Pi Beta Phi - History

History

Pi Beta Phi was founded as a secret organization under the name of I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867 at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. It began to use greek letters as its name and became a fraternity in 1868. It began when twelve female students wished to enjoy the benefits of a secret society similar to those formed by collegiate men. The twelve founders were Clara Brownlee Hutchinson, Libbie Brook Gaddis, Emma Brownlee Kilgore, Margaret Campbell, Rosa Moore, Ada Bruen Grier, Nancy Black Wallace, Jennie Horne Turnbull, Jennie Nicol, Inez Smith Soule, Fannie Thomson,and Fannie Whitenack Libbey. They planned their society at the home of Major Jacob H. Holt, where two of the women rented a room. The name chosen for the society was I.C. Sorosis. The motto chosen was Pi Beta Phi.

Shortly after the founding, the sisters had a jeweler design their official badge: a golden arrow with the letters "I.C." on the wings.

The first fraternity convention was held in 1868 at the home of Fannie Thomson in Oquawka, Illinois. It was also in that year that the fraternity's second chapter was established at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The expansion made Pi Beta Phi the first national (multi-chapter) women's secret society.

At the 1882 convention, the society officially adopted its motto as well as the fraternity colors of wine and silver blue. Six years later, the name was changed from I.C. Sorosis to Pi Beta Phi. In 1893, with the number of alumnae members growing, the fraternity organized a national alumnae department. Cooperation among women's fraternities and sororities was formalized in 1902 with the founding of the National Panhellenic Conference, of which Pi Beta Phi was a founding member. Meanwhile, chapter expansion continued, and in 1908 the fraternity's first Canadian chapter was established at the University of Toronto.

The fraternity's first philanthropy, Settlement School, was organized in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 1912. It would be followed over the years by other philanthropic endeavors. In 1913, the fraternity also began the practice of support for its chapters through local Alumnae Advisory Committees. Central Office, a fraternity headquarters, was established in 1925.

The Kansas Alpha chapter had begun publication of The Arrow in 1885; it would eventually become a quarterly magazine published by the national fraternity for all its members. Today, dues-paying alumnae receive The Arrow by mail, while others can access it online at the fraternity's web site.