History of Pi Kappa Phi
The Founders:
Mixson, Fogarty and Kroeg
The story of Pi Kappa Phi begins with three friends.  In 1904, 19-year old Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr. was a senior at the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. He possessed a leadership talent that was exact and sure. His mind was on law school and was dedicated to his studies. He was recognized among his fellow students as "jolly, good natured, always having a good word for friend and stranger alike." He was a model gentleman with a thirst for success.
 Simon Fogarty Jr., a 17-year-old junior, was the second of four sons of a Charleston grocer. He was an exceptional athlete, earning places on the school's baseball, basketball and football teams. He was regarded by fellow students as a warm friend, quick with a smile. Fogarty motivated with such intent and heart that people were quickly drawn to him.
 Playing alongside Fogarty on all three College athletic teams was a 16-year-old sophomore and close childhood friend, Lawrence Harry Mixson. Indeed, some said the two were never seen apart. "Harry" was destined to work for his father's successful seed business in Charleston. It appeared that Mixson inherited his father's business sense as well, commonly known for his attention to detail and his setting of goals. He was also known for his fun-loving spirit, which often provided a needed relief from the intensity of daily college life.
The friendship shared between these three men would grow to become the foundation of Pi Kappa Phi. The College of Charleston in 1904
A small, lively municipal college in South Carolina was the birthplace of Pi Kappa Phi.  The College of Charleston was the pride of the city. It was the eleventh oldest college in the nation, and the very first in America supported solely by city funds. The athletic program was added to the all-male College in 1897,and by 1904 the basketball, football and baseball programs were a source of great pride.
Also thriving was a campus literary society, the Chrestomathics. The society was similar in function to modern day student government groups. By participating in the activities of the society, students could take their academic pursuits beyond the classroom, debating the ideas and issues of the times. Its officers also comprised the staff of the college's monthly magazine. Because of its prominence and power on campus, the society was important to the students. It also played a crucial role in the founding of Pi Kappa Phi. In 1904, there were 71 students at the college. Of these, 40of them had been raised within the city limits of Charleston and attended the city high school. Most had known each other from early childhood. Tuition was a mere $40 a year, and a dormitory room ran an additional $10 monthly. Most students lived at home with their families. The Literary Society Elections
A pact between friends led to the bond that would create the Fraternity. In the fall of 1904, the literary society held elections to select its officers. The three chapters of national fraternities that existed on campus developed a "slate" of officer candidates from within their ranks. Kroeg, Mixson, Fogarty and some of their friends were not fraternity members, and with all campus fraternity men and their friends already sworn to the fraternity slate, Kroeg knew it would be tough winning unless an opposition party was quickly organized. In the course of several meetings at Mixson's home on Wentworth Street, the three men led a small campus movement to form a group called Nu Phi, which stood for "non-fraternity." This organization of 15 men formed its own opposing slate and began campaigning. The group adopted "the outline of a hand" as its secret symbol. Meetings of Nu Phi were advertised to members by drawing an outline of a hand on a chalkboard in a classroom. The time of the meeting and the last name of the member hosting it were written inside the outline. The elections were intense. The Nu Phi men even assigned a member to kidnap those who might vote for the fraternity ticket on election day. As the group worked together, and as election day approached, they realized that they possessed the skills, desire and friendship needed to build something of lasting value. In spite of their efforts, however, the Nu Phi ticket did not do well in the final count. It was later discovered that several of the members of Nu Phi had been disloyal to the group and had voted for the fraternity ticket. The First Meeting
After losing the election to the fraternities, Kroeg decided to form his own. The loyal Nu Phi's agreed to hold a meeting on December 10, 1904, at Simon's home at 90 Broad Street to found a fraternity.  Seven Nu Phis were at the meeting: Kroeg, Fogarty, Mixson, A. Pelzer Wagener, Thomas F. Mosimann, Theodore Barnwell Kelly and James Fogarty, Simon's younger brother. All were friends and students at the College, and had grown up together in Charleston. Wagener was a superior scholar of Greek and Latin, much like John Heath, the founder of the first fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, at the College of William and Mary. Wagener would go on to teach Greek and Latin at William and Mary, and appropriately enough, it was he who recommended the letters, "Pi Kappa Phi," and their secret meaning as the official new name of the group.
Because there were so many civic and honorary organizations in the city of Charleston, a visit to a local jeweler offered a great variety of possible fraternity badges from which to choose. Fogarty made a proposal for the fraternity's pin. In his words: "...a plain, diamond-shaped block of black enamel, bearing across its short diagonal an arched raised band of gold with scrolled edges projecting beyond the body of the pin. On this band were engraved, in black enamel, the Greek letters of Pi Kappa Phi. Engraved in gold on the body of the pin, above and below the band respectively, were the figures of a star and student's lamp." Kroeg naturally became the new chapter's archon, a term taken from the name of a chief magistrate in ancient Greece. He began the work of writing the Fraternity's constitution. The Ritual and Early Expansion
As the seven men worked to spread interest in Pi Kappa Phi, they added members and new chapters.
Mixson and Wagener authored the Fraternity's Ritual in 1906. The two had grown up together in historic St. John's Lutheran Church. Simon added a Roman Catholic influence, and the Ritual included the "ideals of Christian manhood" (although it does not exclude men of other religions). Henry Patrick Wagener, Pelzer's younger brother, was the first Pi Kappa Phi member initiated under the Fraternity's Ritual on March 24, 1906. The younger Wagener would go on to become a renowned physician. That year, the group rejected a charter offered from another national fraternity. Although that might have been the easiest way to achieve permanence, the men chose instead to expand and create more Pi Kappa Phi chapters. The men of Pi Kappa Phi had made many contacts at Presbyterian College in upstate Clinton, S.C., through sports and other activities. With those contacts, Kroeg was able to stir interest in a second chapter. On March 9,1907, the men of Alpha Chapter at Charleston granted a charter for Beta Chapter at Presbyterian. By this time, Ted Kelly had moved to the other side of the United States to attend the University of California-Berkley, and he cultivated a group interested in Pi Kappa Phi. The men of Charleston granted a long-distance charter for Gamma Chapter. The Gamma Chapter truly established Pi Kappa Phi as a national fraternity, perhaps making it the most significant charter ever granted. Gamma was also the first chapter of the Fraternity to enjoy a chapter house. Nothing Shall Ever Tear Us Asunder
The early years laid a firm foundation for Pi Kappa Phi to grow. Kroeg, while studying law at the College of Charleston, saw the need for the fraternity to secure Articles of Incorporation to protect the its' name and existence. Accordingly, Pi Kappa Phi became legally registered in the State of South Carolina on December 23, 1907. The interest in Pi Kappa Phi within South Carolina was growing despite laws and policies banning fraternities. In 1909, Delta Chapter at Furman University formed and operated "sub rosa" (in secret) until state laws changed to allow fraternal organizations. The Fraternity created its first coat of arms in the same year. It originally carried only two stars, and a student's lamp appeared below the chevron. Instead of a lamp and book, the original crest depicted a hand holding a red rose (perhaps in recognition of Delta Chapter operating sub rosa). The first motto was the Latin: Nil Separta Bit, meaning Nothing Shall Separate Us. The coat of arms changed many times in the early years as historical symbols of Charleston were incorporated. A third star and the swords were added, first turned downward, later upward. The lamp was moved to the crest, and the motto was changed to Greek which now appears, meaning: Nothing Shall Ever Tear Us Asunder. Realizing the strong need for communications between chapters, particularly with Gamma more than 3,000 miles away, The Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Journal was begun in 1909 with Henry Wagener as editor. In 1911, the Fraternity would change the name of its official publication to The Star and Lamp, a flame which endures to this day. The First 25 Years
During the early years of the Fraternity, communication and travel were extremely difficult. As a result, the majority of new chapters formed were located in the Southeast, with the majority of the leadership coming from Alpha Chapter. When the number of chapters had sufficiently expanded, the Supreme Chapter was created. Representatives from each chartered chapter came together to create the Supreme Laws of the Fraternity. Since the first meeting, a Supreme Chapter has been convened every other year. In 1922, Andrew Alexander Kroeg died from a sudden illness at the age 38. From the seven Nu Phi men that attended the first chapter meeting, Kroeg had seen his fraternity grow to 24 chapters across the country. The Fraternity's first National Headquarters was opened in Charleston in 1924. Alpha initiate George Sheetz was the first full-time executive secretary. In the late 1920's, the Fraternity decided to take on active expansion in the Midwest and moved the Headquarters to Chicago. Pi Kappa Phi through the 1950's
In 1936, delegates to the Supreme Chapter addressed the topic of hazing, and the practice of "hell weeks" was formally abolished from the Fraternity. The delegates also authorized the publication of an associate member manual called The White Diamond, from which the text and illustrations you are now viewing were drawn. World War II was a difficult time for the Fraternity and the nation as the business of war demanded complete attention. The position of executive secretary was temporarily abandoned, and the National Headquarters was reduced to a record-keeping office in Richmond, Va. When the war was over, the Fraternity began to rebuild and grow, opening new chapters in the years immediately following the war's end. In 1953, the Headquarters was moved to Sumter, S.C. In 1954, the Supreme Chapter returned to Charleston, S.C., for the Fraternity's Golden Anniversary. In memorial to the timelessness of the ideals of Pi Kappa Phi, the Fraternity purchased a clock which was installed above the entrance to Randolph Hall, the main building at the College of Charleston. The Pi Kappa Phi Foundation was created in 1952. The Foundation is fueled by alumni contributions and funds all of the educational efforts of the Fraternity. The Foundation also provides scholarships for deserving collegiate members. Durward Owen, one of the most influential men to wear the badge of Pi Kappa Phi, took over the position of executive secretary in 1959. Under his guidance, Pi Kappa Phi assumed the position of leadership it now has within the fraternity world. That same year, the first Pi Kapp College was held in Sumter, S.C. From 1960 to the Present
In March of 1962, Lawrence Harry Mixson passed away at the age of 64. Simon Fogarty Jr., the last surviving founder, joined the Chapter Eternal later that decade in 1966. The Fraternity they helped found had grown beyond the wildest dreams of the seven men present at the first meeting. Pi Kappa Phi Properties was created and received government recognition in 1968. The national housing corporation assists chapters in the acquisition of permanent fraternity housing wherever possible. In 1975, the National Headquarters moved to Charlotte, N.C. In 1977, the Fraternity became extremely concerned with community service. The search for a worthy cause led to artist and architect Thomas Sayre who was searching for a way to fund adaptive environments for severely disabled children. Play Units for the Severely Handicapped, renamed People Understanding the Severely Handicapped, and today simply Push America, became the Fraternity's national service project. On the 75th anniversary of the founding, the Supreme Chapter again returned to Charleston. A large rose garden was planted in honor of the occasion. In 1982, the 100th active Pi Kapp Chapter was chartered. The 1980s were a period of expansion as Pi Kappa Phi chartered new chapters and emerged as a leader in the area of risk management. Pi Kappa Phi will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2004. From the bonds of friendship that drew the original seven men to that first meeting on December 10, 1904, Pi Kappa Phi has grown to be a strong leader in the fraternity world.
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