Alpha Chi Proceedings Recorder, Vol. 52, No. 2, Fall 2009

Alpha Chi’s 2009
Distinguished Alumnus
Dr. Robert W. Sledge
Southwestern University alumnus
Dr. Robert W. Sledge, one of the most
important figures in the history of Alpha Chi, is
being honored as the Distinguished Alumnus of
2009. A retired distinguished professor of history at
McMurry University and now historian-in-residence at the McWhiney Research Foundation in
Abilene, Texas, Sledge served almost three decades of elective leadership with Alpha Chi,
including twelve years as national president.
Sledge became a member of Alpha Chi in 1951 at Southwestern University in Georgetown,
Texas, home of the Texas Alpha chapter and site of the 1922 founding of the honor society that
would become Alpha Chi. He graduated from Southwestern with majors in mathematics,
physics, and history, then earned the B.D. degree from Southern Methodist University and the
M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Texas.
With his historian’s skills and his connection to Alpha Chi’s birthplace, Sledge was the
natural choice to be commissioned to write the book-length history, Scholarship and Character:
Seventy-five Years of Alpha Chi, published in 1997 to mark the anniversary of the society’s
founding in 1922.
Two years later, in 1999, he completed his third term as president of the National Council
and a total of twenty-four years on that governing body, including terms as secretary and vice
president as well as president. The Council immediately asked him to serve an appointment as
archivist, a role he filled from 1999 to 2008.
Sledge began his career at McMurry in 1964 and became assistant sponsor of the Texas
Upsilon chapter in 1967 and then head sponsor in 1968, a responsibility he held until 1991.
During the 1990s he continued to work as an assistant sponsor. He also served Region I in the
1970s as vice president and president.
Among Rob Sledge’s many accomplishments as Alpha Chi’s president was the creation of
awards to recognize the service of chapter sponsors and others who have contributed
significantly to the society’s ideals. Little could he have expected that one day one of these
awards, the Distinguished Alumni Award, would come his way.
Dr. Sledge’s book of Alpha Chi history will be on sale at AX Central during registration and the student
presentation sessions. The cost is $10 (cash or check only).
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