Contact
History
    ΦΚΨ -- Pennsylvania Alpha - 1852
Home
History
Latest News
Photo Gallery
eMailing List
Links

 

 


Founded February 19th 1852
Colors: Cardinal Red & Hunter Green
Flower: Jacqueminot Rose
Motto: The Great Joy of Serving Others

 

 
 

Phi Kappa Psi was founded in 1852 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Jefferson College by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore. Through long nights of caring for a sick friend during an outbreak of typhoid fever, the founders grew to appreciate service, and decided to form an organization that would ensconce these ideals. On the dreary night of February 19, 1852, the brotherhood of Phi Kappa Psi was born.

Letterman, whose physician father but died early in his life, was living with his mother a few houses away from Jefferson College when the epidemic hit. Moore was also a student at Jefferson at the time.

William Letterman (c. 1832 - May 23, 1881) is the younger brother of Jonathan K. Letterman, who is known as the Father of Battlefield Medicine. His system enabled thousands of wounded men to be recovered and treated during the American Civil War.

William Letterman graduated from Jefferson College (now Washington and Jefferson College) and then went on to receive his M.D from Jefferson Medical College in 1857.

Moore (February 8, 1831 - July 7, 1904) was born in Virginia in a portion of the state along the Ohio River now located in West Virginia. Moore served in the Union Army during the war and went on to become a justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals following the Civil War and died in West Virginia.

The creed of Phi Kappa Psi was a result of efforts by John Henry Frizzell (Massachusetts Alpha, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1898) and Kent Christopher Owen (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1958). It was adopted by the Grand Arch Council at Denver in 1964. It reads as follows:

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.

Symbols

The fraternity flag is in the proportions of eight and one-half feet wide by six feet high; the colors are the official fraternity colors; the design is three vertical stripes of equal width, a hunter green in the middle, flanked on either side by a cardinal red stripe.

The Order of the S.C.

The Order of the S.C., formed in 1920, is regarded within Phi Kappa Psi as a "fraternity within the fraternity." 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 Grand Arch Councils. The words that the initials "S.C." represent are held secret by its members.

Notable Phi Psis

Public Service

Current

Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator (IN), former Governor of Indiana (1989-97) (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1975)

Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, founder of Bloomberg L.P. (Maryland Alpha, Johns Hopkins University, 1961)

Stephen Hadley, U.S. National Security Advisor (New York Alpha, Cornell University, 1966)

Charlie Dent, U.S. Congressman (PA), (Pennsylvania Lambda, Pennsylvania State University, 1982)

David Shafer, Georgia State Senator (Georgia Alpha, University of Georgia, 1983)

Earl "Butch" Ehrhart, Georgia State Representative (Georgia Alpha, University of Georgia, 1978)

Former

President Woodrow Wilson, (1913-21), Governor of New Jersey (1911-13), President of Princeton University, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (Virginia Alpha, University of Virginia, 1879)

John F. Kennedy, Jr., Son of JFK, founder of George Magazine

Joseph W. Barr, Secretary of the Treasury (1968-69), FDIC Chairman (Indiana Alpha, DePauw University, 1936)

Joseph Blatchford, Director of the Peace Corps (1969-71) (California Epsilon, UCLA, 1953)

Pierce Butler, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1922-39) (Minnesota Alpha, Carleton College, 1885)

George E. Chamberlain, U.S. Senator (OR), Governor of Oregon (1903-09) (Virginia Beta, Washington and Lee University, 1872)

John T. Connor, Secretary of Commerce (1965-67) (New York Beta, Syracuse University, 1933)

Paul Coverdell, U.S. Senator (GA) (1993-2000, died in office), Director of the Peace Corps (Missouri Alpha, University of Missouri, 1959)

John W. Davis, Democratic presidential nominee (1924), U.S. Ambassador to Britain, U.S. Solicitor General, noted attorney (Virginia Beta, Washington and Lee University, 1889)

J. Edward Day, Postmaster General (1961-63) (Illinois Beta, University of Chicago, 1933)

Joseph Benson Foraker, U.S. Senator (OH), Governor of Ohio (1886-90), candidate for 1908 Republican presidential nomination, first alumnus president of Phi Kappa Psi (New York Alpha, Cornell University, 1866)

James P. Goodrich, Governor of Indiana (1917-21) (Indiana Alpha, DePauw University, 1885)

Herbert S. Hadley, Governor of Missouri (1909-13) (Kansas Alpha, University of Kansas, 1888)

Homer A. Holt, Governor of West Virginia (1937-41) (Virginia Beta, Washington and Lee University, 1916)

Lawrence Judd, Territorial Governor of Hawaii (1929-34), Governor of American Samoa (1953) (Pennsylvania Iota, University of Pennsylvania, 1906)

Thomas H. Kuchel, U.S. Senator (CA), (1953-69; Senate Minority Whip) (California Delta, University of Southern California, 1929)

William P. Lane, Governor of Maryland (1947-51) (Virginia Alpha, University of Virginia, 1910)

Lloyd Lowndes, Jr., Governor of Maryland (1895-99) (Pennsylvania Beta, Allegheny College, 1864)

A. Mitchell Palmer, U.S. Attorney General (1919-21), candidate for 1920 Democratic presidential nomination (Pennsylvania Kappa, Swarthmore College, 1889)

Raymond P. Shafer, Governor of Pennsylvania (1967-71) (Pennsylvania Beta, Allegheny College, 1935)

William C. Sproul, Governor of Pennsylvania (1919-23), candidate for 1920 Republican presidential nomination (Pennsylvania Kappa, Swarthmore College, 1889)

Lt. Gen. E.O. Thompson, Texas Railroad Commission's longest-serving member (1933-65) (Texas Alpha, University of Texas at Austin, 1913)

James E. Watson, U.S. Senator (IN) (Majority Leader 1929-33), U.S. Congressman and Republican Party Whip (Indiana Alpha, DePauw University, 1881)

Robert "B.J." Dion, Professor of Political Science and Master of French (1981-1985), (Indiana Gamma Wabash College, 1832)

Statistics

More than 100 Phi Psis have served as members of the U.S. Congress, including 17 Senators

Members have served in the following positions with the U.S. government: President of the United States, Attorney-General, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Army (2), Postmaster General, Director of the Peace Corps (2), FDIC Chairman, and U.S. Ambassador (7)

At least 12 members have served as state (or territory) governors

Military

Brig. Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell, "Father of the U.S. Air Force," Congressional Gold Medal of Honor recipient (D.C. Alpha, George Washington University, 1896)

Maj. Gen. William "Wild Bill" Donovan, World War I Medal of Honor recipient, founder of the Office of Strategic Services (precursor of the CIA) during World War II (New York Gamma, Columbia University, 1903)

Gen. Tasker Bliss, U.S. Army Chief of Staff during World War I (Pennsylvania Gamma, Bucknell University, 1870)

Maj. Gen. Frank "Machine Gun" Parker, Commander of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division during World War I (South Carolina Alpha, University of South Carolina, 1888)

Maj. Gen. Henry Terrell, Commander of the U.S. Army's 90th Infantry Division during World War II (Texas Alpha, University of Texas at Austin, 1908)

John Marsh, Secretary of the Army (1981-89), U.S. Congressman (VA) (Virginia Beta, Washington and Lee University, 1948)

Stephen Ailes, Secretary of the Army (1964-65) (West Virginia Alpha, West Virginia University, 1934)

Captain Henry H. Bingham, Congressman and Medal of Honor Recipient

Over 60 Generals, 20 Admirals and at least 2 ships, including:

The USS James C. Owens (DD-776) named after James C. Owens, Jr. (California Delta University of Southern California 1930)

The USS Walter X. Young (APD-131) named after Walter X. Young (Illinois Beta, University of Chicago, 1937)

Arts and Entertainment

John Astin, actor (Pennsylvania Alpha, Washington and Jefferson College, 1949; Maryland Alpha, Johns Hopkins University, 1950)

Zach Braff, actor (Illinois Alpha, Northwestern University, 1997)

Roy Crane, nationally-syndicated cartoonist (Texas Alpha, University of Texas at Austin, 1922)

Peter Graves, actor (Minnesota Beta, University of Minnesota, 1946)

Edward Herrmann, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor (Pennsylvania Gamma, Bucknell University, 1965)

Edward Everett Horton, stage and screen actor; television performer (New York Zeta, Brooklyn Poly, 1907)

Frank Morgan, Academy Award-nominated actor (New York Alpha, Cornell University, 1908)

James Whitcomb Riley, poet/writer (Indiana Alpha, DePauw University, 1883)

Charles "Buddy" Rogers, actor/band leader (Kansas Alpha, University of Kansas, 1923)

Roy Scheider, Academy Award-nominated actor (Pennsylvania Eta, Franklin and Marshall College, 1954)

Steve Tesich, Academy Award-winning screenwriter (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1962)

James Thurber, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and humorist (Ohio Delta, Ohio State University, 1918)

Frederick Jackson Turner, prominent historian (Wisconsin Alpha, University of Wisconsin, 1878)

Wes Bergmann, Reality TV Personality The Real World: Austin (Arizona Beta, Arizona State University)

Pat Weaver, pioneering television executive and Emmy Award winner (New Hampshire Alpha, Dartmouth College, 1927)

Nathan Daniel Brown, writer; popularized character Richard Galen in television series x3i (Ohio Delta, Ohio State University, 2005)

Sports

Phog Allen, Basketball Hall of Fame member, "Father of Basketball Coaching" (Kansas Alpha, University of Kansas, 1905)

Kevin Berry, Olympic gold and bronze medal swimmer in 1964 (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1965)

Ron 'Babe' Bontemps, Olympian (Wisconsin Gamma, Beloit College)

Terry Bowden, former college football coach and current broadcaster (West Virginia Alpha, West Virginia University, 1975)

Jeff Cirillo, current Major League Baseball player, All-Star 1997 and 2000 (California Delta, University of Southern California, 1989)

Jerry Colangelo, Basketball Hall of Fame member, former Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks majority owner (Illinois Delta, University of Illinois, 1959)

Ford Frick, Major League Baseball Commissioner (1951-65), National Baseball Hall of Fame member (Indiana Alpha, DePauw University, 1913)

Johnny "Red" Kerr, former NBA player and coach, current broadcaster for the Chicago Bulls (Illinois Delta, University of Illinois, 1954)

Nile Kinnick, Heisman Trophy winner (1939) (Iowa Alpha, University of Iowa, 1938)

John Michels, former NFL player, first-round draft choice in 1996 (California Delta, University of Southern California)

Ralph Miller, Basketball Hall of Fame member and former college coach (Kansas Alpha, University of Kansas, 1938)

Tex Schramm, Pro Football Hall of Fame member, former Dallas Cowboys GM, key NFL innovator (Texas Alpha, University of Texas at Austin, 1940)

Mark Spitz, Olympic swimming legend, won 7 gold medals in 1972 (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1969)

Dick Tomey, current college football coach (Indiana Alpha, DePauw University, 1957)

Michael Troy, gold medalist in the 200m butterfly and 800m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics and Sports Illustrated cover subject, (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1959)

George Yardley, Basketball Hall of Fame member (California Beta, Stanford University, 1947)

Ron Yary, Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Outland Trophy winner (1967), NFL first overall draft choice (1968) (California Delta, University of Southern California, 1966)

Business

Jerry Yang, Yahoo! co-founder (California Beta, Stanford University, 1987)

Benjamin Lutch, Excite co-founder (California Beta, Stanford University, 1991)

David Fout, Aquilent CEO/President (Maryland Beta, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1988)

Jerry Nelson, Ticketmaster founder (California Epsilon, UCLA, 1948)

Angus G. Wynne, Jr., Six Flags founder (Texas Alpha, University of Texas at Austin, 1933)

Michael Bloomberg, New York City Mayor (Maryland Alpha, Johns Hopkins University)

Matthew X. Wang, Under The Button (Pennsylvania Iota, University of Pennsylvania)

Herbert H. Dow, Dow Chemical Company founder (Ohio Epsilon, Case Institute of Technology)

Many leaders of major Fortune 500 corporations, banks, and national professional associations

Education

Current and recent presidents of the University of Cincinnati, MIT, University of San Francisco, Creighton University, Slippery Rock University, and the West Virginia University

Former presidents of Case Western Reserve, Cornell University, University of Illinois, Johns Hopkins University, University of Kentucky, University of Montana, University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University, Princeton University, The College of New Jersey, and Washington and Jefferson College

Miscellaneous

Owen Garriott, Skylab astronaut (Oklahoma Alpha, University of Oklahoma, 1949)

Robert Lowry, Churchman and famed 19th-Century hymn-writer (Pennsylvania Gamma, Bucknell University, 1856); his work includes "Shall We Gather at the River," and "How Can I Keep From Singing?"

Elliott See, Gemini astronaut (Texas Alpha, University of Texas at Austin, 1945)

David G. Tyler, U.S. Congressman (VA), son of President John Tyler (Virginia Beta, Washington and Lee University, 1867)

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 31st, 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 endowment fund of any American or international collegiate fraternity or sorority. Generous giving by 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 Phi Kappa Psi chapter at USC (University of Southern California) has the largest chapter scholarship fund with $1.3 million in 2004.