Phi Psi (professional)

This article is about the professional fraternity with emphasis on textile arts. For the national social fraternity with a similar nickname, see Phi Kappa Psi.

Phi Psi (ΦΨ) is an American professional fraternity in the field of textiles and manufacturing engineering. It was estalblished at the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science in 1903.

Phi Psi
ΦΨ
Founded	March 18, 1903; 122 years ago (1903-03-18) Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Type	Professional
Affiliation	Independent
Status	Active
Emphasis	Textiles
Scope	National
Motto	Semper ad perfectum
Colors	Black and   Gold
Flower	Yellow Tea Rose
Publication	The Phi Psi Quarterly
Chapters	3
Members	6,000+ lifetime
Headquarters	Raleigh, North Carolina United States

History

Phi Psi was established as a professional textiles fraternity on March 18, 1903 at the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its five founders were Robert M. Baeny, Paul Benninghoffen, Henry W. Eddy, Harold H. Hart, and Charles A. Kalenbach.^[1]

Established at the turn of the 20th Century, Phi Psi had three aims:

1. to promote fellowship among men of textile colleges and universities with textile departments;
2. to encourage high standards in textile work; and,
3. to assist, by every honorable means, the advancement of its members.

The fraternity expanded to several Massachusetts textile schools, then the center of textile manufacturing in the United States. Beta chapter was formed at Southeastern Massachusetts Dartmouth, followed by and Gamma chapter at Lowell Tech in 1904.^[1] Chapter naming traditions may have diverged: the Gamma chapter at Lowell Tech may have inserted the Gamma from its name into its national name, calling itself the Phi Gamma Psi fraternity.^[2]

The fraternity's first alumni chapter was established in 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts. When the nation's textile industry center shifted to the southern states, chapters were established in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Alabama. A total of ten collegiate chapters were formed, along with twelve alumni chapters.^[1]

Members from Alpha chapter began a search for a national social fraternity to join. In what appears to be a friendly schism, a majority or all of its members formed a separate organization from Phi Psi on November 14, 1964 when they were accepted as the Pennsylvania Omicron chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Yet the Alpha chapter of Phi Psi continued independently on the campus, remaining active today.^[3]

In 1991, the fraternity had 6,000 members.^[1] The fraternity is now coed.^[4] It held its 111th convention in Atlanta, Georgia in 2018.^[4]

Traditions and insignia

Phi Psi's colors are black and gold. The fraternity's flower is the Yellow Tea Rose.^[1] Its badge is described as a diamond-shaped emblem with a gold border and four perpendicular gold bars on a black face.^[1] The Greek letters Φ and Ψ are in the center, rendered in gold.^[1]

Its quarterly publication is The Phi Psi Quarterly.^[1]

Chapters

Following is a lists of Phi Psi chapters.^[1] Active chapters noted in bold. Inactive chapters and institutions are noted in italics.

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	March 18, 1903 – November 14, 1964; xxxx ?	Thomas Jefferson University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active	[3][5][a][b]
Beta	1904	University of Massachusetts Dartmouth	Dartmouth, Massachusetts	Inactive	[c]
Gamma	1904	University of Massachusetts Lowell	Lowell, Massachusetts	Consolidated ?	[2][d]
Delta	1909–19xx ?	Bradford Durfee College of Technology	Fall River, Massachusetts	Consolidated ?	[e]
Eta	1924	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	Active
Theta	1925–after 2019	Georgia Tech	Atlanta, Georgia	Inactive	[4]
Iota	1927–after 2022	Clemson University	Clemson, South Carolina	Inactive	[6][4]
Kappa	1931–c. 2005	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, Texas	Inactive	[7][8][f]
Lambda	1936	Auburn University	Auburn, Alabama	Active	[9]
Mu	1961–19xx ?	Institute of Textile Technology	Charlottesville, Virginia	Inactive	[g]

1. The chapter formed at the Philadelphia Textile School, later known as Philadelphia University. The university merged with Thomas Jefferson University in 2017.
2. A portion of the chapter's members joined the social fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon in 1964.
3. The chapter was established at Southeastern Massachusetts at Dartmouth, which merged into the University of Massachusetts system in 1991, assuming the name University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
4. The chapter was established at Lowell Technological Institute. Lowell Tech and Lowell State merged in 1975 to form the University of Lowell, which changed its name to the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1991. Today, Lowell Tech's campus is known as the North Campus of UMass Lowell.
5. After multiple mergers, Bradford Durfee College of Technology became part of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1961.
6. The chapter closed after the closure of a textile engineering program, which resulted in a lack of textile students.
7. The Institute of Textile Technology and the Mu chapter were originally located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school relocated to the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2003.

See also

• Delta Kappa Phi, professional, textiles
• Professional fraternities and sororities
• Sigma Tau Sigma, honor society, textile engineering