Over the course of 100+ years, Acacia Fraternity has shaped and been shaped by the lives of countless men. We are proud to recognize those Acacians who have demonstrated their commitment “to take a more active part in the affairs of the community in which we may reside...” The following list is merely a snapshot of brothers who have brought Acacia to prominence. Surely this pantheon of greats will continue to grow throughout our second century. Special thanks to Brother Ryan M. Allen, Central Oklahoma '04, for his research while serving as a 2008-09 Leadership Consultant
Acacia Greats
David J. Allen, Indiana '57 - International President, Judge Advocate, Indiana Chapter Advisor. [Read more]
Roy C. Clark, Northwestern '21 - The original "Mr. Acacia," Executive Secretary (1947-1966). [Read more]
Darold W. Larson, Washington State '81 - Twenty-five year Executive Director, Foundation Executive Director [Read more]
George F. Patterson, Jr., Cincinnati '42 - "Mr. Acacia," National President, NIC President. [Read more]
Donald W. Solanas, Jr., Louisiana State '68 - National President and lifelong Acacia leader. [Read more]
Robert E. Jepson, Kansas State ’53 - As Acacia’s oldest living former HQ staffer - a {former} Leadership Consultant, Assistant Executive Director, President of the College Fraternity Editors’ Association (highlights include a personal interview and Triad article with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover), and Director for the Acacia Fraternity Foundation, Bob is our “Link to our Founders!”
Athletics
Gary Patterson, Kansas State '80 - Head Football Coach, TCU (Current). [Read more]
Frank Allen, Indiana '56 - Indiana University Athletic Director. [Read more]
Dee Andros, Oklahoma '48 - Head Football Coach and Athletic Director, Oregon State University. [Read more]
Jack Van Bebber, Oklahoma State '31 - Gold Medal-winning Olympic Wrestler. [Read more]
Chester L. Brewer, Missouri '11 - Head Football Coach at Missouri and Michigan State, Missouri Athletic Director. [Read more]
Thomas E. Jones, Wisconsin '13 - Hall of Fame Track Coach.
John L. Griffith, Illinois '21 - Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference. [Read more]
Edwin Weir, Nebraska '25 - Hall of Fame College Football Player. [Read more]
Addison "Kayo" Exum Warren, North Carolina '27 - Professional and Collegiate Boxer. [Read more]
Calvin Griffith, George Washington '33 - Owner of Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins. [Read more]
Arthur L. Valpey, Michigan '36 - Head Football Coach at Harvard and Connecticut.
Thomas "Tommy" James, Ohio State '42 - Professional Football Player, Cleveland Browns. [Read more]
Donald "Gene" Conley, Washington State '49 - Professional Baseball Player and Basketball Player. [Read more]
Roger Nelson, Oklahoma '51 - Canadian Football Hall of Fame. [Read more]
Richard "Dick" Farley, Indiana '51 - Star Indiana Basketball player for the 1953 National Championship team, NBA player. [Read more]
David "Wes" Santee, Kansas '52 - Olympic Runner, NCAA Cross Country Champion, World Record Setter.
Clive A. Follmer, Illinois '53 - Baseball and Basketball at Illinois, 1953 Big Ten Athlete of the Year, Professional Baseball Player [Read more]
Paul Coward, Purdue '56 - All-American Soccer Player.
Ron Fairly, Southern California '57 - Professional Baseball Player and Broadcaster. [Read more]
Tony Crosby, Texas '63 - Star Kicker/Halfback for UT's 1963 National Championship Football Team. [Read more]
Bobb McKittrick, Oregon State '55 - Former San Francisco 49'ers line coach.
Politics & Government
Conrad G. Selvig, Minnesota '06 - U.S. Congressman, Minnesota. [Read more]
Harry "Skillet" Leslie, Purdue '07 - Governor of Indiana. [Read more]
William Jennings Bryan, Nebraska '08 - Secretary of State (President Woodrow Wilson), Orator. [Read more]
Clarence M. Young, Yale '10 - Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics (President Herbert Hoover).
William Howard Taft, Yale '13 - 27th President of the United States of America.
Paul V. McNutt, Harvard '14 - Governor of Indiana. [Read more]
David Sholtz, Yale '14 - Governor of Florida. [Read more]
Arthur Capper, Kansas State '16 - Governor and U.S. Senator, Kansas. [Read more]
Wilburn Cartwright, Oklahoma '20 - U.S. Congressman, Oklahoma. [Read more]
Francis H. Case, Northwestern '23 - U.S. Congressman, South Dakota. [Read more]
Wendell Berge, Nebraska '24 - U.S. Assistant Attorney General.
Ralph Yarborough, Texas '26 - U.S. Senator, Texas. [Read more]
Ovie Clark Fisher, Nebraska '27 - U.S. Congressman, Texas. [Read more]
John Moore Allison, Oklahoma '20 - Diplomat, Ambassador to Japan, Assistant Secretary of State (President Harry Truman). [Read more]
William G. Bray, Indiana '27 - U.S. Congressman, Indiana. [Read more]
Homer Thornberry, Texas '30 - U.S. Congressman, Texas. [Read more]
J. Edward Hutchinson, Michigan '33 - U.S. Congressman, Michigan. [Read more]
Frank Carlson, Kansas State '48 - U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, Governor of Kansas. [Read more]
Homer E. Capehart, Indiana '59 - U.S. Senator, Indiana. [Read more]
Stephen Scalise, Louisiana State '86 - U.S. Congressman, Louisiana. [Read more]
James Watson, Carleton '99 - Member of Provincial Parliament (Minister), Canada.
Frank P. Briggs, Missouri '59 - U.S. Senator, Missouri. [Read more]
George T. Abed, Oregon State '60 - IMF Director for Economic Development, Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority. [Read more]
James T. Kolbe, Northwestern '61 - U.S. Congressman, Arizona. [Read more]
Business
Herbert A. Kern, Minnesota '14 - Founder Chicago Chemical Company (later changed to Nalco). [Read more]
Lewis H. Wentz, Oklahoma '27 - Oil Businessman and Philanthropist. [Read more]
J. Dennis Bassett, Kansas State '56 - President, Worldwide Poultry/Cargill Co.
Robert Pfahl, Cornell '58 - VP of iNEML, Recipient of Electronic Goes Green Award.
Edgar H. Grubb, Penn State '59 - Executive VP and CFO, Transamerica Corp.
Leonard "Lee" Kearney, Oregon State '59 - Senior Executive, Peter Kiewit Sons’ Construction.
David Baum, Indiana '61 - President, SSI Technologies Inc.
Dennis Chookaszizn, Northwestern '62 - Chairman & CEO, CAN Insurance Companies.
Kriss Cloninger III, Texas '66 - President & CFO, Aflac.
John F. Hoffner, Purdue '66 - Executive VP and CFO, Jack in the Box Inc.
Edward S. Knight, Texas '71 - Executive VP & General Counsel, NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.
William H. Strong, Purdue '71 - Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley.
Andy Westlund, Oregon State '71 - VP of Global Logistics, Amazon.com.
Ronald Kase, Purdue '78 - Venture Capitalist, NEA.
Cameron G. Herold, Carleton '88 - Former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.
Higher Education
Marion Leroy Burton, Minnesota '19 - President, Smith College, University of Minnesota, University of Michigan. [Read more]
Albert B. Storms, Iowa State '09 - President, Iowa State University.
Walter Williams, Missouri '09 - President, University of Missouri; Founder of Missouri School of Journalism.
Arthur Simeon Watts, Ohio State '11 - Educator, Namesake of Watts Hall at Ohio State.
Roscoe Pound, Nebraska '05, Harvard '13 - Educator, Legal Scholar. [Read more]
Leland David Bushnell, Kansas State '13 - Educator, Namesake of Bushnell Hall at KSU
Audrey A. Potter, Kansas State '20 - Engineering Educator, Namesake of buildings at Purdue and Purdue-Calumet. [Read more]
Ernest H. Hahne, Nebraska '21 - President of University of Miami(Ohio), Namesake of Hahne Hall.
Bland L. Stradley, Ohio State '21 - Educator, Namesake of Stradley Hall at Ohio State. [Read more]
Raymond A. Pearson, Iowa State '24 - President, Iowa State University.
Stratton D. Brooks, Missouri ‘25 - President of University of Oklahoma (1912) and University of Missouri (1923). [Read more]
Samuel Justus McKinley, Harvard '28 - President of Emerson College, Boston.
Burton W. Gorman, Indiana '30 - Educator, Namesake of Burton W. Gorman Teaching Award.
William L. Henning, Wisconsin '31 - Educator, Namesake of Henning Hall at Penn State.
Charles E. MacQuigg, Cornell '35 - Educator, Namesake of MacQuigg Hall dedicated at Ohio State.
Robert E. Vivian, Southern California '47 - Educator, Namesake of Vivian Hall at USC.
Claude R Sowle, Northwestern '47 - President of Ohio University. [Read more]
L. Dennis Smith, Indiana '56 - President Emeritus, University of Nebraska.
Ken Schwab, Purdue '66 - President, Centenary College.
Walter T. Schrenk, Wisconsin '19 - Educator, Namesake of Schrenk Hall at Missouri University of Science & Technology.
William E. Burchill, Missouri School of Mines '61 - President, American Nuclear Society, 2008 – 2009.
David A. Embury, Columbia '14 - First Acacian Chairman of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. [Read more]
Science
William R. Durand, Stanford '04 - NASA Pioneer. [Read more]
Wallace E. Pratt, Kansas '07 - Pioneer in Petroleum Field. [Read more]
Wheeler P. Davey, Penn State '10 - X-ray Pioneer, Namesake of Davey Lab at Penn State. [Read more]
F. Alexander Wetmore, Kansas '12 - World-renowned Ornithologist. [Read more]
Karl M. Dallenbach, Cornell '13 - Internationally Renowned Psychologist. [Read more]
Emmett B Carmichael, Colorado '18 - Renowed Chemist.
Harold E. Edgerton, Nebraska '24 - Pioneer in Photography (electric flash). [Read more]
Lloyd Berkner, Minnesota '26 - Physicist. [Read more]
Theodore P. Hall, Syracuse '27 - Pioneer in Airplane Design. [Read more]
James E. Webb, North Carolina '27 - Second Administrator of NASA, Namesake of James Webb Space Telescope. [Read more]
Jack Kilby, Illinois '42 - Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Invented the Integrated Circuit. [Read more]
Laurence Snyder, Oklahoma '49 - Pioneer in Genetics.
David Fischell, Cornell '72 - Bio-medical Engineer, Inventor of the heart-stent.
Jerry F. Franklin, Oregon State '58 - One of the nation's most respected forest management experts.
Dr. Frederick B. Rudolph, Missouri School of Mines '63 - Pioneering scientist and Director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering at Rice University.
Arts & Entertainment
Arthur H. Carhart, Iowa State '15 - Early Conservationist and Author. [Read more]
Edward Everett Dale, Harvard '17 - Historian and Writer.
John Mel Hickerson, Iowa '20 - Author.
Paul E. Barr, Indiana '28 - Artist and Painter.
Harry H. Lunn, Michigan '51 - Photographer and Collector.
James "Jim" Hamil, Kansas '58 - Artist and Painter.
Philip Bobbitt, Texas '65 - Author and Constitutional Theorist. [Read more]
Scott Houston, Indiana '80 - Public Television Personality, Public Speaker, known as "Piano Guy." [Read more]
Ed Ulbrich, Illinois '84 - Film Visual Effects Producer (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club). [Read more]
Miscellaneous
W. Elmer Ekblaw, Illinois '07 - Originator of "Homecoming." [Read more]
Hiram Bingham III, Yale '15 - Explorer, Re-discovered Machu Picchu; U.S. Senator, Connecticut. [Read more]
Harold L. "Tom" Sebring, Kansas State '20 - Judge for Nuremberg Trials, Head Football Coach University of Florida. [Read more]
David P. Osborne, Penn State '35 - Naval Surgeon, Performed the JFK autopsy.
Clifton Hillegass, Nebraska '38 - Creator of CliffsNotes. [Read more]
Frank S. Land, Missouri '59 - Founder of the Order of DeMolay. [Read more]
Kenneth M. Taylor, Oklahoma '40 - One of the first decorated heroes of World War II for action during Pearl Harbor. [Read more]
Frank L. Anders, Wisconsin '07 - Corporal in the United States Army and Medal of Honor recipient. [Read more]