Guide to the University of Chicago, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity Records 1955-1961


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Table of Contents

• Descriptive Summary
• Information on Use
• Access
• Citation
• Historical Note
• Scope Note
• Related Resources
• Subject Headings
• INVENTORY

Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. Phi Alpha Delta. Law Fraternity. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

The Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity was founded in 1902 by Chicago law students from Chicago-Kent, the College of Illinois, and Northwestern. Within a month, the University of Chicago was initiated and began a chapter, closely followed by the Universities of Wisconsin and Michigan. Adhering to a policy of steady, conservative expansion, Phi Alpha Delta had, by 1957, seventy-eight active chapters and forty alumni chapters. Today, it has over 300,000 active members from reputable law schools in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Phi Alpha Delta defined its purpose as forming strong bonds between the members from different law schools and between law alumni and their schools in order to create a large network for the exchange of business information and other matters of common interest. Requisites for admission were limited, in the early years, to men in good academic standing at a law school that had a chapter and graduates or law instructors at schools accredited by the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools. Individual memberships were attained upon invitation only.

Scope Note

The records in this collection represent the effort made by law students at the University of Chicago to reactivate its chapter’s participation in Phi Alpha Delta activities following a period of inactivity that began in 1943. The records contain documents that set forth the fraternity’s rules, ritual, pledging process, activities, meetings, and external alliances. They chronicle the mechanics of building professional affiliations and camaraderie.

The twelve folders that contain the records follow an order that maps the process of inducting new members, cultivating them, building lasting colleagues and increasing their number through affiliations with other Phi Alpha Delta members attending national conventions and through alumni events.

Related Resources

The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html

Subject Headings

• Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity
• University of Chicago. Law School
• University of Chicago. Law School -- Students
• University of Chicago. Law School -- Societies, etc.
• Universities and colleges -- Societies, etc.

INVENTORY