Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1852. The fraternity has over ninety chapters at accredited four-year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 179,000 men have been initiated into Phi Kappa Psi since its founding. Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Gamma Delta, both founded at the same college, form the Jefferson Duo.

History

thumb|left|180px|The Letterman home, where Phi Kappa Psi was founded

In the winter 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 classmates who were stricken with the contagious disease, and a strong bond was formed.

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. Letterman and Moore founded Phi Kappa Psi in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852.

The fraternity's first Grand Arch Council convened in 1853 in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the 1885 Grand Arch Council in Columbus, Ohio, a special committee was created to draft a new constitution. The fraternity also decided to prohibit chapters from honorary initiations.

In 1894 in New York City, the Arch Grand Council passed a resolution to oppose hazing for its undergraduate members, becoming the first fraternity to publicly oppose hazing. The Grand Arch Council adopted the Phi Kappa Psi Creed in 1964.

Symbols

The coat of arms as adopted in 1908 has a sable (black) field, but today it is most often seen as shown in the adjacent infobox.

The colors are the official fraternity colors and the design is three vertical stripes of equal width, a hunter green in the middle, flanked on either side by a cardinal red stripe. A smaller version is available with proportions roughly three and one-half feet wide by two feet high. The fraternity song is "Amici". Its root dates back to the traditional song "Annie Lisle".

Governance

Executive Council

The Executive Council of Phi Kappa Psi is composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and six Archons. Since its founding, 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 District Councils, 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 on 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 Grand Arch Council convened in 1853 in Charlottesville, Virginia. It regarded by Phi Kappa Psi as a "fraternity within a fraternity". It funds scholarships, grants, fellowships, and assistantships for Phi Psis and other students across the country. William Beebe, who was not a member of the fraternity, pled guilty to sexual battery in 2007, following a written confession he had made to Seccuro as part of his Alcoholics Anonymous program. Two others were implicated during an investigation of the Beebe case. They retained legal counsel and invoked the Fifth Amendment when questioned before a grand jury and were ultimately not charged. The homework of two chapter members was found at the same location where the stolen newspapers were discarded.

  • In 2014, Brown University suspended its Phi Kappa Psi chapter after two female students reported that they rapidly became intoxicated at the fraternity's party and tested positive for the date rape drug GHB. Chapter officials disputed the test results and a subsequent investigation by the university showed that the results were inconclusive for the presence of GHB due to errors in laboratory procedures. In 2016, the female students sued the university for intentionally mishandling the case because a Brown University trustee's son was accused of drugging them with plans to sexually assault them.
  • In 2017, Matthew Ellis, a Phi Kappa Psi pledge at Texas State University, attended a fraternity event and was found unresponsive in an off-campus apartment complex the next morning. Ellis' death led the university suspend all Greek activities on campus soon after. The chapter of Phi Kappa Psi at Texas State University had been put on suspension by the national organization a week earlier for unrelated violations. The local police placed the fraternity under investigation to determine the cause of his death.
  • In 2020, Cornell University "permanently revoked" recognition of its chapter of Phi Kappa Psi nearly a year after a freshman student was found dead in a gorge after leaving an illegal Christmas-themed "dirty rush" party in October 2019.
  • In 2025, four members of the San Diego State University chapter faced several charges in relation to an incident the previous February. The members allegedly performed a skit where a pledge had his legs set on fire, resulting in burns to 16% of his body. The burned pledge was among the four people charged.

University of Virginia gang rape hoax

In a since-retracted November 2014 article in Rolling Stone, Sabrina Erdely reported in detail allegations of a 2012 gang rape, and reported in brief on allegations of two subsequent gang rapes at the University of Virginia. Following the story the fraternity voluntarily suspended activity there. Rolling Stone apologized for the article, and after investigating the accusations, Phi Kappa Psi, ABC News, and The Washington Post said they had found significant discrepancies in the account.

On January 12, the University of Virginia reinstated the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity after the police investigation concluded that no incident had occurred at the fraternity. On April 5, 2015, Rolling Stone formally retracted the story. Sabrina Erdely publicly apologized for the article on the same day. The next day, leaders of the Phi Kappa Psi chapter announced the fraternity would file a lawsuit against Rolling Stone over the article. Rolling Stone has settled the case and paid the Phi Kappa Psi chapter at the University of Virginia $1.65 million.

See also

  • List of social fraternities and sororities

Footnotes

References

Books

Periodicals

  • Phi Kappa Psi Foundation
  • Laurel Hall