Sigma Pi
Encyclopedia
Sigma Pi is an international college
secret and social fraternity
founded in 1897 at Vincennes University
. Sigma Pi International fraternity currently has 127 chapters and 4 colonies in the United States
and Canada
and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee
. Like most social fraternities, membership is by invitation and limited to men, currently organization has initiated more than 95,000 men and has 6,000 undergraduate members.
The organization strives to build a brotherhood that raises the standards of morality and develops character in undergraduate males. Sigma Pi's ideals are to maintain an aristocracy of learning, diffuse culture, encourage chivalry, promote the spirit of civic righteousness and quicken the national conscience.
about college fraternities, sparking an interest in several students. Later that day these students: William Raper Kennedy, James Thompson Kingsbury, George Martin Patterson, and Rolin Rosco James held the first meeting of a newly formed literary society. It started as Tau Phi Delta (ΤΦΔ), a literary society
with fraternal ideals. The Founders little dreamt the fraternity would develop anything beyond a local organization, it came into existence through the desire of a few kindred souls to give expression to their sincere spirit of fraternalism.
. Today, Sigma Pi consists of 127 active collegiate groups, dozens of alumni clubs, and over 95,000 initiates.
events for its members and the communities in which its chapters are located. In addition, a separate, but related entity, the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation, manages trust assets for the educational benefit of both members and non-members. The Fraternity's "ACE" (Altruistic Campus Experience) Project is the first fraternity or sorority campus service program for chapters specifically designed to benefit their host institutions.
Not God's, and not the beasts';
God is, they are.
Man partly is and wholly hopes to be.
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
secret and social fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
founded in 1897 at Vincennes University
Vincennes University
Vincennes University is a public university in Vincennes, Indiana, in the United States. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. Since 1889, VU has been a two-year university, although baccalaureate degrees in seven select areas are...
. Sigma Pi International fraternity currently has 127 chapters and 4 colonies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...
. Like most social fraternities, membership is by invitation and limited to men, currently organization has initiated more than 95,000 men and has 6,000 undergraduate members.
The organization strives to build a brotherhood that raises the standards of morality and develops character in undergraduate males. Sigma Pi's ideals are to maintain an aristocracy of learning, diffuse culture, encourage chivalry, promote the spirit of civic righteousness and quicken the national conscience.
Founding
On February 26, 1897, a professor of Latin and French spoke to a group of students at chapel hour at Vincennes UniversityVincennes University
Vincennes University is a public university in Vincennes, Indiana, in the United States. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. Since 1889, VU has been a two-year university, although baccalaureate degrees in seven select areas are...
about college fraternities, sparking an interest in several students. Later that day these students: William Raper Kennedy, James Thompson Kingsbury, George Martin Patterson, and Rolin Rosco James held the first meeting of a newly formed literary society. It started as Tau Phi Delta (ΤΦΔ), a literary society
Literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of literature or a specific writer. Modern literary societies typically promote research about their chosen author or genre, publish newsletters, and hold...
with fraternal ideals. The Founders little dreamt the fraternity would develop anything beyond a local organization, it came into existence through the desire of a few kindred souls to give expression to their sincere spirit of fraternalism.
The Founders
- Rolin Rosco James (October 16, 1879 - February 4, 1953) Born in Lincolnville, IndianaLincolnville, IndianaLincolnville is an unincorporated town in Lagro Township, Wabash County, Indiana....
. Graduated from Vincennes University in 1900; A. B., Earlham CollegeEarlham CollegeEarlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
, 1902; Studied at Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and by profession a consulting attorney.
- William Raper Kennedy (November 22, 1877 - December 5, 1944) Born in Vincennes, Indiana. Graduated Vincennes University in 1897. Served in the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
and re-enlisted in the infantry a month after being discharged and was continuously in military service, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry. He was a member of the faculty at Culver Military Academy from 1905 until retiring in 1944.
- James Thompson Kingsbury (January 8, 1877 - October 1, 1950) Born in Lawrence County, Illinois. Descended from the Kingsbury familyKingsbury FamilyThe Kingsbury Family was an influential family in medieval England, and they continue to be an important part of American society today. There is some conjecture that the Kingsbury family are descendants of the Bracebridge family, whose ancestry is traced back as far as Sir Ralf of Bracebridge, an...
who settled in Massachusetts in 1615. Graduated Vincennes University in 1897; A. B. University of Illinois 1899, LL.B 1902. Practiced law in Bisbee, ArizonaBisbee, ArizonaBisbee is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, 82 miles southeast of Tucson. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 6,177...
. He was a member of the Christian Church and of Masonic Lodges in Tombstone, ArizonaTombstone, ArizonaTombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
and PhoenixPhoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
.
- George Martin Patterson (November 7, 1877 - April 7, 1960) Born in Palmyra, Township, Knox County, IndianaKnox County, IndianaAs of the census of 2000, there were 39,256 people, 15,552 households, and 10,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 17,305 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
. His ancestors settled in Vincenes before Indiana became a state and was a prominent part in the development of that part of the country. Served as the Deputy Recorder of Knox County and then followed in his father's footsteps of farming.
History 1898 - Present
During its tenure as a literary society, many requests for the chartering of other chapters were denied, and expansion never occurred. Tau Phi Delta changed its name to The Sigma Pi Fraternity, United States in 1907. The name not only signified a new era for the fraternity, but a new focus, expansion. Within the first year, Sigma Pi began to build new chapters. With the establishment of the Fraternity's first Canadian chapter in 1984, the organization's name was changed to The Sigma Pi Fraternity, International. The Fraternity was the first of its kind to be founded west of the Ohio Valley and a charter member of the North-American Interfraternity ConferenceNorth-American Interfraternity Conference
The North-American Interfraternity Conference , is an association of collegiate men's fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates where each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate...
. Today, Sigma Pi consists of 127 active collegiate groups, dozens of alumni clubs, and over 95,000 initiates.
Philanthropy
Sigma Pi promotes fellowship, scholarship, chivalry, and character by organizing social, academic, and philanthropyPhilanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
events for its members and the communities in which its chapters are located. In addition, a separate, but related entity, the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation, manages trust assets for the educational benefit of both members and non-members. The Fraternity's "ACE" (Altruistic Campus Experience) Project is the first fraternity or sorority campus service program for chapters specifically designed to benefit their host institutions.
Sigma Pi Creed
The men of Sigma Pi are committed to a strong tradition of quality individuals joining together in the fraternity during their collegiate lives and years thereafter following the high ideal as set forth in the Sigma Pi Creed. It is the guide and ideal around which a brother patterns his life.Sigma Pi Motto
The mother of the first two initiates of Sigma Pi, Samuel and Maurice Bayard, chose the Fraternity's motto during one of the first meetings. There was some debate about the appropriate motto, and no conclusions had been reached at the time. Mrs. Bayard took a volume of Robert Browning's poems from a shelf, turned to A Death In The Desert, and read what would become the motto.Not God's, and not the beasts';
God is, they are.
Man partly is and wholly hopes to be.
The Five Ideals
Sigma Pi Fraternity promotes five basic ideals, which a brother considers to be of extreme worth. They are the goals which every member is encouraged to strive toward in their own daily life.The First Ideal: To establish a brotherhood.
The Second Ideal: To establish and maintain an aristocracy of learning.
The Third Ideal: To raise the standards of morality and develop character.
The Fourth Ideal: To diffuse culture and encourage chivalry.
The Fifth Ideal: To promote the spirit of civic righteousness and quicken the national conscience.