Service fraternity may refer to any fraternal public service organization, such as the Kiwanis or Rotary International. In Canada and the United States, the term fraternal organization is more common as "fraternity" in everyday usage refers to fraternal student societies.
In the context of the North American student fraternity and sorority system, service fraternities and service sororities comprise a type of organization whose primary purpose is community service. Members of these organizations are not restricted from joining other types of fraternities. This may be contrasted with professional fraternities, whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession, and general or social fraternities, whose primary purposes are generally aimed towards some other aspect, such as the development of character, friendship, leadership, or literary ability.
Some general fraternities and their chapters, especially members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, emphasize the service aspects of their activities; however classification as a strictly service organization has legal meaning in regard to Title IX. Service fraternities, like professional fraternities and honor societies must be open to members of both genders since they do not have an exemption from Title IX similar to the one given in section (A)(6)(a) for social fraternities and sororities. [1]
Organization | Symbol | Chater/Range | Founding location | Type | Scope | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alpha Phi Omega | ΑΦΩ | December 16, 1925 | Lafayette College | Coed Service Fraternity | International | PFA | 621 | Active | |
Alpha Delta | ΑΔ | August 4, 2007 | Henley Park Hotel Washington, D.C. | Service Fraternity | National | 6 | Active | [2] [lower-alpha 1] | |
Alpha Tau Mu | ΑΤΜ | September 2, 2009 | Tuskegee University | Coed African American Service Fraternity | Regional | Independent | 2 | Active | [3] [4] [5] |
Beta Nu Theta | ΒΝΘ | 2017 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Coed African American Service Fraternity | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [5] [6] |
Chi Alpha Phi Service Fraternity | ΧΑΠ | 1979 | Lincoln University | African American Service Fraternity and Sorority | National | Independent | Active | [5] [7] [8] [lower-alpha 2] | |
Delta Chi Gamma | ΔΧΓ | May 2014 | Virginia Tech | Service Sorority | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [9] [10] |
Delta Nu Zeta | ΔΝΖ | December 12, 2003 | Florida State University | Service Sorority | Regional | Independent | 2 | Active | [11] [12] |
Epsilon Sigma Alpha | ΕΣΑ | 1929 | Jacksonville, Florida | Coed Service Sorority | International | 23 | Active | [lower-alpha 3] | |
Epsilon Tau Pi | ΕΤΠ | April 28, 1999 | University of Dayton | Coed Service Fraternity for Eagle Scouts | National | Independent | 8 | Active | |
Gamma Beta Chi | ΓΒΧ | November 15, 2002 | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | African American Service Fraternity | National | Independent | 5 | Active | [5] [13] [14] |
Gamma Pi Alpha | ΓΠΑ | November 12, 1994 | Tuskegee University | African American Service Sorority | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [15] [5] |
Gamma Sigma Sigma | ΓΣΣ | October 12, 1952 | Beekman Tower, New York City. New York | Coed Service Sorority | National | 53 | Active | ||
Kappa Delta Tau | ΚΔΤ | March 11, 1963 | Eastern Kentucky University | Service Sorority | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [16] [17] |
Lambda Delta Sigma | ΛΔΣ | 1919 | Concordia College | Service Sorority | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [lower-alpha 4] |
Nu Alpha Nu | ΝΑΝ | 2006 | Alabama State University | African American Service Fraternity | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [5] [18] |
Nu Alpha Omicron | ΝΑΟ | 2012 | Alabama State University | African American Service Sorority | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [5] |
Omega Phi Alpha | ΩΦΑ | June 15, 1967 | Bowling Green State University | Coed Service Sorority | National | 29 | Active | [lower-alpha 5] | |
Phi Delta | ΦΔ | 2006 | Truman University | Service Sorority | Local | Independent | 1 | Active | [19] |
Rho Pi Alpha | ΡΠΑ | 1993 | Tuskegee University | Service Fraternity | Local | Active | [20] | ||
SPURS National Honor Society | SPURS | February 14, 1922–October 2005 | Montana State University | Coed Service Sorority | National | Independent | 3 | Active | [21] [lower-alpha 6] |
Upsilon Phi Upsilon | ΥΦΥ | March 31, 1990 | Southern University | African American Service Fraternity | National | Independent | 17 | Active | [5] [22] [23] |
Zeta Theta Pi | ΖΘΠ | Service Sorority | Local | Independent | 2 | Active | [24] [25] |
Organization | Symbol | Chartered/Range | Founding location | Type | Scope | Affiliation | Active chapters | Status | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alpha Pi Chi | January 7, 1963 | Chicago, Illinois | African American Service Sorority | National | 40+ | Active | [5] [26] [lower-alpha 1] | ||
Chi Alpha Phi Service Fraternity | 1979 | Lincoln University | Coed African American Service Fraternity | National | Independent | Active | [5] [7] [8] [lower-alpha 2] | ||
Chi Gamma Kappa Service Fraternity | January 22, 2017, | Georgia | African American Service Fraternity | Regional | Active | [5] [27] [28] [lower-alpha 3] | |||
Delta Rho Sorority | July 1, 2004 | Orlando, Florida | African American Service Sorority | National | Independent | 3 | Active | [29] [5] [lower-alpha 4] | |
Delta Theta Tau | ΔΘΤ | October 16, 1903 | Muncie, Indiana | Service Sorority | National | Independent | 72 | Active | |
Epsilon Sigma Alpha | ΕΣΑ | 1929 | Jacksonville, Florida | Service Coed Sorority | International | 800+ | Active | [lower-alpha 5] | |
Gamma Pi Chi Service Sorority | July 16, 2016 | Georgia | African American Professional Service Sorority | Regional | Independent | 2 | Active | [30] [5] [lower-alpha 6] | |
Omega Delta Sigma | ΩΔΣ | 1999 | Virginia | Veterans leadership and service fraternity | National | 15 | Active | ||
Psi Psi Psi | ΨΨΨ | October 2, 1919 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Service sorority for mothers of Delta Delta Delta | International | 8 | Active |
Dartmouth College is host to many fraternities and sororities, and a significant percentage of the undergraduate student body is active in Greek life. In 2005, the school stated that 1,785 students were members of a fraternity, sorority, or gender-inclusive Greek house, comprising about 43 percent of all students, or about 60 percent of the eligible student body. Greek organizations at Dartmouth provide both social and residential opportunities for students and are the only single-sex residential option on campus. Greek organizations at Dartmouth do not provide dining options, as regular meal service has been banned in Greek houses since 1909.
Sigma Alpha (ΣΑ) is a professional agricultural sorority.
While the traditional social fraternity is a well-established mainstay across the United States at institutions of higher learning, alternatives – in the form of social fraternities that require doctrinal and behavioral conformity to the Christian faith – developed in the early 20th century. They continue to grow in size and popularity.
While most of the traditional women's fraternities or sororities were founded decades before the start of the 20th century, the first ever specifically Christian-themed Greek Letter Organization formed was the Kappa Phi Club, founded in Kansas in 1916. Kappa Phi was a women's sisterhood that developed out of a bible study and remains one of the largest nationally present Christian women's collegiate clubs today. Later organizations added more defined social programming along with a Christian emphasis, bridging the gap between non-secular traditional sororities and church-sponsored bible study groups, campus ministries and sect-based clubs and study groups.
The Professional Fraternity Association (PFA) is an American association of national, collegiate, professional fraternities and sororities that was formed in 1978. Since PFA groups are discipline-specific, members join while pursuing graduate degrees as well as undergraduate degrees. PFA groups seek to develop their members professionally in addition to the social development commonly associated with Panhellenic fraternities. Membership requirements of the PFA are broad enough to include groups that do not recruit new members from a single professional discipline. The PFA has welcomed service and honor fraternities as members; however, Greek letter honor societies more commonly belong to the Association of College Honor Societies.
Theta Upsilon (ΘΥ) was a national women's fraternity operating in the United States from February 1921 until May 1962, when the group was absorbed by the Delta Zeta sorority.
The expansion of Greek letter organizations into Canada was an important stage of the North American fraternity movement, beginning in 1879 with the establishment of a chapter of Zeta Psi at the University of Toronto. In 1883, the same fraternity established a chapter at McGill University. Other early foundations were Kappa Alpha Society at Toronto in 1892 and at McGill in 1899, and Alpha Delta Phi at Toronto in 1893 and at McGill in 1897. The first sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, was established in Toronto in 1887. In 1902, the first international chapter of Phi Delta Theta was established at McGill University as the Quebec Alpha.
The National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA) is an umbrella council for twenty Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American fraternities and sororities in universities in the United States.