Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pen ...

, also called "Phi Psi," is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town lies in a rich coal distr ...

on February 19, 1852. More than 140,000 men have been initiated into Phi Kappa Psi since its founding. When Phi Kappa Psi is extending to an institution that does not currently have a chapter, a probationary group called a "colony" is formed. After the criteria are met, that colony receives its charter and becomes a chapter. A chapter becomes inactive when it relinquishes its charter, or the charter is revoked by the fraternity.

Chapter naming convention

The chapter naming convention is composed of the top-level subnational division of that chapter's host institution, and a

Greek letter The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as ...

in alphabetical order from when the charter was originally issued. For example, the first Phi Psi chapter is from Jefferson College in Canonsburg, ''Pennsylvania''. The first letter in the Greek alphabet is ''Alpha''. The chapter name is ''Pennsylvania Alpha''. The second chapter was installed at the University of Virginia, so it is the ''Virginia Alpha'' chapter. The third chapter was installed at Washington & Lee University, in Virginia, so it is the ''Virginia Beta'' chapter. The George Washington University chapter is the only one ever chartered in the District of Columbia, so it is the ''District of Columbia Alpha'' chapter. If borders change, the chapter name does not. ''Virginia Delta'' was chartered at Bethany College in 1859. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Bethany College was in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

, but the chapter remained ''Virginia Delta''. Chapters are named based on when the charter is granted, not when it is installed. As a result, there have been rare instances when the chapter naming convention may not appear to be consistent with the charter dates. For example, four charters have been granted in Iowa. The second granted was the fourth installed, so ''Iowa Beta'' chartered after Iowa Gamma and Iowa Delta.

Chapters

Following is a list of Phi Kappa Psi chapters.Phi Kappa Psi (2009). Grand Catalogue of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity (16th ed.). White Plains, NY: Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company. p. xv The names of active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters and institutions are in ''italics''.

Notes

References

External links

Chapter locator
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phi Kappa Psi

chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

Lists of chapters of North American Interfraternity Conference members by society