ABOUT US
Our Founding
170 years ago, in 1852, William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore were college students at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsyslvania. While these two students were nursing their stricken student friends during an epidemic of typhoid fever, an appreciation of the great joy of serving others developed in their lives. While this service to others flourished, they asked others to join them and formed the Brotherhood of what today is Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. The founding date of Phi Kappa Psi was February 19, 1852. This date is celebrated today by Phi Kappa Psi chapters on campuses and by alumni associations all over The United States.
The fraternity continued to flourish and now has over 105 chapters with 77,000 living members. The ideals formed that February are now shared and passed on to future Phi Psi’s.
“The Great Joy of Serving Others” is our motto. Our belief of service to one’s community helps us develop men of integrity and is a great compliment to our college education. Caring for our community is an ideal that started and remains with the founding of our fraternity.
Why Phi Kappa Psi?
Values and Responsibility
-
Phi Psi use their collective influence to hold themselves to being men of excellence who behave responsibly. This means that Phi Psi obeys the law, acts in a manner that brings honor not just to themselves but to Phi Psis everywhere, and protects those who cannot defend themselves. Service is at the core of what we do, and it is a big reason why our actions stand out in a crowd and attract the best. Holding yourself to a higher standard can be what separates you from the pack during and after college.
Networking
-
After graduation, networking will play a key role in job searches and future employment opportunities. Phi Kappa Psi members develop interpersonal skills by interacting with the diverse members of the chapter and practicing recruitment. Additionally, Phi Kappa Psi offers members an instant network of over 70,000 living members with similar ideals and values. Regional Alumni Associations keep members connected and many loyal Phi Psis continue to attend national events for years after graduation.
Leadership
-
Phi Psi offers members the opportunity to step into officer leadership roles, often seeing to the needs and coordinating the actions of 50+ people. On the committee level of Phi Psi, members learn to cooperate in groups and work together to solve problems. In addition, the National Fraternity offers members several annual leadership schools and on site leadership retreats to develop all our members skills. Phi Psis have the potential to step out of college with a leg up on the competition in terms of leadership capability.