Phi Psi
ΦΨ
FoundedMarch 18, 1903; 121 years ago (1903-03-18)
Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
TypeProfessional
AffiliationIndependent
EmphasisTextiles
ScopeNational
MottoSemper ad perfectum
Colors  Black and   Gold
FlowerYellow Tea Rose
PublicationThe Phi Psi Quarterly
Chapters10, 8 active?
Headquarters
USA

Phi Psi (ΦΨ) is a professional fraternity[a] in the field of textile arts and manufacturing engineering.

History

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:

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

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

The fraternity quickly expanded to several Massachusetts textile schools, then the center of textile manufacturing in the US. Its Beta chapter was formed at Southeastern Massachusetts (at Dartmouth, Massachusetts), and Gamma chapter at Lowell Tech, just a year (1904) after its national founding.[1]

The fraternity's first alumni chapter was established in 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The nation's textile industry center, previously in New England, shifted to the southern states. With this, chapters were opened in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Alabama. A total of ten collegiate chapters were formed, and twelve alumni chapters.[1]

Members from the Fraternity's 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, their original professional fraternity, 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.[2]

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.[3]

Traditions and insignia

Phi Psi's colors are black and gold.

The fraternity flower is the Yellow Tea Rose.

The official badge is described as a diamond-shaped emblem with a gold border and four perpendicular gold bars on a black face. The Greek letters Φ and Ψ are in the center, rendered in gold.

The quarterly publication is The Phi Psi Quarterly.[1]

Chapters

Chapter information from Baird's Manual (20th), which at that time reported approximately 6,000 members. Apparently, some chapter names of the standard alphabetical order were not used. Merged chapters noted in italics.[1] As of 2020, Eta chapter at North Carolina State University is the last remaining active chapter due to it having the last freestanding textile college in the United States.

Name Chartered Institution Location Status Notes Reference
Alpha March 18, 1903–November 14, 1964, 1964 Thomas Jefferson University
   (previously Philadelphia Textile School)[b] 		Philadelphia, PA Inactive
   Split (social to ΣΦΕ) 		[2][4]
Beta 1904 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
   (previously Southeastern Massachusetts at Dartmouth)[c] 		Dartmouth, MA Inactive
Gamma 1904 University of Massachusetts Lowell
   (previously Lowell Technological Institute)[d] 		Lowell, MA Inactive [d]
Delta
   (See Beta chapter) 		1909–19xx ? Bradford Durfee College of Technology[e] Fall River, MA Merged [e]
Eta 1924 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC Active [5][f]
Theta 1925 Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA Inactive
Iota 1927 Clemson University Clemson, SC Inactive [6]
Kappa 1931 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Inactive
Lambda 1936 Auburn University Auburn, AL Inactive [7]
Mu
   (See Eta chapter) 		1961–19xx ? Institute of Textile Technology[f] Raleigh, NC Merged [f]

Notes

  1. ^ Professional fraternities offer both undergraduate and career engagement. Originally designed to support a residential experience for those in a specific field of study, many chapters are no longer residential, but their programming is solidly in support of improving their undergraduates while in school. They may offer continuing engagement after graduation. Conversely, Honor societies are non-residential and normally focused on engagement after graduation. (There are exceptions, and the lines blur.) Some national organizations of these two types have switched their emphasis to become the other style. (Phi Delta Phi, law, became an honor society, formerly professional.) While all professional fraternities and sororities have scholastic requirements and honor their members' achievements, this is different from being an Honor society. See Talk page for further discussion.
  2. ^ Philadelphia Textile (which had itself been renamed as Philadelphia University on July 13, 1999), merged with Thomas Jefferson University, adopting the Thomas Jefferson name, on May 2017.
  3. ^ This school merged into the University of Massachusetts system in 1991, assuming its new name.
  4. ^ a b Lowell Tech and nearby 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.
  5. ^ a b After multiple school mergers this institution became part of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1961.
  6. ^ a b c The Institute of Textile Technology and the location of Mu chapter was originally located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school relocated to the Wilson College of Textiles on the Centennial campus of NC State in Raleigh, NC, in 2003.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. V-93-94. ISBN 978-0963715906.
  2. ^ a b Noted in Sigma Phi Epsilon's PA Omicron chapter history summary, accessed 20 August 2022.
  3. ^ Divergent naming convention, as noted in the Spring 2007 issue of the UMass Lowell Magazine, p.31, accessed 20 August 2022.
  4. ^ Continuing activity of the active professional chapter is noted on the Jefferson college Textile Design department's website, accessed 20 August 2022.
  5. ^ Frances Massey, Phi Psi's first female member, and the first female faculty member of the Wilson College of Textiles at NC State, was profiled on the school's website on January 22, 2022.
  6. ^ Noted on the Clemson University Iota chapter chapter portal, accessed 20 August 2022.
  7. ^ Noted on the Auburn University Lambda chapter chapter portal, accessed 20 August 2022.
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