Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a
collegiate fraternity located in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of November 2022, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 79 active chapters, 6 Associate chapters and about 3,500
collegiate members.
SeriousFun Children's Network
SeriousFun Children's Network is a global community of 30 camps and programs for seriously ill children. All camps and programs offer free recreational experiences to children with serious illnesses and their family members. The first SeriousFu ...
, founded by ''Beta chapter'' alumnus
Paul Newman, is Phi Kappa Tau's National Philanthropy. According to its Constitution, Phi Kappa Tau is one of the few social fraternities that can accept
graduate students as well as undergraduates.
Phi Kappa Tau's mission statement is "To champion a lifelong commitment to brotherhood, learning, ethical leadership and exemplary character." The fraternity's vision is "To be recognized as a leadership organization that binds men together and challenges them to improve their campuses and the world."
History
Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity (commonly called
Phi Tau
Phi Tau () is a coeducational fraternity at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Founded in 1905 as the Tau chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa, the organization separated from the national fraternity in 1956 over a dispute regarding the se ...
) was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of
Miami University's Old Main Building in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
, on March 17, 1906. The four founders were
Taylor A. Borradaile,
Clinton D. Boyd,
Dwight I. Douglass, and
William H. Shideler.
![harrison hall 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Harrison_hall_3.png)
The fraternity was founded as the non-Fraternity Association to give Miami's non-fraternity men a voice in campus political affairs. The name was changed to
Phrenocon
Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of November 2022, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 79 active chapters, 6 Associate chapte ...
on March 6, 1909. The two proposed names were the "Miami Friends" and the "Miami Comrades", which were combined to form "Frenocom". "Phrenocon" was actually an alternate spelling of "Frenocom", the idea being to make the name sound more Greek.
Phrenocon became "national" in 1911 when an organization of independent men known as the Ohio University Union chose to become the
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...
chapter of Phrenocon. Additional Phrenocon chapters were established at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
,
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...
,
Mount Union College
The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...
and the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
. At Miami, Phrenocon began to have difficulty retaining members by the early 1910s. Often, men would join Phrenocon, then later withdraw their membership and join Greek-letter fraternities. In fact, the Miami chapters of
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapter ...
and
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...
were founded by Phrenocon members. For that reason, the Miami chapter of Phrenocon withdrew from the National Phrenocon and adopted the name Phi Kappa Tau on March 9, 1916. Since 1919, Phi Kappa Tau has published a magazine, ''The Laurel''. Previously, the magazine was known as ''Sidelights''. The rest of the chapters agreed to the name change on December 21 of that year and invited Miami to return to the national organization as the ''Alpha chapter'' of Phi Kappa Tau. ''Eta chapter'' at
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German patriarch of Luthe ...
was the first chapter to charter after the change to Phi Kappa Tau. As part of their risk management policy, Phi Kappa Tau prohibits chapters from engaging in
hazing and underage drinking. The fraternity recognizes a National Hazing Prevention Week in late September.
Phi Kappa Tau has been a member since 1916 of the
North American Interfraternity Conference
The North American Interfraternity Conference (or NIC; formerly known as the National Interfraternity Conference) is an association of intercollegiate men's social fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began at a meeting ...
(NIC), a consortium of national men's
social fraternities.
Phi Kappa Tau Foundation
The Phi Kappa Tau Foundation was created in 1945 as a separate charitable organization.
The Foundation's significant expansion began in 1983 with the announcement of a challenge gift of over $1 million from
Ewing T. Boles
Ewing Thomas Boles (May 4, 1895 – November 16, 1992) was an American investment banker and philanthropist who served as president, CEO and chairman of the Ohio Company (now merged with Fifth Third Bank).
Biography
Boles was born on a farm outs ...
, a member of fraternity's ''Delta chapter'' at
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...
. The Boles gift was the largest gift to a fraternity or sorority foundation up until that time and became the lead gift in a $3.2-million capital campaign. That same year Boles was named an Honorary Founder by Phi Kappa Tau. Boles left an additional bequest of over $3 million to the Foundation upon his death. Its current assets exceed $15 million.
Organization and leadership
Phi Kappa Tau chapters are organized into Resident Councils which include the current collegiate members of a chapter and Graduate Councils made up of all members who have graduated or left school. Each council of a chapter is entitled to a vote at the National Convention, which typically meets every two years and is the highest level of authority in the organization. The convention elects a National Council which serves as a
board of directors for the fraternity and governs between conventions.
Executive offices of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity and Foundation are in Oxford, Ohio. Dale Holland (Kent State) is national president and F. Harrison "Buzz" Green (Ole Miss) is chair of the Phi Kappa Tau Foundation.
Men of Character Programs
The Phi Kappa Tau Men of Character Programs' mission is to build a greater and deeper understanding of the values of Phi Kappa Tau. This is intended to help the organization to build and sustain outstanding chapters and to help members grow as leaders.
The Presidents Academy trains new chapter presidents in the responsibilities of a president. Participants are taught how to lead effective meetings, create constructive relationships, and manage crises. Participants also network with other chapter and national Fraternity leaders.
Regional Conferences are one-day conferences designed to prepare incoming officers for their positions, while providing additional members training to be more effective chapter leaders. The conferences educate participants on leadership skill building, an overview of Fraternity operations and the day-to-day tasks of the particular offices.
The Leadership Academy is the Fraternity' individualized leadership-development event. The four-day program is offered in two to three sessions of 40-60 students at summer camps across the country.
A Building Men of Character (BMC) Retreat is a two-day chapter-focused program intended to help chapters develop a vision and plan of action.
Good to Great Retreats are modeled after ideas presented in
James C. Collins' book ''
Good to Great
''Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't'' is a management book by Jim C. Collins that describes how companies transition from being good companies to great companies, and how most companies fail to make the transition ...
''. They are four-hour programs designed to assist chapters with specific issues or needs. The programs focus on such topics as recruiting men of character, Ritual, Executive Council transitions, and risk management through a program called "ResponseAbility".
The Volunteer Development Institute is a three-day program designed for volunteers who work directly with chapters. The program is focused on working with college students and providing volunteers with an understanding of the national organization.
Controversies
In 2003,
Bradley University
Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. Th ...
student Robert Schmalz, age 22, died from alcohol poisoning during a rush week event. The event happened shortly before the university received a national award for its efforts to reduce alcohol abuse.
In November 2006, the Phi Kappa Tau ''Upsilon chapter'' at
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...
experienced the death of Ryan Stewart, age 19, and critical injury of three other students in an early morning house fire. The fraternity's national officers imposed a four year suspension on the chapter after the citation of three chapter members for hazing unrelated to the house fire and the arrest of the chapter's rush president for an incident of attempted first-degree arson occurring the same night as the house fire, but, according to the Lincoln Police Department, unrelated to the house fire itself. Eyewitnesses reported fireworks being lit off earlier that morning, with investigators later finding several fireworks prohibited by University code
and of a type illegal in the state of Nebraska in and around the house.
Investigators also found
marijuana,
glass pipes, and items covered in blood in the house.
The student-body president of the university, a chapter member, repudiated the disciplinary action undertaken by the University and the fraternity's National Convention by noting how the chapter, "
eltbetrayed by our university and by our national council." He added that charges filed by Lincoln Police Department against three of the chapter's members were “completely bogus."
The house was renovated and members moved back in the house after a six year gap in charter from the National Convention and lack of University recognition. This incident caused sprinklers to be installed in every building affiliated with the University and alcohol to be prohibited from university-recognized Greek housing.
In 2007, Gary DeVercelly Jr., age 18, died from alcohol poisoning while pledging the fraternity at
Rider University
Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...
. The chapter was dissolved, and three students were indicted in the death with one receiving three years probation.
Atypically, two university officials were also indicted,
although charges against the officials were later dropped.
In 2012, the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...
suspended Phi Kappa Tau for three years due to a repeated history of hazing, culminating in an incident when something was stolen from
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...
during a scavenger hunt held for new recruits.
In October 2013, the Phi Kappa Tau chapter at the
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
was suspended after an email from one member to other members titled "Luring your rapebait." While the email's author subsequently released an apology, the chapter was suspended by the school's Office of Student Integrity until 2017 after a university investigation concluded that the chapter engaged in a "pattern of sexual violence that suggests a deep-rooted culture within the fraternity that is obscene, indecent and endangers women." A lawsuit was filed in 2014 against the national and local chapter by two plaintiffs who claim they were raped by a fraternity member. The suit states that the alleged rapist has been expelled from Georgia Tech.
In 2016, the
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
suspended the fraternity for at least four years for forcing pledges to participate in abusive workouts, be held overnight against their will, and act as servants by cleaning members' rooms and writing their papers for them. Phi Kappa Tau's Miami chapter had been previously suspended for a fireworks battle with neighboring
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...
in 2012 which led to police discovering drugs and drug paraphernalia in the groups' houses.
Notable members
Chapters
As of November 2022, Phi Kappa Tau reports chartering 161 chapters since its founding, with 79 active chapters and 6 Associate chapters.
References
External links
*
Further information
*
Anson, Jack L., ''The Golden Jubilee History of Phi Kappa Tau'', Lawhead Press, Athens Ohio: 1957
* Ball, Charles T., ''From Old Main to a New Century: A History of Phi Kappa Tau'', Heritage Publishers, Phoenix: 1996
{{North American Interfraternity Conference
Student organizations established in 1906
Student societies in the United States
North American Interfraternity Conference
Miami University
1906 establishments in Ohio