Alpha Gamma Kappa ( or AGK) is the oldest and largest professional fraternal organization for students and practitioners of podiatric medicine in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1939 at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. Mission statement The mission of Alpha Gamma Kappa Podiatric Fraternity is "to promote and perpetuate the profession of podiatric medicine through social, educational, community service, and leadership events, which foster the growth and development of podiatric medical students and physicians." History The history of Alpha Gamma Kappa Fraternity lies deep in the roots of our nation’s podiatric medical colleges. Existing as the oldest and largest professional fraternity within podiatric medicine, AGK has long held a fraternal tradition of excellence. On January 21, 1939, eight men at Illinois College of Chiropody and Orthopedics (now Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine) in Chicago, Illinois, founded a fraternity for the purposes of "social spirit and fraternalism." It was the first of its kind at a college of podiatric medicine, and quickly the small social club grew into one of the most prominent organizations at the institution. In April, 1939, in the earliest recorded minutes that are possessed, the Alpha Gamma Kappa Fraternity at the Illinois College of Chiropody and Orthopedics had some nineteen members, with Samuel Abdoo elected first president. Abdoo would later serve as president of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons from 1968 to 1969. According to the minutes, the young fraternity had $119 in their name and dues were $5 per year. The fraternity remained a large part of the student community at Illinois for the next several years, until in 1948 a second chapter (Beta) was chartered at the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. This chapter was inspired by several students who had met at national convention of the National Association of Chiropodists in that year. This chapter, in recent years has borne a resurgence likely in part to the efforts of recent executive members. The fraternity saw little growth during the 1950s. The two chapters of Alpha Gamma Kappa, Alpha and Beta, would occasionally correspond with one another, but for the most part remained separate entities with their own traditions, except for the "Ritual of Initiation," which is still in use, written by the Alpha chapter in 1939. In fall 1961, a third chapter would be chartered