The original concept of alumni chapters in Alpha Kappa Psi was that they should service a city or a geographic section without regard to what schools alumni in the area had attended. Generally speaking, this concept has been followed by the Fraternity.
A notable exception occurred in Detroit, where three alumni chapters, each related to a particular school, once functioned simultaneously. These were Michigan Alumni Chapter (founded 1929), Detroit Alumni Chapter (founded 1936), and Wayne Alumni Chapter (founded 1946). In 1959, this situation was changed. The three individual charters were deactivated, and a combined chapter was chartered as the Motor City Alumni Chapter. However, the new chapter was to be short-lived. In 1966, a combination of the loss of key leaders, lack of organized recruiting, political arguments, and general complacency on the part of the membership caused its demise.
In 1967, the Detroit Alumni Chapter was reactivated to fill the void. Its members fully intended it to be a sectional alumni chapter, and expressed that view from the start. However, various circumstances prevented the chapter from realizing this concept. In 1973, the Eastern Michigan Alumni Chapter (later renamed to the Great Lakes Alumni Chapter) was charted to service the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area. Subsequently, its membership and focus shifted to the metropolitan Detroit area.
During 1978, Detroit Alumni Chapter requested and subsequently participated in merger discussions with Great Lakes Alumni Chapter, which continued into 1980. All factors were thoroughly examined, and the merger proposal was accepted in mid-1980. In September of 1980, the National Board of Directors approved the merger, and the Motor City Alumni Chapter was reactivated. Since 1980, the Motor City Alumni Chapter continues to make history!
