The History of Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi has a great history, with an inauspicious start at a small
southern college, eventually transforming into one of America's leading Fraternities. Honoring our
past helps us move forward, taking with us lessons our forefathers wanted us to appreciate and cherish.
However, to understand our history we must take a look at the birth of all fraternities.
At the College of William and Mary, men would gather by candlelight in
taverns to discuss all matters pertaining to science, politics, and literature. These early gatherings,
supposedly started by none other than Thomas Jefferson, were the earliest ancestors of the modern day
fraternity. The men who ran these groups eventually incorporated Greek letters and secret meanings into
the organization as a way to keep secrets within the brotherhood. Soon these fraternities not only spread
to other colleges, but inspired men to create their own organizations. Women too desired what fraternities
offered and created their own versions, called sororities.
In 1904 at the College of Charleston, there was a literary organization,
comparable to a Student Government, that offered extracurricular activities and held power in making
decisions for the student body. The Chrestomathic Society was a very exclusive organization, and so
positions were sought after by many of the men at the college. Three such men, Andrew Alexander Kroeg
Jr., Simon Fogarty Jr. and Lawrence Harry Mixson, desired leadership positions within the Chrestomathics
society. The three were good friends and decided to work together to gain access to the society.
There were three fraternities on the college campus in 1904. These
fraternities were very powerful, especially in the Chrestomathics society, and held most of the sway
in terms of who was elected. The three fraternities put together a a ballot, and all fraternity men
were required to vote for that ballot. This made it extremely difficult for anybody outside of the
fraternities to get elected. The three friends were frustrated by this fact, and devised a way to
get elected. They, along with a group of friends, founded a secret organization called "Nu Phi" meaning
"Non-Fraternity".
The Nu Phi's put together a ticket to run against the fraternity men and
began campaigning against them. They developed several secret symbols, most notably the outline of a
hand. Inside the outline would be a meeting time and the last name of the person holding the meeting.
In this way, they could keep outsiders away from their secret meetings, but also invite people whom they
trusted to join the group. They campaigned hard (even planning to abduct certain opposing candidates),
but in the end they did not win the election. Some of the members turned out to be disloyal; they voted
for the fraternity ballot instead of their fellow Nu Phi's. Kroeg, disappointed that his friends would
not get the chance to lead the Chrestomathics, decided the only way to compete was to start his own fraternity.
On December 10th, 1904 (referred to as Founder's Day), the loyal Nu Phi's
met at 90 Broad Street to discuss the new fraternity. The seven men at this first meeting were henceforth
referred to as the founding fathers of Pi Kappa Phi: Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Simon Fogarty Jr.,
Lawrence Harry Mixson, Anthony Pelzer Wagener, Thomas F. Mosimann, Theodore Barnwell Kelly ("Teddy"),
and James Fogarty (Simon's younger brother). Kroeg was elected the first president (the "archon") of
the fraternity. It was at this meeting that they chose the letters Pi Kappa Phi and chose colors for
the fraternity. Simon Fogarty proposed the fraternity pin that is in use today, and much of the groundwork
of the fraternity was laid out in full detail. One year after this day, they met again at 90 Broad Street
for a dinner cooked by Lawrence Mixson's mother.
The Delta Alpha Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi came into being on May 8th, 1971.
Pi Kapp came about from a local fraternity at the time, Kappa Sigma Chi. Pi Kappa Phi was one of the
first fraternities of Virginia Tech. Our new house was dedicated on October 13, 2001 by CEO Mark E.
Timmes. The fraternity continues to excel in every aspect of Greek Life and demonstrates an unparalleled
strength of brotherhood.
