North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas in which fraternity and sorority members live and work together. In addition to serving as housing, fraternity and sorority housing may also serve to host social gatherings, meetings, and functions that benefit the community.
The North American Interfraternity Conference is an association of intercollegiate men's social fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began at a meeting at the University Club of New York on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates in which each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate. However, the group's executive and administrative powers are vested in an elected board of directors consisting of nine volunteers from various NIC fraternities. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the NIC has a small professional staff.
Sigma Pi (ΣΠ) is a collegiate fraternity with 232 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni.
Pi Lambda Phi (ΠΛΦ), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters. The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapters at Temple University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Virginia. Pi Lambda Phi is continuously expanding to schools across the country, such as Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, Pennsylvania State University, Florida State University and East Carolina University. Recent planned expansions include West Virginia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
The Sigma Phi Society (ΣΦ) was founded in 1827 at Union College. It was the second Greek fraternal organization founded in the United States and the first to establish a chapter at another college, making it the first national Greek organization.
Alpha Sigma Tau is a national sorority founded November 4, 1899, at Eastern Michigan University. A member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the sorority has 78 active collegiate chapters at colleges and universities around the U.S. and over 65,000+ lifetime members.
The Mother of Fraternities usually refers to Union College or Miami University, both of which founded many early collegiate fraternities.
Curtis Grover Shake, was a jurist, politician, author, and a member of the Indiana Senate that served as a Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 4, 1938 to January 7, 1945, serving as Chief Justice three separate times. During his career, he was the presiding civilian judge over the IG Farben trial, one of the Nuremberg trials the United States convened at Nuremberg, Germany from 1947 to 1948 following World War II.
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.
Arthur Carl Lichtenberger was a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. He served as Bishop of Missouri from 1952 to 1959, and as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1958 to 1964.
Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ), commonly known as Kappa Sig or KSig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colonies in North America. Its endowment fund, founded in 1919, has donated more than $5 million to undergrads since 1948. In 2012 alone, the Fraternity's endowment fund raised over $1 million in donations.
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.
Delta Kappa Fraternity (ΔΚ) was an American national fraternity that existed from 1920 to 1964. It survives today with two local chapters in New York state.
Fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia include the collegiate organizations on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. First founded in the 1850s with the establishment of several fraternities, the system has since expanded to include sororities, professional organizations, service fraternities, honor fraternities, and cultural organizations. Fraternities and sororities have been significant to the history of the University of Virginia, including the founding of two national fraternities Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) and Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ).
Rose Hill Farmstead, also known as the Rose—Wise—Patterson Farm, was a historic home and farm located near Vincennes in Palmyra Township, Knox County, Indiana. The original farmhouse as built in 1807 by Martin Rose. This house was replaced in 1827 by a two-story, Federal style brick I-house which was built by Rose's son, Matthias Rose. It had a rear ell added in 1829 and was remodeled about 1890. Also on the property were a contributing silo, summer kitchen, two barns, garage chicken coop, and tool or storage shed. It has been demolished.
Raymond Oscar Evans was a widely circulated American editorial cartoonist who was active from 1910 to 1954. He is best known for his cartoons entitled The Americanese Wall – As Congressman Burnett would build it and It’s Going To Be Just Turned Around, both dealing with immigration.
Isaac Kelley Beckes was the president of Vincennes University from 1950 to 1980. Before going to Vincennes he was the executive secretary of the United Christian Youth Movement. He is considered one of the initial leaders of a nationwide educational movement to add occupational programs alongside college transfer programs at two-year post-secondary institutions. He was also the first president of a two-year college to gain an exemption from the North American Interfraternity Conference and have national fraternities established at his school.
