This scholarship was initiated by Dr. Pernell Witherspoon of St. Louis, Missouri, and funded by numerous donors through an IMPACTSoutheast campaign.

The renewable scholarship will be awarded to a Black American student with demonstrated financial need. The scholarship recipient will be selected by the University Scholarship Committee.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. was established as the first Black Greek letter fraternity in 1906.  The Xi Gamma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha became the first Black Greek letter fraternity at Southeast in 1979, a time when legal segregation was no longer officially sanctioned by the government but was still prevalent. As a result, Randy C. Allen, a member of the Beta Eta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, was instructed to guide the initiation of eight young men interested in carrying on the traditions of the fraternity at Southeast. The eight founding members of the Xi Gamma Chapter at Southeast, known as “Chapter Pharaohs,” are James Brightman, Bruce Bryant, Alex Clinton, Steven Edwards, Oliver Gills, Emerson Jones, Willie Taylor and Joseph Williams.

More than 150 brothers have followed the footsteps of the Pharaohs. Alpha Phi Alpha continues to push toward equity and inclusion and strives for excellence in hopes that tradition and perspective will become part of their legacy.