Phi Lambda Alpha


Phi Lambda Alpha, established 1919 at the University of California, Berkeley was the first Latin American–based Greek Lettered collegiate fraternity in the Western United States.
Phi Lambda Alpha fraternity established communications with Pi Delta Phi, which had been recently founded in 1916 in the Northeastern United States, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After some communication, these two organizations realized the existence of a non-Greek letter secret society, the Union Hispano Americana. As a result of intensive correspondence and various interviews, the three organizations merged. In their merger agreement, the three organizations adopted the name of Phi Lambda Alpha Fraternity, with the distinctive emblem & constitution of Pi Delta Phi, and the goals & motto of the UHA. This new union was formalized on June 11, 1921, in the City of New York.
After ΦΛΑ was organized, other societies joined it: the "Club Latino-Americano" founded in 1919 at Colorado School of Mines; the "Federación Latino-Americana" founded in 1926 at Columbia University which joined in 1928; the "Club Hispania" founded in 1929 of Cornell University which joined in 1931; the "Club Hispano-Americano" founded in 1921 of Tri State College in Angola which joined in 1929 and the Alfa Tenoxtitlan Militant chapter founded in 1929 made up of members of the old ΦΛΑ in Mexico.
On December 26, 1931, Phi Lambda Alpha Fraternity merged with Sigma Iota fraternity to form Phi Iota Alpha. Phi Sigma Alpha fraternity can also trace its roots back to ΦΛΑ.

Former Chapters

Collegiate Institution Establishment YearUS State
University of California, Berkeley1919California
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1921Massachusetts
Colorado School of Mines1927Colorado
Columbia University1928New York
Cornell University1929New York
Tri-State University1931Indiana