Alain Locke was an educator and patron of the arts. He used his influence to promote lesser-known people during the Harlem Renaissance and helped them become more well-known. Locke was the first African American Rhodes Scholar and a professor at Howard University. Locke graduated from Harvard University in 1907. While at Harvard, he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity and awarded the Bowdoin Prize. After he graduated, he was selected as a Rhodes Scholar, making him the first African American selected.