Phi Kappa Psi
From Greekopedia | The Fraternity & Sorority Encylopedia
| ΦΚΨ | |
|---|---|
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| Fraternity Information | |
| Name: | Phi Kappa Psi |
| Founding Date: | February 19, 1852 |
| Founding Campus: | Jefferson College |
| Number Chapters: | 101 Chapters, 5 Colonies |
| Council: | NIC |
| Website: | phikappapsi.org |
| NAME | Phi Kappa Psi |
| LETTERS | ΦΚΨ |
| FOUNDING DATE | February 19, 1852 |
| FOUNDING UNIVERSITY | Jefferson College |
| TYPE | Social |
| SCOPE | National |
| COUNCIL | NIC |
| MOTTO | Cultivating Leaders, Strengthening Communities |
| COLORS | Cardinal Red Hunter Green |
| FLOWER' | Jacqueminot Rose |
| PUBLICATION | The Shield |
| PHILANTHROPY | Boys & Girls Clubs of America |
| CHAPTERS | 101 Chapters, 5 Colonies |
| HEADQUARTERS | Laurel Hall 5395 Emerson Way Indianapolis, Indiana 46226, USA |
| WEBSITE | phikappapsi.org |
Contents |
History
In the Fall of 1850, a typhoid fever epidemic hit Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Many students left school. Among those who remained were William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore. They chose to care for their fellow classmates who were stricken with the contagious disease, and a strong bond was formed. In the following school year, Letterman and Moore decided to found a fraternity based on "the great joy of serving others" that they experienced during the epidemic. On February 19, 1852, Phi Kappa Psi was founded.
Executive Council
The Executive Council of Phi Kappa Psi is composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 6 Archons.
Since 1886, the Phi Kappa Psi has been controlled by undergraduates. This unique system of governance is achieved by a governing body, the Executive Council, which is made up of a majority of elected undergraduates. These undergraduates, known as Archons, represent the six Districts of Phi Kappa Psi, which divide the nation into roughly equal parts based on the number of chapters represented. Archons are elected during meetings of each District during Woodrow Wilson Leadership Schools, held during odd-numbered years. Four alumni also serve on the Executive Council and are elected at Grand Arch Councils, held during even-numbered years.
Grand Chapters
Phi Kappa Psi's first form of government centered around a Grand Chapter. One chapter at a time was designated the Grand Chapter, and it was responsible for governing the national fraternity. This lasted until 1886 when a new constitution changed to the current form of government.
In 1992, Phi Kappa Psi began to award one exceptional chapter with the Grand Chapter Award. Its name is derived from the fraternity's first form of government. This award was initially granted biennially at Grand Arch Councils. 2001 marked the first time that this award was granted in an odd-numbered year, and it has been an annual award ever since.
Grand Arch Councils
The supreme governing body of Phi Kappa Psi is the Grand Arch Council (G.A.C.). The first convened in 1853, one year after the Fraternity's founding. They would then convene at an irregular schedule, until an entirely new form of government was ratified in 1886.[8] Beginning in 1888, nearly all G.A.C.s have been regularly scheduled, and have occurred biennially, with the sole exception being that the 1944 G.A.C. was cancelled due to World War II.
The Order of the S.C.
The Order of the S.C., formed in 1920 at the Grand Arch Council held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is regarded by Phi Kappa Psi as a "fraternity within a fraternity" and has no peer in the men's fraternity world. Entrance can only be gained by attending at least seven Grand Arch Councils and performing, to the satisfaction of the Order, one or more acts of benefit to the Fraternity. The Order meets every two years, during Phi Kappa Psi's biennial Grand Arch Council. The words which the initials "S.C." represent are held secret by its members, and there are currently more than one hundred living members of the Order who guard its traditions and carry out its work.
Creed
The following Phi Kappa Psi Creed was written by John Henry Frizzell of the Massachusetts Alpha Chapter and Kent Christopher Owen of the Indiana Beta Chapter. It was adopted by the fraternity's national convention, the Grand Arch Council, in Denver in 1964.
I believe that Phi Kappa Psi is a brotherhood of honorable men, courteous and cultured, who pledge throughout their lives to be generous, compassionate, and loyal comrades;
I believe that I am honor bound to strive manfully for intellectual, moral, and spiritual excellence; to help and forgive my Brothers; to discharge promptly all just debts; to give aid and sympathy to all who are less fortunate;
I believe that I am honor bound to strengthen my character and deepen my integrity; to counsel and guide my Brothers who stray from their obligations; to respect and emulate my Brothers who practice moderation in their manners and morals; to be ever mindful that loyalty to my Fraternity should not weaken loyalty to my college, but rather increase devotion to it, to my country, and to my God;
I believe that to all I meet, wherever I go, I represent not only Phi Kappa Psi, but indeed the spirit of all fraternities; thus I must ever conduct myself so as to bring respect and honor not to myself alone, but also to my Fraternity;
To the fulfillment of these beliefs, of these ideals, in the noble perfection of Phi Kappa Psi, I pledge my life and my sacred honor.
Endowment Fund
Like many fraternal organizations, the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity maintains an independent endowment for the educational benefit of its members. The Endowment Fund of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, Inc., organized in 1914, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public educational foundation. As of December 31, 2004 the Endowment Fund had net assets of $18,928,712. In 2004 the Endowment Fund spent $1,085,515 on scholarships, grants and other educational activities for the fraternity's members.
Although established in 1914, it was not until the mid-1990s that the Endowment Fund began to flourish. In 1994, net assets totaled a mere $620,503. Ten years later, that amount grew to almost $19 million. In 2004, under the leadership of Tom Pennington, Director of Development, and Wayne Wilson, a probate attorney who serves as volunteer Chairman, the Endowment Fund of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity became the largest educational foundation of any American or international collegiate fraternity or sorority. Gifts from wealthy alumni have helped Phi Kappa Psi reach this goal. The fund also relies heavily on smaller contributions to its "Chapter Scholarship Foundation" program, whereby 90% of a donation can be ear-marked for the benefit of a specific chapter. This has spurred giving among those who have a strong connection with the chapter at their collegiate alma mater. The California Epsilon Chapter at the University of California, Los Angeles has the largest Chapter Scholarship Fund, with $1.9 million in 2008.
In 2006, the Endowment Fund and the Fraternity Headquarters moved from its downtown Indianapolis location into its new acquisition, Laurel Hall. Complete with Ruth Lilly Conference Center and public access for special events, this property has enabled Phi Kappa Psi to host national conferences and board meetings as well as gain revenue from rental of the facility to other Indianapolis area citizens.
Chapters
The Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity is composed of chapters and alumni associations, the former of which is the scope of this section. Each chapter is chartered to an individual host institution. These host institutions must be accredited four year degree granting colleges and universities in a state, province, territory, or federal district of Canada or the United States. To date, chapter charters have only been granted to groups at U.S. institutions.
When Phi Kappa Psi is extending to an institution that does not currently have a chapter, a probationary group called a "colony" is formed. After criteria are met, that colony receives its charter and becomes a chapter.
A chapter becomes inactive when it relinquishes its charter, or the charter is revoked by the fraternity.
Chapter naming convention
The chapter naming convention is composed of the top level subnational division of that chapter's host institution, and a Greek letter in alphabetical order from when the charter was originally issued. For example, the first Phi Psi chapter is from Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The first letter in the Greek alphabet is Alpha. The chapter name is Pennsylvania Alpha. The second chapter was installed at the University of Virginia, so it is the Virginia Alpha chapter. The third chapter was installed at Washington & Lee University, in Virginia, so it is the Virginia Beta chapter. The George Washington University chapter is only one ever chartered in the District of Columbia, so it is the District of Columbia Alpha chapter.
If borders change, the chapter name does not. Virginia Delta was chartered at Bethany College in 1859. After the Civil War, Bethany College was in West Virginia, but the chapter remained Virginia Delta. Chapters are named based on when the charter is granted, not when it is installed. As a result, there have been rare instances when the chapter naming convention may not appear to be consistent with the charter dates. For example, four charters have been granted in Iowa. The second granted was the fourth installed, so Iowa Beta chartered after Iowa Gamma and Iowa Delta.
Membership
An active member of the fraternity is a full-time enrolled student at his chapter's host institution at the undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate level; all others, including members who have graduated or transfer to a school without a Phi Psi chapter, are considered alumni.[10] Men may be initiated into Phi Kappa Psi either by an active chapter, or as part of a colony that is being installed as a chapter. Members typically join Phi Kappa Psi when a chapter extends an offer to enter into a probationary period known as pledgeship, which lasts for several weeks and concludes with initiation.
Membership is normally only granted to men who are enrolled as full-time students at a chapter's host institution. There have been three exceptions to this:
1. Alumni of a colony which became a chapter after their graduation, and for two years after.
2. Men who have been of service to a chapter, but not students at the institution.
3. Honorary membership extended to men of prominence, a practice that was banned in 1885.
