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The Phi Epsilon Pi () fraternity, active between 1904 and 1970 with a predominantly Jewish membership, was founded in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and eventually opened at least 48 chapters on college campuses across the United States and one in Canada. After several mergers it consolidated into
Zeta Beta Tau Zeta Beta Tau () is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded on December 29, 1898. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed from Zionism in the fraternity's early years when in 1954 the fraternity be ...
in 1970.


Founding

The Phi Epsilon Pi (PEP) fraternity was established on November 23, 1904 at the City College of New York, CCNY (CCNY). Phi Epsilon Pi was incorporated in New York State on February 9, 1914 and became a member of the National Interfraternity Conference in 1921. The fraternity was founded on non-sectarian principles, but throughout the organization’s history, the membership was largely Jewish. Its Founders were: *Max Shlivek *Alvin P. Bloch *Arthur Hamburger *Siegfried F. Hartman *Arthur Hirschberg *William A. Hannig *Abraham E. Horn The fraternity’s first chapters were founded at the City College of New York, CCNY (''Alpha'', 1904),
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(''Beta'', 1905), and
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
(''Epsilon'', 1911).


Expansion

By 1913, the fraternity started to expand outside of New York State. Much of this next wave of expansion came through absorption of local fraternities; many of these were older than the national fraternity itself. For example, ''Mu chapter'' at the University of Georgia (1915) came from the E.D.S Society, founded in 1895, which had been the oldest Jewish local fraternity in continuous existence. In 1930 Phi Epsilon Pi absorbed the Syracuse University chapter of Omicron Alpha Tau, a smaller Jewish fraternity that would disperse by 1934. This chapter, formed in 1920 either merged with the existing and older Phi Epsilon Pi chapter on the campus, or re-established it. Four of ΟΑΤ's other chapters went to
Tau Delta Phi Tau Delta Phi (), whose members are commonly known as Tau Delts, is a national social fraternity founded on , in New York City. Since its inception, dozens of chapters have been founded and thousands of men initiated into its membership. Today, T ...
. By 1933, Phi Epsilon Pi’s total membership stood at 3,600. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
approximately 2,000 fraternity members served in the military, and most chapters closed. After the war, many chapters were reactivated, and new chapters opened as well, including one at
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
in Canada, making ΦΕΠ an international fraternity. In 1954, the membership of the fraternity reached 11,132. The Fraternity was the first fraternity to appropriate funds for activities outside of its own organization, with the endowment of $10,000 in 1925 to fund scholarships at the National Agricultural College in
Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 ...
. The interest from this fund paid the annual expenses for young men interested in agriculture. The Phi Epsilon Pi Foundation was created in 1945.


Symbols

The Fraternity's colors were purple and gold. Its badge was a concave rectangle with ''couped'' ends, domed and with the three Greek letters , and shown ''bendwise'' (angled to the lower right) in gold against a black background. The base was jeweled with sixteen pearls, four on each side around the perimeter. The pledge pin was an elongated concave rectangle with its corners also ''couped'', with a gold beveled border. Its center was filled with purple enamel, with the symbols of a ducal coronet, a scimitar piercing it in a bendwise direction, and curved toward an open eye in the base. The coat of arms is described as follows:
Arms: Argent, on a fess ''purpure'' (purple) a rising sun resplendent ''or'' (gold). In middle chief, a Phoenician galley under sail and power on a conventionalized ocean all proper, guided by a mullet on the second ''in dexter'', and in base a scimitar piercing the field ''palewise'' emerging in the center of a single loop of rope knotted with ends ''couped'' at top, all proper. Crest: a sword fesswise surmounted by a ducal coronet all proper under three mullets ''or''. Below, a motto in Greek.


Mergers

In 1932 three of the five existing chapters of
Sigma Lambda Pi Sigma Lambda Pi () was an officially non-sectarian and historically Jewish fraternity founded in 1915 at New York University. It stopped operations in 1932 as chapters either closed, became locals or merged with Phi Epsilon Pi. Chapters * Alph ...
merged into Phi Epsilon Pi. These became the ''Alpha Nu chapter'' at Muhlenberg, the ''Alpha Omicron chapter'' at Ohio State and the ''Alpha Xi chapter'' at Boston University. Meanwhile, ΣΛΠ's Columbia chapter dissolved and its Rider College chapter continued as a local. Kappa Nu merged into Phi Epsilon Pi on October 14, 1961. In this second national merger, Kappa Nu brought 17 chapters into the combined fraternity, while Phi Epsilon Pi added its 38 chapters. The Fraternity kept the Phi Epsilon Pi name through both of these mergers. In March 1970, in a third national merger, Phi Epsilon Pi was absorbed by the
Zeta Beta Tau Zeta Beta Tau () is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded on December 29, 1898. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed from Zionism in the fraternity's early years when in 1954 the fraternity be ...
fraternity.


Chapters

Chapters of Phi Epsilon Phi:See ΖΒΤ article, ''Our antecedent groups - Phi Epsilon Pi''
accessed 10 Nov 2020.
() * Alpha - 1904 - City College of New York * Beta - 1905 -
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(inactive 1928-1958) * - 1911 -
University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...
* Epsilon - 1911 -
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
* Zeta - 1913 -
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
* Eta - 1914 -
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
* Theta - 1914 - Pennsylvania State University * Iota - 1914 - Dickinson College * Kappa - 1914 -
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
(Washington Sq) (inactive 1922-1949) * - 1915 - New York University (Heights) * Lambda - 1915
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
* Mu - 1915 -
University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...
* Nu - 1915 -
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
* ''Kappa Delta'' - 1915 -
Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
(inactive 1925) * Xi - 1916 - Georgia Institute of Technology * Omicron - 1916 -
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
* ''Pi'' - 1916 -
University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...
(inactive 1925) * ''Rho'' - 1916 - Rhode Island State College (inactive 1922) * ''Sigma'' - 1916 - Brown University (inactive 1918) * ''Tau'' - 1916 - Auburn University (inactive 1920) * ''Upsilon'' - 1916 -
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
(inactive 1964) * ''Phi'' - 1916 -
Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
(inactive 1922) * - 1917 -
University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...
* - 1917 -
Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
* Chi - 1917 - Syracuse University * Gamma - 1920 -
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
* Delta - 1920 -
Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...
* Psi - 1920 -
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 ...
* ''Omega'' - 1920 -
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
(inactive 1935) * ''Alpha Alpha'' - 1920 -
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
(inactive 1922) * Alpha Beta - 1920 -
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
* Alpha Gamma - 1921 -
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
(inactive 1942-1957) * - 1921 -
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
(inactive 1934) * - 1921 -
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
* - 1921 -
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
* - 1922 -
Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
(inactive 1956) * Alpha Delta - 1923 -
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
* Alpha Epsilon - 1920 -
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
* ''Alpha Zeta'' - 1926 -
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
(inactive 1935) * Alpha Eta - 1925 -
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
(inactive 1937-1966) * Alpha Theta - 1928 - University of South Carolina * Alpha Iota - 1929 -
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
* Alpha Kappa - 1933 -
Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...
(inactive 1955-1966) * - 1933 - Alfred University (inactive 1956) * Alpha Lambda - 19xx -
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
* ''Alpha Mu'' - 1930 -
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
(inactive 1952) * - 1932 -
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
(inactive 1941) * Alpha Nu - 1932 -
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 ...
This chapter was gained during the merger with Sigma Lambda Pi in 1932. * Alpha Xi - 1932 -
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
* ''Alpha Omicron'' - 1932 -
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 ...
(inactive 1964) * ''Alpha Pi'' - 1933 -
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
(inactive 1958) * Alpha Rho - 1933 -
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 ...
* Alpha Sigma - 1935 -
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...
* Alpha Tau - 1948 - Queens College (Long Island) * ''Alpha Upsilon'' - 1949 - Memphis State College (inactive 1959) * ''Alpha Phi'' - 1949 - North Carolina State College (inactive 1962) * ''Alpha Chi'' - 1950 -
University of Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...
(inactive 1955) * Alpha Psi - 1951 -
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
* Alpha Omega - ? * - 1952 -
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
* - 1952 - Wayne State University (Detroit) (inactive 1963) * Beta Alpha - 1956 -
University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
* Beta Beta - 1957 - American University * Beta Gamma - 1958 - Brooklyn College * Beta Delta - 1959 - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute * Beta Epsilon - 1960 -
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
* Beta Zeta - 1961 -
Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...
* Beta Eta - 1961 -
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...
* Beta Theta - 1962 - University of Maryland - College Park * Beta Iota - 1963 - Long Island University * Beta Kappa - 19xx - California State University - Long Beach * Beta Lambda - 1965 -
Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
* Beta Mu - 1966 - Long Island University-C.W. Post * Beta Nu - - Bryant University1969 Bryant Yearbook
/ref> * Beta Xi - 1966 -
Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates unde ...
* Beta Omicron - 1967 -
DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...
* Beta Pi - 19xx -
Western New England College Western New England University is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. Academic programs are provided through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, School of Law, and College of Pharmacy an ...
* Beta Rho - ? * Beta Sigma - 1967 -
Southampton College Stony Brook Southampton is a campus location of Stony Brook University, located in Southampton, New York between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the eastern end of Long Island. History Southampton College, L ...
* Beta Tau - 19xx -
Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...
* Beta Upsilon - 19xx -
Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...
* Beta Phi - 19xx -
West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...
* Beta Chi - 19xx - Hofstra University * Beta Psi - 19xx -
Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...


See also

*
List of Jewish fraternities and sororities This is a list of historically Jewish fraternities and sororities in the United States and Canada. Baird's Manual is also available online hereThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage These organizations exemplify (or exemplified) a range of "Je ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity Website

Phi Epsilon Pi Fraternity Gamma Chapter Records
31/6/3; Northwestern University Archives, Evanston, IL.
Phi Epsilon Pi Fraternity Records
I-76; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. {{Organized Jewish Life in the United States Student organizations established in 1904 Student societies in the United States Historically Jewish fraternities in the United States City College of New York Zeta Beta Tau Defunct former members of the North American Interfraternity Conference 1904 establishments in New York City Jewish organizations established in 1904