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Sigma Phi Sigma (professional)

Funeral service collegiate fraternity From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sigma Phi Sigma (ΣΦΣ) is an American professional and service coed fraternity for college students studying to be funeral service practitioners.

FoundedOctober 1965; 60 years ago (1965-10)
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
TypeProfessional
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
Quick facts Founded, Type ...
Sigma Phi Sigma
ΣΦΣ
FoundedOctober 1965; 60 years ago (1965-10)
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
TypeProfessional
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
EmphasisMortuary science
ScopeNational
Chapters18
Headquarters
United States
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History

Sigma Phi Sigma was formed in the fall of 1965 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.[1] Its mission is to promote continuing education, professionalism, and a sense of social responsibility amongst college students studying to be licensed funeral directors throughout the United States.

Membership

Membership in Sigma Phi Sigma is limited to college students studying funeral services.[2] The fraternity does not hold a rush for membership.[3] It is coed.[4] The fraternity admits chapters at four-year schools as well as community colleges that offer funerary service and mortuary science programs.

Activities

The fraternity sponsors service projects such as cleaning headstones in local cemeteries.[5][6] Its members have also supported charities by participating in food drives and blood drives; holding fundraisers such as bake sales, haunted houses, and golf tournaments; and volunteering.[5][2][7][3][8] They also create educational displays for professional conventions.[3] The Gamma chapter at the University of Central Oklahoma has a restored horse-drawn hearse that is used in the university's homecoming parade.[3][9] Gamma also provides two scholarships to funeral service majors each year.[3]

Chapters

There are eighteen chapters of Sigma Phi Sigma.[10] Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters and institutions are in italics.

More information Chapter, Charter Date ...
Chapter Charter Date University Location Status Reference
Alpha 1965 Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondate, Illinois Active [1][11]
Beta ? 1965-1966 c. 1965-1966 Kentucky School of Mortuary Science Louisville, Kentucky Inactive [12][13][a]
Gamma October 22, 1970 University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, Oklahoma Active [1][3]
Delta 19xx ?–19xx ?; 2014 John A. Gupton College Nashville, Tennessee [14]
Bef. 1970 Mt. Hood Community College Gresham, Oregon Active [15][16]
Bef. 1979 Vincennes University Vincennes, Indiana Inactive [17]
Bef. 1981 McNeese State University Lake Charles, Louisiana Inactive [18]
Bef. 1988 Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, Wisconsin [19]
Bef. 1998 Simmons Institute of Funeral Service Syracuse, New York Inactive [20][21][b]
Iota 2019 Mercer County Community College Mercer County, New Jersey Active [2][22]
Lambda Kansas City Kansas Community College Kansas City, Kansas Active [4]
Mu East Mississippi Community College Scooba, Mississippi Active [23]
Xi Jefferson State Community College Birmingham, Alabama Active [24]
Omicron 2008 c. 2008 Holmes Community College Ridgeland, Mississippi Active [25][26][c]
Pi Amarillo College Amarillo, Texas Active [10]
2019 Cypress College Cypress, California Active [27]
Carl Sandburg College Galesburg, Illinois Active [28]
Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, Washington Active [7]
Phi Northampton Community College Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Active [29]
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Notes

  1. [a]
    The chapter name and charter date are approximated from a 1966 graduate of the Kentucky School of Mortuary Science who was a member of Sigma Phi Sigma. The school closed in September 1980.
  2. [b]
    The school closed in 2013.
  3. [c]
    The chapter's charter date is approximated. It is in the 2008 yearbook but not the 2007 yearbook.

See also

References

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