Phi Iota Alpha
| Phi Iota Alpha | |
|---|---|
| ΦIΑ | |
 |
|
| Founded |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Type | Social |
| Scope | National |
| Mission statement |
Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity is a brotherhood dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Latin American Culture.
|
| Motto | Semper Parati Semper Juncti |
| Colors |
Gold Navy Blue Red White |
| Symbol | Lion |
| Flower | Red Carnation |
| Publication | The Phiota! |
| Chapters | 61 chapters, 19 colonies |
| Nickname | Phiota, PhiA |
| Headquarters |
9322 3rd Avenue Suite 412 Brooklyn, New York USA |
| Homepage | www |
Phi Iota Alpha (ΦΙΑ), established December 26, 1931, is the oldest Latino Fraternity in existence, and works to motivate people, develop leaders, and create innovative ways to unite the Latino community. The organization has roots that stem back to the late 19th century to the first Latin American fraternity, and the first Latin American student organization in the United States. The brotherhood is composed of undergraduate, graduate, and professional men committed towards the empowerment of the Latin American community by providing intensive social and cultural programs and activities geared towards the appreciation, promotion and preservation of Latin American culture.
Membership in Phi Iota Alpha is open to all men regardless of race, creed, colour, or national origin who challenge themselves to develop a strong network for the advancement of Latino people. Phi Iota Alpha's membership includes prominent and accomplished educators, politicians, businessmen, and four former presidents of Latin American countries. Phi Iota Alpha utilizes motifs from the Pan-American revolutionary period and uses images and colours depicting the time of Latin American revolutionaries and thinkers to represent the organization.
The origins of Phi Iota Alpha began at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, New York, in 1898. A group of Latin American students organized the Union Hispano Americana (UHΑ) as a cultural and intellectual secret society based on the ideology of Pan-Americanism. The immediate goals of the UHA was to provide a cultural environment for students of Latin America and Spain. The UHA was the first association of Latin American students ever founded in the United States. The UHA expanded to several colleges and universities in the United States; however, due to the secrecy imposed upon its members, not many records were kept.
The expansion and growth of the UHA was based on compromise and the ultimate need of similar organizations to unify and become more powerful. In the Northeastern Province of the United States, a group of Latin American students decided to organize a cultural and intellectual fraternity; as a result Pi Delta Phi (ΠΔΦ) fraternity was founded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1916. Shortly after its foundation, Pi Delta Phi initiated a search to expand to other colleges and universities where they became aware of the existence of other similar organizations.
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