What is Acacia?

Acacia is an international Greek-system fraternity founded on its motto, human service. Acacia is comprised of the highest quality men on each campus, hoping to instill its values of Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Service into hearts of the college community.

Acacia is not your typical college fraternity. It isn’t the oldest, the largest, or the most famous, but its heritage is distinct and record distinguished. Members of Acacia strive to be extraordinary and dispel the stereotypes that are often associated with fraternities. Every member, from pledge to active brother, is treated with the utmost respect. Our pledge program focuses on learning your way into the fraternity, not earning it by participating in degrading acts. Illegal activities and irresponsible behavior have no place in Acacia.

The history of Acacia Fraternity is a rich one—and one you will learn much about in the pledge program. The fraternity was founded in 1904 at the University of Michigan by 14 men hoping to establish a lasting and extraordinary fraternal organization. Just three years later, the Missouri chapter was chartered, but closed in 1984. In 2003, several distinguished students and alumni decided it was time for integrity to take a step back into the Mizzou Greek System. The chapter was officially granted their new charter on April 9, 2005. So, in Acacia, you have the opportunity to be part of something old and full of tradition, yet also something that’s brand new.

Acacia’s Preamble

“To strengthen the ties of friendship, one with another; to prepare ourselves as educated men; to take a more active part and have a greater influence in the affairs of the community in which we may reside; and, above all, to seek the truth, and knowing it, to give light to those with whom we may be associated as we travel along life’s pathway.”

Acacia Facts

Founded internationally: May 12, 1904
Founded locally: May 17, 1907
Rechartered: April 9, 2005
Colors: Black and Old Gold
Flower: Sprig of Acacia in bloom
Motto: Ophelountes Anthropous, “Human Service”

Notable Alumni Brothers of the Missouri Chapter

Brother Richard Jesse- Former MU President, Jesse Hall
Brother John Pickard – Founder of Department of Art and Archeology, Pickard Hall
Brother Walter Williams- Founder of World’s Premier School of Journalism, Walter Williams Hall
Brother John Carlton Jones – MU President-emeritus, classicist and philosopher, Jones Hall
Brother Ray Denslow – Masonic Scholar, Grand Master of State of Missouri 1931-1932
Brother Irving Field – Past President of Acacia Fraternity International
Brother Author Vanlandingham – Grand Master of State of Missouri 1965-1966, Member of President Kennedy’s Advisory Board
Brother John Connaway – Professor of Veterninary Science, Connaway Hall
Brother Frank Land – Founder of DeMolay Masonic Youth Organization
Brother Frank Briggs – Former U.S. Senator from Missouri
Brother Stratton Brooks – Former MU President
Brother Chester Brewer – Originator of Homecoming, Brewer Fieldhouse
Brother Charles Arnold – First Graduate of Missouri School of Journalism
Brother George Lefevre – Former Zoology Department Chair, Lefevre Hall
Brother Frederick Mumford – Former Dean of College of Agriculture, Mumford Hall
Brother JC Whitten – Whitten Hall
Brother Henry Waters, Waters Hall
Brother Edwin Trowbridge – Former Dean of College of Agriculture, Trowbridge Livestock Center

Notable Alumni Brothers of the International Fraternity

Brother William H. Taft, Yale 1913 – 27th President of the US
Brother William Jennings Bryan, Nebraska 1908 – Great American Leader and Orator
Brother Clifton Hillegass, Nebraska 1938 – Founder of Cliffs Notes
Brother Jack Kilby, Illinois 1942 – Nobel Prize Winner in Physics
Brother Roscoe Pound, Harvard 1905 – American legal scholar and educator
Brother Paul McNutt, Harvard 1914 – Governor of Indiana, Ambassador to the Philippines
Brother Hiram Bingham, Yale 1915 – Discoverer of Machu Picchu, Governor of Connecticut, US Senator
Brother Harold E. Edgerton, Nebraska 1924 – Scientist and Inventor
Brother James Webb, North Carolina 1928 – NASA Administrator
Brother William Thornberry, Texas 1930 – United States Representative
Brother Calvin Griffith, George Washington 1935 – Owner of the Minnesota Twins
Brother Gene Conley, Washington State 1949 – MLB Pitcher (Braves) and NBA player (Celtics)