetuate the profession of podiatric medicine through social, educational, community service, and leadership events, which foster the growth and development of podiatric medical students and physicians." History On January 21, 1939, eight men at Illinois College of Chiropody and Orthopedics (now Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine) in Chicago, Illinois, founded a fraternity for "social spirit and fraternalism." It was the first podiatry collegiate fraternity. Samuel Abdoo was elected the fraternity's first president. It became a national fraternity in 1948 with the chartering of Beta chapter at the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. The two chapters would occasionally correspond with one another, but for the most part remained separate entities with their traditions, except for the "Ritual of Initiation," which is still in use, written by the Alpha chapter in 1939. In the fall of 1961, the