April 1922, Vol. 3, No. 1, Part 1

If you ever wondered how our fraternity dealt with the way architectural education shifted from a 4 year program to a more solidified professional degree, look no further than the article by Rexford Newcomb, called "Tendencies in the Architectural Education World. At first blush, it looks like a boring article about education, but don't be fooled. It is focused directly on Alpha Rho Chi. And what i find interesting is that the questions that he posed are questions we are still asking ourselves today: Who Are We? What are Allied Arts? How do we deal with some chapters having a 5 year program, while others have a 4-2 program? Quoting him:

"The Fraternity may find itself face to face with the difficulty of reconciling a double-headed condition, we may find ourselves eventually with chapters in which the men remain four years, other chapters in which they remain six years, and still others in which the period of study covers six years with the later four only given over to what may be called professional work."

Just this past weekend, at the summer meeting, we held a pretty tense discussion how to classify graduate students in a 4-2 program; does the member become an alumnus before or after the M.Arch?

For an Honorary Member, Brother Newcomb took a lot of care when writing this paper. It's inspiring whenever I see a faculty member develop a passion for this fraternity.

The majority of this Archi is dedicated to the 7th National Convention held January 2-3 in Champaign, Illinois.

This is the convention where Kallikrates AND Andronicus join the fray. Kallikrates sent two members (who we would today call colonists) where it appears they were promptly given their pledge pins (in ceremonious fashion, of course), and given a seat at the convention table. Later, they were incorporated into the Anthemios pledge class and made brothers. It is indicated that they would go back to UVA and with the help of the Grand Lecturer, initiate the rest of the members of the Kallikrates Club.

The Andronicus Club was approved to become a chapter. This decision was endorsed by Rexford Newcomb, as it was revealed that he taught at USC before coming to teach at the University of Illinois. (This little parallel between Rex and myself, I admit, has filled me with glee.)

This is also the convention where the distinction was made between Faculty Brother and Honorary Brother, and Cass Gilbert was approved to become a Master Architect.. Take note that this approval took place prior to the death of Nathan Clifford Ricker, which happens in 1924.

It is also reported that Dave, the father of Anthemians Dave & G.R. Postle, was initiated as an Honorary member. It didn't take that long for us to get some legacies, did it?

The Formal Banquet took place at the Beardsley Hotel, which was located on Neil Street, just north of Main. Apparently, it was the nicest hotel in town at the time. Photo provided above, thanks to the University of Illinois Archives.