Alpha Psi Omega History

Alpha Psi Omega
Fall 2014 Inductions

The organization, development, and growth of Alpha Psi Omega is a result of the widespread interest of colleges and universities of America in the dramatic arts in the early twentieth century.

Alpha Psi Omega, the first of these societies to be founded in the East, was organized at Fairmont State College in Fairmont, West Virginia on August 12, 1925. Membership rewarded excellence in theatre. As APO expanded to other schools, it was decided that each chapter was to be called a “cast,” and Fairmont became Alpha Cast.

During the course of the next year, eighteen new chapters were admitted, and twenty chapters were on the roll at the time of the meeting of the first national convention, at the Palmer house in Chicago, Illinois, on December 27-28, 1926. National conventions, called grand Rehearsals, are held every five years; in recent years, these meetings have been held at the annual Southeastern Theatre Conference. Alpha Psi Omega has sponsored the formation of honor societies in high schools and junior colleges, thus encouraging dramatic production at every step in a student’s career.

Alpha Psi Omega has enjoyed continuous national growth, and with over 600 chapters is the largest national honor society in America. Membership in Alpha Psi Omega is granted only to fully accredited institutions with a four-year curriculum in theatre and drama leading to a degree.