Chi Psi

Chi Psi
ΧかいΨぷさい
Founded	May 20, 1841 (1841-05-20) Union College
Type	Social
Affiliation	NIC
Status	Active
Scope	National
Colors	Purple and   Gold
Flag
Publication	The Purple and Gold
Chapters	34 active, 15 dormant
Headquarters	45 Rutledge Street Nashville, Tennessee 37210 United States
Website	www.chipsi.org

Chi Psi (ΧかいΨぷさい) is a fraternity consisting of active chapters at 34 American colleges and universities. Chi Psi was founded in 1841 at Union College in Schenectady, New York. It was the first Greek-letter organization to be founded on the grounds of fraternal bonds, rather than the literary characteristics of the seven then-existing fraternities.

Chi Psi was the first fraternity in the nation to establish a fraternity house. This was a building at the University of Michigan, which was said to resemble a hunting lodge; hence, Chi Psi now refers to all its houses as lodges.

History

Chi Psi was founded on May 20, 1841, by ten students at Union College. The founding members were Philip Spencer, Robert Heyward McFaddin, Jacob Henry Farrell, John Brush Jr., Samuel Titus Taber, James Lafayette Witherspoon, William Force Terhune, Alexander Peter Berthoud, James Chatham Duane, and Patrick Upshaw Major.

Chi Psi was founded as a brotherhood that embraces related values that were adopted at its founding in 1841. A revision of the values was adopted at 122nd National Convention in 1963. Chi Psi also embraces the idea of being a true gentleman, by following the definition of a gentleman as put forward by John Walter Wayland's "The True Gentleman":

The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from goodwill and an acute sense of propriety and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company; a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.

In 1846, Chi Psi was the first fraternity in the nation to establish a fraternity house. This was a building at the University of Michigan, which was said to resemble a hunting lodge; hence, Chi Psi now refers to all its chapter houses as lodges. The Chi Psi newsletter, The Purple & Gold, was first published in November 1883, and was named for the fraternity's official colors. The fraternity's national headquarters is in Nashville, Tennessee.

Activities

The Chi Psi Educational Trust has funded the Program for Excellence, consisting of workshops that instill the fraternity's members with a respect for themselves, the people they are around, and their community.

Chapters

Main article: List of chapters of Chi Psi

Chi Psi refers to its chapters as Alphas.

Leadership

President

The President of Chi Psi is known as the #7. The first #7 was elected in 1879, thirty-eight years after the founding of Chi Psi. The #7's are:

President (#7)	Alpha	Initiation Year	Term Start	Term End
Dr. Stephen H. Tyng Jr.	Theta	1858	1879	1882
Elbridge Thomas Gerry	Zeta	1857	1882	1914
Edward C. Swift	Epsilon	1878	1914	1919
Albert S. Bard	Chi	1888	1919	1921
Vojta F. Mashek	Psi	1889	1921	1923
John Wendell Anderson	Epsilon	1890	1923	1930
Vojta F. Mashek	Psi	1889	1930	1934
Frank Matthiessen	Psi	1895	1934	1936
Vojta F. Mashek	Psi	1889	1936	1940
Charles E. Merrill	Chi	1908	1940	1949
Clifford H. Williams	Theta	1902	1949	1952
John P. Mentzer	Epsilon Delta	1889	1952	1955
Harold S. Falk	Iota	1906	1955	1958
Stanley J. Birge	Chi	1908	1958	1961
H. Seger Slifer	Epsilon	1912	1961	1967
Temple Hoyne Buell	Zeta Delta	1916	1967	1973
Nelson T. Levings	Omicron	1926	1973	1977
Oliver R. Rowe	Sigma	1925	1977	1985
Robert B. Plunkett	Iota Delta	1933	1985	1988
F. Van S. Parr	Alpha	1929	1988	1990
Carleton A. Holstrom	Iota	1957	1990	1992
Robert C. Preble Jr.	Chi	1944	1992	1995
Dr. George W. Ray III	Alpha	1954	1995	2001
Malcolm D. Jeffrey	Theta	1954	2001	2004
Dr. Daniel B. Ahlberg	Nu	1967	2005	2014
Verne G. Istock	Epsilon	1963	2014	2019
W. S. "Bill" Hattendorf J.	Alpha Delta	1969	2019	2024

Executive Director

The executive director of Chi Psi is known as the #23. The first #23 was appointed in 1921. The #23's are:

Executive Director (#23)	Alpha	Initiation Year	Term Start	Term End
H. Seger Slifer	Epsilon	1912	1921	1961
William E. LeClere	Beta Delta	1957	1961	1967
James E. Bray	Epsilon Delta	1963	1967	1970
Richard D. Elliott	Beta	1967	1970	1972
T. Lee Pomeroy II	Chi	1971	1972	1979
William S. Hattendorf Jr.	Alpha Delta	1969	1978	1983
Herbert P. Carroll	Epsilon	1945	1983	1988
Michael C. Illuzzi	Rho	1977	1988	1994
Philip L. Smith	Sigma	1964	1994	1995
Donald E. Kreger	Epsilon Delta	1951	1996	1998
Stephen Gardner	Nu	1987	1998	2000
Robert K. Windsor	Eta	1955	2000	2002
Samuel C. Bessey	Eta Delta	1997	2002	2022
Harold G. Arnwine	Tau Delta	1986	2022	2024

Notable members

Main article: List of Chi Psi members

Chapter or member misconduct

A pledge named Gordie Bailey died of an alcohol overdose at University of Colorado Boulder in 2004. He was found face down on the floor of the Chi Psi house, where members had drawn slurs all over his body while he was passed out. The Chi Psi chapter was temporarily suspended. A 2017 USA Today article used Bailey's death to illustrate that fraternity chapters frequently continue operations with little interruption after a death.

In 1971, Chi Psi at the University of Virginia conducted a staged lynching with a group of black-hooded students with rifles surrounding a black-faced mannequin swinging from a tree. A photograph of the spectacle was published in the university's yearbook, where it was rediscovered by journalists at The Cavalier Daily in 2019. The Frank Zappa quote, "You know I'm not black, but there's a whole lot of times I wish'd I wasn't white", was displayed on the opposing page and was part of the Chi Psi yearbook entry. So, the objectionable photo, combined with the quote, appears to have been a poorly executed attempt at condemnation of racism and violence against blacks.

See also

• List of social fraternities