Chi Psi

Chi Psi Fraternity
ΧΨ
Founded	May 20, 1841 (1841-05-20) Union College
Type	Social Fraternity
Scope	National
Colors	Royal Purple and Gold
Chapters	29
Headquarters	Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Homepage	http://www.chipsi.org

Chi Psi Fraternity is a fraternity and secret society consisting of 29 active chapters (known as "Alphas") at American colleges and universities. It was founded on Thursday May 20, 1841, by 10 students at Union College with the idea of emphasizing the fraternal and social principles of a brotherhood. It was the first Greek-letter organization to be founded on these grounds rather than the literary characteristics of the seven existing societies. In addition, Chi Psi was the first fraternity in the nation to establish a fraternity house, at the University of Michigan in 1845, originally called a "lodge" because of its resemblance to a hunting lodge, the name stuck and now all Chi Psi houses are referred to as Lodges. Chi Psi Fraternity is the 8th fraternity to be founded in the USA. Founded in 1845, Alpha Phi at Hamilton College is the longest active Alpha in the United States.

Chi Psi's official colors are Royal Purple and Gold. Chi Psi's national headquarters, the Central Office, is in Nashville, Tennessee.

History

Chi Psi was founded on Thursday May 20, 1841, by 10 students at Union College with the idea of emphasizing the fraternal and social principles of a brotherhood. The 10 students' qualification for membership were simply embodied in one word: "gentleman". The 10 founding members were: Philip Spencer (later hanged on charges of mutiny aboard the brig USS Somers), Robert Heyward McFaddin, Jacob Henry Farrell, John Brush Jr., Samuel Titus Taber, James Lafayette Witherspoon (cousin of McFaddin), William Force Terhune, Alexander Peter Berthoud, James Chatham Duane, and Patrick Upshaw Major. Spencer designed the Chi Psi badge, while Terhune was considered the 'poet' writing the rites of initiation.

Values and the Chi Psi Gentleman

Chi Psi is founded upon the fraternal aspects of brotherhood and embraces a number of values in its pursuit to establish this brotherhood. These values were first adopted at its founding in 1841, and later, a restatement of principles was given at the 122nd National Convention in 1963. Some of these values are as follows: Chi Psi is defined by the values which are collectively accepted by its members. The extent to which these values are practiced is the measure of our fraternity; Chi Psi is committed to the growth of the individual in a social environment which nurtures integrity, dignity and maturity while enjoying shared experiences and college sociability; and Chi Psi recognizing that academic achievement is fundamental to the development of the individual, stands for intellectual growth and the attainment of human potential.

Chi Psi also embraces the idea of being a true gentleman, by following the definition of a gentleman as put forward by John Walter Wayland's 'The True Gentleman':

“

The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company; a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.

”

Program for Excellence

In pursuit of the values the fraternity put forth and in order to make up for a lack of leadership opportunities available on college campuses, the Chi Psi Educational Trust has funded the Program for Excellence. Consisting of numerous sessions and workshops the Program for Excellence focuses on instilling the members of Chi Psi with a respect for themselves, the people they are around, and their community.

Purple & Gold

The Chi Psi newsletter, 'The Purple & Gold' was first published in November of 1883, and is currently received by all current brothers on a lifetime subscription.

Chapters

Chi Psi has 29 chapters, which are known as Alphas, at American colleges and universities.

Active Alphas

Institution	Date founded	Alpha	Active since
Union College	1841	Pi	2008
Hamilton College	1845	Phi	1845
University of Michigan	1845	Epsilon	1845
University of North Carolina	1855	Sigma	1928
University of South Carolina	1858	Beta	1957
Amherst College	1864	Chi	1985
Cornell University	1869	Psi	1885
University of Minnesota	1874	Nu	1874
University of Wisconsin	1878	Iota	1878
Rutgers University	1879	Rho	2005
Stevens Institute of Technology	1883	Xi	1883
Lehigh University	1894	Beta Delta	1894
University of California-Berkeley	1895	Delta Delta	1895
Northwestern University	1892	Epsilon Delta	1947
University of Illinois	1912	Zeta Delta	1912
University of Colorado at Boulder	1920	Psi Delta	2011
University of Oregon	1921	Eta Delta	1921
University of Washington	1921	Theta Delta	1921
Georgia Tech	1923	Iota Delta	1923
University of the South	1964	Tau Delta	1964
Clemson University	1972	Chi Delta	1972
Washington and Lee University	1977	Omicron Delta	1977
Rollins College	1977	Mu Delta	1977
Texas Tech University	1983	Xi Delta	2000
Wake Forest University	1986	Upsilon Delta	1986
Duke University	1989	Sigma Delta	1989
North Carolina State University	2001	Pi Delta	2001
George Mason University	2003	Omega Delta	2003
Miami University	2005	Rho Delta	2005

Dormant Alphas

Institution	Date founded	Alpha	Dormant since
Williams College	1842	Theta	1963
Middlebury College	1843	Mu	1994
Wesleyan University	1844	Alpha	2000
Bowdoin College	1844	Eta	1993
Columbia University	1846	Zeta	1885
Princeton University	1851	Delta	1859
College of the City of New York	1857	Kappa	1873
Furman University	1858	Upsilon	1898
University of Mississippi	1858	Gamma	2007
Brown University	1860	Lambda	1870
University of Virginia	1860	Omicron	2008
Wofford College	1869	Tau	1906
University of Rochester	1884	Omega	1889
Stanford University	1895	Gamma Delta	1971
Yale University	1924	Kappa Delta	1963
UCLA/UC-Irvine	1949	Lambda Delta	1994
Penn State University	1997	Nu Delta	2004
University of Georgia	1890	Alpha Delta	2010

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Chi Psi brothers

Links and references

• Chi Psi Online