A Boston Beginning |
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On November of 1918, an incident took place at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy that directly led to the establishment of Rho Pi Phi. A bulletin emerged implying that students of different denominations or of different races were not welcomed to join existing fraternities on this campus. This caused significant concern among both the faculty and non-affiliated students. With the support of Dean Theodore Bradley, a group of thirteen men and three women came together to create the Ram Bam Pharmaceutical Society. The next year, in 1919, the women members resigned from this society, whereas the remaining thirteen men banded together to establish Rho Pi Phi, a professional pharmacy fraternity.
These thirteen men became the thirteen founders of Rho Pi Phi. Their names are as follows:
These men had personally experienced the negative impact of segregation and thus had the desire to establish a non-discriminatory organization in Rho Pi Phi. One of the most notable founders of Rho Pi Phi was Isaac “Bud” Weiser. This founding frater played a crucial role in expanding the fraternity's presence on a national scale. Beyond co-founding the Alpha Chapter in Boston, Massachusetts, he actively contributed to the establishment of eleven other chapters across the United States. Rho Pi Phi achieved international status with the formation of the Nu Chapter at the University of Toronto in Canada in 1926. |