Sigma Phi

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Sigma Phi
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FoundedMarch 4, 1827; 199 years ago (March 4, 1827)
Union College
TypeSecret
AffiliationTemplate:Infobox fraternity/affiliation
Former affiliationTemplate:Infobox fraternity/affiliation
StatusActive
ScopeNational
MottoScript error: No such module "Lang".
"Let it be perpetual"
Member badgeFile:Sigma Phi Badge.png
ColorsPage Template:Legend/styles.css has no content.  Azure and Page Template:Legend/styles.css has no content.  Argent
PublicationThe Flame
Chapters6
HeadquartersP.O. Box 57417
Tucson, Arizona 85732-7417
United States
Websitesigmaphi.org

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The Sigma Phi Society (Script error: No such module "Lang".) is an American college fraternity. Established in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York, it was the second Greek letter fraternal organization founded in the United States. Sigma Phi was the first collegiate social fraternity to establish a chapter at another college, making it the first national fraternity. It was also a founding member of the National Interfraternity Conference, now the North American Interfraternity Conference. It is part of the Union Triad along with the Kappa Alpha society and Delta Phi.

History

The Sigma Phi Society was formed as a secret society on March 4, 1827, on the campus of Union College in Schenectady, New York.[1][2] Its founders were Charles Thorn Cromwell, John Thomas Bowie, Thomas Fielder Bowie, and Thomas Sydenham Witherspoon.[1][2] The Alpha chapter of Sigma Phi at Union College has been in continuous operation since its founding, making it the oldest continuously running fraternity chapter in the United States.[3]

In 1831, Beta of New York was established at Hamilton College by John Cochrane, a student from Hamilton who had come to study at Union for one academic year and then returned to his home institution.[4] In doing so, it made the Sigma Phi society the first Greek fraternal organization in the United States to establish a chapter at another college, thus becoming the first national Greek letter organization in the United States.[5]

In 1834, Sigma Phi became the first fraternity to publish a catalogue of its membership.[1] The fraternity was incorporated in the State of New York in 1885 and was reincorporated in 1920.[1]

In 1901, Sigma Phi became a founding member of the National Interfraternity Conference, now the North American Interfraternity Conference.[6]

Historically, the fraternity had been conservative in adding chapters.[1] In 1963, the fraternity had eleven active chapters, two inactive chapters, and 3,910 living members.[1]

Its headquarters is in Tucson, Arizona.[7]

Symbols

The practices and rituals of the Sigma Phi Society are relatively unknown due to its establishment, and continued consideration, as a secret society.[8]

The Sigma Phi badge is a monogram with a jeweled Σ directly over a Φ that is either plain or chased.[1] It was designed by Charles N. Rowley, founder of the Beta of New York chapter.[9] In 1879, Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities stated that the badge was royal purple. Since 1879, the badge has been produced mainly in gold.[1] Its pledge pin is a light blue and white button.[1]

The society's colors are azure (light blue) and argent (white).[1] Its motto is Script error: No such module "Lang". or "Let it be perpetual".[2] Its publication is the Sigma Phi Flame, first published in 1920.[1]

Chapters

In the following list, active chapters are indicated in bold and inactive chapters are in italics.[1][2][10][11] Template:Sticky-header

Chapter Letter Charter date and range Institution Location Status Template:Refh
Alpha of New York U Template:Dts Union College Schenectady, New York Active
Beta of New York H 1831–2019 Hamilton College Clinton, New York Inactive [a]
Alpha of Massachusetts W 1834–1968 Williams College Williamstown, Massachusetts Inactive [b]
Gamma of New York N Template:Dts–Template:Dts New York University New York City, New York Inactive [c]
Delta of New York G Template:Dts Hobart College Geneva, New York Active
Alpha of Vermont V Template:Dts University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont Active
Alpha of New Jersey P 1853–1858 Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey Inactive [d]
Alpha of Michigan M 1858–2022 University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Inactive [e][a]
Alpha of Pennsylvania L Template:Dts – 2002 Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Inactive [f]
Epsilon of New York C Template:Dts Cornell University Ithaca, New York Suspended
Alpha of Wisconsin F Template:Dts University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, Wisconsin Active
Alpha of California I Template:Dts University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Active [a][g]
Alpha of Virginia S 1953 University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Active [h]
Alpha of North Carolina T 2008–2019 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina Inactive

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Attempted, with little success, to include women in the chapter's membership.
  2. ^ Chapter formed from Phi Alpha (local), established in 1833.
  3. ^ According to the Baird's Manual (1963), the chapter closed "in a belief that a successful chapter could not be maintained in a city college where the students met only at recitations".
  4. ^ Charter returned to the Convention of 1860 after the college banned fraternities.
  5. ^ Charter revoked.
  6. ^ Chapter formed from Delta Tau Delta (local), established in 1870.
  7. ^ Chapter formed from the La Junta Club (local), established in 1901.
  8. ^ Chapter formed from the Serpentine Club (local), established in 1890 and later called Delta Tau Delta. .
File:A Fraternity House, Sigma Phi, University of Michigan (NBY 2340).jpg
Sigma Phi house at the University of Michigan, circa 1900 (now an inactive chapter, house no longer occupied by Sigma Phi)

Chapter houses

Alpha of Massachusetts at Williams College was the first chapter to build its own chapter house.[1] Today, some chapters own buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, such as the Thorsen House, owned by the Alpha of California chapter in Berkeley and designed by Greene and Greene.[8] The Alpha of Wisconsin chapter house is the Harold C. Bradley House, a National Historic Landmark designed in 1908 by Louis Sullivan.[12]

File:420 College.jpg
Sigma Phi Place, University of Vermont, 2022

Alpha of Vermont

The Alpha of Vermont chapter house, known as Sigma Phi Place, is a listed contributing building to the National Register of Historic Places' University Green Historic District.[13] It was designed in 1903 by architect Marcus T. Reynolds of Albany, New York, who was a member of the Alpha of Massachusetts chapter.[13] Located at 420 College Street, Sigma Phi Place was the first purpose-built fraternity house at the University of Vermont.[13] It is a three-story, Colonial Revival style brick house.[13] Its main entrance has a gable pedimented portico with four columns that have Corinthian capitals.[13]

Governance

Sigma Phi is governed by officers who are elected at an annual convention of chapter delegates.[1] Until 1887, the annual conventions were held in Schnectady, New York, on March 4th, the date of the first initiation ceremony.

Its national headquarters is in Tucson, Arizona.[11]

Notable members

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See also

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Template:Bairds17
  2. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Catalogue of the Sigma Phi: E.P.V. Sigma Phi Society. 1915 – via HathiTrust.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."What's The Oldest Continually-Running Fraternity Chapter In America?". Total Frat Move. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Haigis, Kurt (February 4, 2022). "What's a Sigma Phi catalogue?". Sigma Phi Society. p. 35. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  5. ^ Template:Bairds17
  6. ^ Template:Bairds17
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Contact Us". Sigma Phi Society. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Home". Sigma Phi Society. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rowley, Charles N." 1829. January 1829 – via Union College.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Chapters". Sigma Phi Society. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Template:Cite Almanac FS
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Our house - Wisc". Sigma Phi Society. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for University Green Historic District. Revision, 2021.

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