Founding of Alpha Zeta
In 1897, Charles Burkett and John Cunningham realized the need to build fellowship among students dedicated to the cause of agriculture, to gain respect for themselves and to promote agriculture openly and cooperatively. Therefore, they founded the Fraternity of Alpha Zeta on November 4, 1897, at the Ohio State University.
The spirit of Fraternity, in Brother Burkett’s own words, was “... to give, not to receive; to serve, not ourselves, but the agricultural body, the whole cause of higher agricultural education, and in every way possible all people engaged in the profession of agriculture.” Therefore, Alpha Zeta was not founded for the benefit of the present, nor for the benefit of the group itself or its members individually. Instead, it was founded in order that through this group and its members, services could be performed to enable agriculture to make maximum contributions to its workers and society.
On June 11, 1901, the Cornell Chapter of Alpha Zeta Fraternity became the fourth chapter of Alpha Zeta to be chartered. A unique blend of tradition and progressiveness has made the Cornell Chapter of Alpha Zeta a modern innovative organization that it is without compromising the original ideology of the Fraternity.
Diversity and Inclusion
In 1950, the fraternity abolished the ills of racial segregation. In 1981, the Cornell Chapter recognized that women were just as able as men to become leaders in agriculture, and thus restricting membership to men meant that our chapter was not initiating half of the leaders in any class. Thus, Alpha Zeta at Cornell is now composed of both brothers and sisters that form a cohesive fraternity.
Today, our members represent perspectives from multiple disciplines, backgrounds, and even continents. Yet they are bonded together in a fellowship of agriculture. This agricultural fellowship is what Alpha Zeta stands for and the Cornell Chapter exemplifies that ideal. It has been, and will continue to be, the desire of every member to assist in the advancement of agriculture through our actions as actives and alumni of the Cornell Chapter of Alpha Zeta Fraternity.
Notable Members
Liberty Hyde Baily (1901, honorary) - Frst dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.
John Craig (1901, honorary) - The first professor of extension teaching in agriculture in the U.S.
Isaac Philips Roberts (1901, honorary) - The second director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station.
Henry Hiram Wing (1901, honorary) - One of the founders of Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Edwin Jackson Kyle (1901, founding member) - U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala.
Robert Carl Baker (1943) - Inventor of the chicken nugget and professor emeritus of Food Science at Cornell University.
Nelson Rockefeller (1962, honorary) - Governor of New York, Vice President of the United States.