Today marks the 182nd anniversary of Psi Upsilon’s founding at Union College in Schenectady, New York. On November 24, 1833, Robert Barnard, Samuel Goodale, Sterling G. Hadley, George Washington Tuttle, Edward Martindale, Merwin Henry Stewart, and Charles Washington Harvey founded the fraternity.
A second chapter was established at New York University, followed quickly by chapters at Yale University, Brown University, and Amherst College. I am most familiar with the chapter at Syracuse University, my Alma Mater.
Psi Upsilon, 101 College Place, Syracuse, NY, circa 1900.
Psi U’s Pi chapter was founded at Syracuse in 1875. It is the oldest continually operating fraternity on a campus which has seen many fraternities come and go and come back again. The wood chapter house high on a hill on a corner lot at 101 College Place was built in 1898. It is believed that it was the first building constructed as a fraternity house. It was designed by Wellington Taber, a member of the chapter who was studying architecture.
A recent Syracuse University Magazine had an article about the renovation of the chapter house. To see pictures of the house from different eras and the restoration process, see http://sumagazine.syr.edu/2014fall-winter/alumnijournal/Traditions.html.
The renovated Psi Upsilon chapter house (Photo courtesy of Syracuse University Magazine)
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Heartfelt condolences are sent to the women of Washington State University’s Panhellenic Council as well as the friends and family of Christine Hunter and Morgan Cope. Prayers are sent for the speedy recovery of Sidney Ritter. Two automobile accidents, days apart, resulted in the deaths of a Tri Delta and a Pi Beta Phi. Christine Hunter, a freshman on academic scholarship student who was studying biochemistry with the hope of becoming a brain surgeon, was a member of Tri Delta. She was killed in the accident which seriously injured her friend, Chi Omega Sidney Ritter. Pi Beta Phi Morgan Cope was killed when a truck veered into her lane and struck her car. Both accidents took place while the students were going home for Thanksgiving.
From the twitterverse, from one Washington State sorority to another.
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Thanksgiving time is a good time to spotlight this quote by my favorite First Lady’s husband, a member of Phi Gamma Delta. Thank you for reading this blog and letting others know about it.
© 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/
