The Sigma Phi Society () 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. Its founders were Charles Thorn Cromwell, John Thomas Bowie, Thomas Fielder Bowie, and Thomas Sydenham Witherspoon.
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. 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.
In 1834, Sigma Phi became the first fraternity to publish a catalogue of its membership.
Historically, the fraternity had been conservative in adding chapters.
Symbols
The practices and rituals of the Sigma Phi Society are relatively unknown due to its establishment, and continued consideration, as a secret society.
The Sigma Phi badge is a monogram with a jeweled Σ directly over a Φ that is either plain or chased. 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.
{| class="wikitable sticky-header sortable"
! Chapter
!Letter
! Charter date and range
! Institution
! Location
! Status
!
|-
|Alpha of New York
|U
|
|Union College
|Schenectady, New York
|Active
|
|-
|Beta of New York
|H
|1831–2019
|Hamilton College
|Clinton, New York
|Inactive
|
|-
|Alpha of Massachusetts
|W
|1834–1968
|Williams College
|Williamstown, Massachusetts
|Inactive
|
|-
|Gamma of New York
|N
|–
|New York University
|New York City, New York
|Inactive
|
|-
|Delta of New York
|G
|
|Hobart College
|Geneva, New York
|Active
|
|-
|Alpha of Vermont
|V
|
|University of Vermont
|Burlington, Vermont
|Active
|
|-
|Alpha of New Jersey
|P
|1853–1858
|Princeton University
|Princeton, New Jersey
|Inactive
|
|-
|Alpha of Michigan
|M
|1858–2022
|University of Michigan
|Ann Arbor, Michigan
|Inactive
|
|-
|Alpha of Pennsylvania
|L
| – 2002
|Lehigh University
|Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
|Inactive
|
|-
|Epsilon of New York
|C
|
|Cornell University
|Ithaca, New York
|Suspended
|
|-
|Alpha of Wisconsin
|F
|
|University of Wisconsin–Madison
|Madison, Wisconsin
|Active
|
|-
|Alpha of California
|I
|
|University of California, Berkeley
|Berkeley, California
|Active
|
|-
|Alpha of Virginia
|S
|1953
|University of Virginia
|Charlottesville, Virginia
|Active
|
|-
|Alpha of North Carolina
|T
|2008–2019
|University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
|Chapel Hill, North Carolina
|Inactive
|
|}
Notes
thumb|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. thumb|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. It was designed in 1903 by architect Marcus T. Reynolds of Albany, New York, who was a member of the Alpha of Massachusetts chapter.