Fraternity History & More

Right now, at the Columbia Club in downtown Indianapolis, the Interfraternity Institute (IFI) is taking place. It runs from June 15-18, 2015 and it is a unique opportunity for campus-based and headquarters professionals with less than five years professional experience to further their commitment to  fraternity/sorority life. The mission of IFI is to develop “informed, committed and connected leadership, grounded in purpose and principle for the fraternity/sorority life movement.”

The Fraternity Executives Association coordinates IFI and this history is included on the FEA website:

In 1970, Richard R. “Dick” Fletcher, Executive Secretary of Sigma Nu Fraternity, in his role as President of the College Fraternity Secretaries Association (predecessor name of the Fraternity Executives Association) discussed with then-Sigma Nu Fraternity Regent (national president) Herman B Wells who was Indiana University Chancellor the need for greater communication, understanding and collaboration between fraternity deans and fraternity professionals. The idea was conceived of a “one-week academic workshop” for college student affairs personnel and inter/national fraternity staff personnel. Since more new deans seemed to have less fraternal and management experience, it was proposed to hold the workshop in a campus fraternal housing setting and to plan a curriculum that emphasized executive leadership development. After gaining support for the concept from the board of directors of the College Fraternity Secretaries Association, Mr. Fletcher asked Chancellor Wells to host the first program at Indiana University. Chancellor Wells in turn asked Dr. Robert Shaffer, Indiana University Dean of Students and a member of Sigma Chi, to serve as Dean of the Institute and members of his staff, Dr. Thomas Schreck, a member of Phi Sigma Kappa and Dr. Herbert Smith, a member of Delta Upsilon, to design and manage the program. Thus was born the first Interfraternity Institute (IFI), which took place in June 1970 with 37 students and 12 faculty members.

Since that time, the Fraternity Executives Association, in partnership with the Indiana University department of student affairs, has conducted the Interfraternity Institute annually through 2013, each summer, on the campus of Indiana University. Over the course of 42 Institutes, more than 2,000 college student affairs personnel and inter/national fraternity staff personnel, and their related institutions, have benefited from the Institute’s unique program which is focused on topics of fraternal concern and collaboration between Greek organizations and host institutions.

For 2015, the Fraternity Executives Association and the University of Illinois have partnered to develop the Infraternity Institute. 

A very early IFI brochure (Courtesy of the Student Life and Culture Archives at the University of Illinois)

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I’m late with two Founders’ Day greetings

June 12, 1903 – Sigma Alpha Iota

Sigma Alpha Iota, a social organization for women with a special interest in music, was founded on June 12, 1903 at the University of Michigan’s School of Music.  It was incorporated in the State of Michigan on December 1, 1904.

Its founders are Elizabeth Campbell, Frances Caspari, Minnie Davis [Sherrill], Leila Farlin [Laughlin], Nora Crane Hunt, Georgina Potts, and Mary Storrs [Andersen]. June 12, 1903 was Commencement Day. Four of the founders were graduating that evening, two were leaving for graduate study, and one, Davis, was a young faculty member.

The seven young women met at Campbell’s home in the afternoon. They solemnly pledged themselves “to help each other with sisterly affection, to stand for the highest musical scholarship, for nobility and uprightness of character and for the maintenance of friendly and unselfish relations among women in the musical profession.” This event culminated a process that began earlier that spring when Fredreka Howland, wife of William Howland, head of the Vocal Department, sowed the seeds of the idea for the organization. She became the Sigma Alpha Iota’s first patroness.  Davis served as its first president.

Sigma Alpha Iota promotes “interaction among those who share a commitment to music.” Sigma Alpha Iota is a member of the Professional Fraternity Association, and its members can also have membership in a National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organization. In 1981, Sigma Alpha Iota received an exemption from Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 to remain single sex.

In 1918, Sigma Alpha Iota funded the building of Pan’s Cottage, a two story house that can accommodate 12 artists in residence at the MacDowell Colony for Creative Artists in Peterborough, New Hampshire. It is still one of SAI’s philanthropic endeavors. SAI has also helped fund other endeavors at the MacDowell Colony.

June 15, 1967 – Omega Phi Alpha

On June 15, 1967, Omega Phi Alpha, a national service fraternity was founded, but its roots go back to 1953. That is when Alpha Phi Omega’s Zeta Kappa chapter at Bowling Green University helped form an organization for women similar to their own fraternity, which was then all-male. Until 1968, members were required to have been former Girl Scouts or Campfire Girls. In 1958, another chapter was founded at Eastern Michigan University. It was followed by a third at the University of Bridgeport in 1962.

In 1966, plans were underway for the three groups to meet at a convention in Bowling Green. When they came together, they offiicially became a national organization. The chapter at Bowling Green took on the title of Alpha chapter. A fourth chapter was founded at Texas A&M University in 1970.

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2015. All Rights Reserved. If  you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/