About
Who We Are
Texnikoi is an organization based on:
PARTICIPATION in activities
LEADERSHIP in organizations
SERVICE to the University and the community
The TEXNIKOI fraternity is an honorary society founded for the purpose of giving due recognition to those members of the College of Engineering who have distinguished themselves as campus leaders while maintaining, at the same time, a commendable scholastic record.
Through TEXNIKOI’s emphasis on leadership and participation, it has always been able to select the top quality engineering students. The number of activities participated in by a student is not necessarily indicative of his/her qualification for membership in this fraternity, but rather the manner in which he/she has assumed active leadership, administrative ability, and integrity.
TEXNIKOI allows for only 25 new inductees each year from a variety of the engineering specializations. To be considered for membership he/she must be an engineering student at the Ohio State University with an above average cumulative GPA and a status of sophomore or above. Members will then be chosen by the amount and level of extra-curricular activity. Applications for membership are reviewed in early November each year.
History
The TEXNIKOI fraternity was founded in 1924 as an honorary organization for students in the College of Engineering. At the time that this organization was founded, a number of the students felt that some effort should be made to recognize outstanding work in the extra-curricular field.
TEXNIKOI’s founding fathers
"THE ORIGINAL 12 MEMBERS OF TEXNIKOI WERE ENGINEERING STUDENTS WHO WERE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, AND SCHOLASTICALLY HAD BETTER THAN A ‘B’ AVERAGE…..BUT NOT AS GOOD AS AN ‘A’. I DO NOT REMEMBER WHO FIRST MENTIONED THE FORMATION OF AN ORGANIZATION, BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE A VERY GOOD IDEA…..SO THE ORIGINAL 4 OR 5 HAD FRIENDS IN ALL OF THE ENGINEERING COLLEGES SO THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GATHER TOGETHER A VERY FINE GROUP OF 12 WHO BECAME THE FOUNDERS OF WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS TEXNIKOI." - Arthur Avril
ARTHUR AVRIL
Arthur Avril was one of the founding fathers of TEXNIKOI, and the first president of the organization in 1924. Although Avril graduated from Ohio State in 1925 he remained in close contact with TEXNIKOI and the OSU community up until his passing in July of 1996.
In 1989 he raised close to $250,000 for his organization by auctioning off his 1954 Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing. It is this donation that has allowed for the $10,000 in scholarships awarded to outstanding members each year, and for the coverage of operating expenses of the honorary.