Emmett Lee Irwin

Emmett Lee Irwin was born in Clinton, Louisiana, in 1893, he was initiated by Alpha Gamma Chapter on September 19, 1909. He transferred his membership to Psi and was active in that chapter when he attended medical school at Tulane University. Acknowledged for attending every convention except when he was overseas in the service, Irwin was elected White Province Commander in 1919, an honor he first learned about when reading a Kappa Alpha Journal while in France. He assisted both Psi and Alpha Gamma chapters in obtaining chapter homes. As Knight Commander from 1934 to 1940, he chartered two new chapters and established the Order’s first administrative office above his medical suite in New Orleans . Irwin led the 1930’s reorganization of the Order’s government and was one of the charter trustees of the Kappa Alpha Scholarship Fund. He was reelected trustee and vice president repeatedly until his untimely death in 1965 resulting from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.