Phi Psi (professional)

FoundedMarch 18, 1903; 122 years ago
Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

AffiliationIndependent

StatusActive

Phi Psi
ΦΨ

Founded	March 18, 1903; 122 years ago (1903-03-18) Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Type	Professional
Affiliation	Independent
Status	Active
Emphasis	Textiles
Scope	National
Motto	Semper ad perfectum
Colors	Black and Gold
Flower	Yellow Tea Rose
Publication	The Phi Psi Quarterly
Chapters	3
Members	6,000+ lifetime
Headquarters	Raleigh, North Carolina United States

Phi Psi (ΦΨ) is an American professional fraternity in the field of textiles and manufacturing engineering. It was estalblished at the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science in 1903.

Phi Psi was established as a professional textiles fraternity on March 18, 1903 at the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its five founders were Robert M. Baeny, Paul Benninghoffen, Henry W. Eddy, Harold H. Hart, and Charles A. Kalenbach.^[1]

Established at the turn of the 20th Century, Phi Psi had three aims:

to promote fellowship among men of textile colleges and universities with textile departments;
to encourage high standards in textile work; and,
to assist, by every honorable means, the advancement of its members.

The fraternity expanded to several Massachusetts textile schools, then the center of textile manufacturing in the United States. Beta chapter was formed at Southeastern Massachusetts Dartmouth, followed by and Gamma chapter at Lowell Tech in 1904.^[1] Chapter naming traditions may have diverged: the Gamma chapter at Lowell Tech may have inserted the Gamma from its name into its national name, calling itself the Phi Gamma Psi fraternity.^[2]

The fraternity's first alumni chapter was established in 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts. When the nation's textile industry center shifted to the southern states, chapters were established in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Alabama. A total of ten collegiate chapters were formed, along with twelve alumni chapters.^[1]

Members from Alpha chapter began a search for a national social fraternity to join. In what appears to be a friendly schism, a majority or all of its members formed a separate organization from Phi Psi on November 14, 1964 when they were accepted as the Pennsylvania Omicron chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Yet the Alpha chapter of Phi Psi continued independently on the campus, remaining active today.^[3]

In 1991, the fraternity had 6,000 members.^[1] The fraternity is now coed.^[4] It held its 111th convention in Atlanta, Georgia in 2018.^[4]

Symbols

Phi Psi's motto is Semper ad perfectum. Its badge is described as a diamond-shaped emblem with a gold border andfour perpendicular gold bars on a black face.^[1] The Greek letters Φ and Ψ are in the center, rendered in gold.^[1]

Its colors are black and gold. The fraternity's flower is the Yellow Tea Rose.^[1] Its quarterly publication is The Phi Psi Quarterly.^[1]

Chapters

Following is a lists of Phi Psi chapters.^[1] Active chapters noted in bold. Inactive chapters and institutions are noted in italics.

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	Ref.
Alpha	March 18, 1903 – November 14, 1964; xxxx ?	Thomas Jefferson University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active	^[3]^[5]^[a]^[b]
Beta	1904	University of Massachusetts Dartmouth	Dartmouth, Massachusetts	Inactive	^[c]
Gamma	1904	University of Massachusetts Lowell	Lowell, Massachusetts	Consolidated ?	^[2]^[d]
Delta	1909–19xx ?	Bradford Durfee College of Technology	Fall River, Massachusetts	Consolidated ?	^[e]
Eta	May 1924	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	Active	^[6]
Theta	January 10, 1925 – after 2019	Georgia Tech	Atlanta, Georgia	Inactive	^[4]^[6]
Iota	May 1927 – after 2022	Clemson University	Clemson, South Carolina	Inactive	^[7]^[4]^[6]
Kappa	February 1931 – c. 2005	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, Texas	Inactive	^[8]^[9]^[f]
Lambda	1936	Auburn University	Auburn, Alabama	Active	^[10]
Mu	1961–19xx ?	Institute of Textile Technology	Charlottesville, Virginia	Inactive	^[g]

↑ The chapter formed at the Philadelphia Textile School, later known as Philadelphia University. The university merged with Thomas Jefferson University in 2017.
↑ A portion of the chapter's members joined the social fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon in 1964.
↑ The chapter was established at Southeastern Massachusetts at Dartmouth, which merged into the University of Massachusetts system in 1991, assuming the name University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
↑ The chapter was established at Lowell Technological Institute. Lowell Tech and Lowell State merged in 1975 to form the University of Lowell, which changed its name to the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1991. Today, Lowell Tech's campus is known as the North Campus of UMass Lowell.
↑ After multiple mergers, Bradford Durfee College of Technology became part of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1961.
↑ The chapter closed after the closure of a textile engineering program, which resulted in a lack of textile students.
↑ The Institute of Textile Technology and the Mu chapter were originally located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school relocated to the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2003.

v t e Professional fraternities and sororities
Currently active members of the Professional Fraternity Association	Alpha Zeta Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Rho Chi Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Chi Sigma Alpha Omega Epsilon Delta Chi Xi Delta Epsilon Mu Delta Theta Phi Delta Kappa Alpha Delta Omicron Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Chi Epsilon Nu Tau Theta Tau Kappa Epsilon Kappa Epsilon Psi Kappa Eta Kappa Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Lambda Chi Kappa Psi Lambda Kappa Sigma Mu Beta Phi Mu Phi Epsilon Pi Sigma Epsilon Rho Pi Phi Sigma Alpha Sigma Alpha Iota Tau Beta Sigma Phi Alpha Delta Phi Beta Phi Gamma Nu Phi Delta Epsilon Phi Delta Chi Phi Sigma Pi Phi Chi Theta
Former and formerly active members of the Professional Fraternity Association or its predecessors: Professional Panhellenic Association or Professional Interfraternity Conference	Alpha Delta Theta Alpha Delta Sigma Alpha Kappa Kappa Alpha Sigma Alpha Alpha Tau Delta Alpha Omega Beta Alpha Psi Gamma Eta Gamma Gamma Iota Sigma Delta Epsilon Iota Delta Sigma Delta Delta Psi Kappa Epsilon Eta Phi Zeta Phi Eta Theta Kappa Psi Theta Sigma Upsilon Theta Sigma Phi Iota Sigma Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Beta Pi Kappa Delta Epsilon Kappa Phi Kappa Nu Sigma Nu Xi Psi Phi Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Nu Pi Lambda Theta Sigma Delta Chi Sigma Nu Phi Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Phi Delta (now social) Phi Beta Gamma Phi Beta Pi Phi Delta Delta Phi Delta Gamma Phi Delta Kappa Phi Delta Pi Phi Delta Phi (now honor society) Phi Epsilon Kappa Phi Lambda Kappa Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (now social) Phi Rho Sigma Phi Upsilon Omicron Phi Chi Chi Beta Phi Psi Omega Omega Tau Sigma Omega Upsilon Phi Pershing Rifles Scabbard and Blade Scarab
North American Interfraternity Conference	Alpha Gamma Rho Alpha Gamma Sigma
Active independent professional fraternities	Alpha Gamma Kappa Alpha Zeta Omega Alpha Eta Rho Alpha Iota Alpha Psi Gamma Epsilon Tau Delta Theta Sigma Delta Kappa Gamma Delta Kappa Phi Delta Phi Epsilon Kappa Gamma Psi Kappa Pi Nu Beta Epsilon Phi Delta Kappa (sorority) Phi Sigma Gamma Phi Psi Chi Delta Mu Chi Eta Phi Block and Bridle Queens' Guard
Inactive independent professional fraternities	Aleph Yodh He Alpha Epsilon Iota Alpha Tau Sigma Alpha Zeta Gamma Chi Zeta Chi Delta Omicron Alpha Delta Sigma Theta Pi Delta Nu

Phi Psi (professional)

Symbols

Chapters

Alumni chapters

See also

References

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