Sigma Phi Epsilon

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Sigma Phi Epsilon - ΣΦΕ
The official coat of arms of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Founded November 1, 1901 (1901-11-01) (age 106)
Richmond College, Virginia
Type Social
Scope National
Mission Statement Building Balanced Leaders for the World's Communities
Colors Purple and Red
Symbol Golden Heart
Flower Violet and Dark Red Rose
Philanthropy YouthAIDS
Chapters 257
Members 14,000+ currently
265,000+ lifetime
Founding Principles Virtue Diligence Brotherly Love
Headquarters Zollinger House, 310 S. Boulevard, P.O. Box 1901
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Homepage http://www.sigep.org/

ΣΦΕ (Sigma Phi Epsilon), commonly nicknamed SigEp or S-P-E, is a social fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901 at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond) and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love. It is the largest social fraternity in the United States in terms of current undergraduate membership[1], the fourth largest in terms of total members initiated, and has the highest first year retention rate of 90%. [1]

Contents

Jenkens was the son of a minister and an 18-year-old divinity student at Rutgers College until the fall of 1900 when he transferred to Richmond College[2]. In the year that Jenkens had spent Rutgers, he had been initiated into the Chi Phi Fraternity. At Richmond, Jenkens was quickly drawn in to a close-knit group of friends which included Benjamin "Ben" Gaw, William "Billy" Wallace and Thomas "Thos" Wright. [2]. By the fall of 1901, the four friends were meeting regularly in the third-floor room in Ryland Hall shared by Gaw and Wallace. They called their unofficial group the Saturday Night Club. Soon, two others were asked to join the group: William Carter and Billy Phillips. [3]

By early October, 1901, Jenkens had persuaded his friends to join him in trying to establish a chapter of Chi Phi at Richmond. The group of friends, which by mid-October had grown to twelve men, was composed largely of students who were spurned by the existing fraternities on campus for their high sense of morality (seven of the twelve were studying for the ordained ministry) and for their rural, middle-class backgrounds[2]. Jenkens had convinced the others that their chapter could be different from the other fraternities on campus and assured them that Chi Phi's principles were in line with their own. The group's request for a charter, however, was met with refusal as the national fraternity felt that Richmond College was too small to host a Chi Phi chapter.[2] Insulted though undaunted by the rejection, Jenkens and his friends knew that their bonds of friendship constituted something worth preserving, so they sought to perpetuate their values and their loyalties by founding their own fraternity.

After several secret meetings throughout October of 1901, the new fraternity took shape and on November 1, 1901, the fraternity's first membership roster was publicly posted at the school, listing the twelve founders in this order: Carter Ashton Jenkens, Benjamin Donald Gaw, William Hugh Carter, William Andrew Wallace, Thomas Temple Wright, William Lazelle Phillips, Lucian Baum Cox, Richard Spurgeon Owens, Edgar Lee Allen, Robert Alfred McFarland, Frank Webb Kerfoot and Thomas Vaden McCaul. After much discussion, the group settled on a secret motto and called their fraternity Sigma Phi.[3] Soon thereafter, Jenkens, Gaw and Phillips met with a faculty committee to seek official recognition for their new fraternity. The faculty members were reluctant to recognize Sigma Phi for the following reasons: 1) there were already five fraternity chapters on the Richmond campus, drawing members from a base of less than 300 students, 2) more than half the new fraternity's members were seniors whose graduation would leave the group with only five members and, 3) another national fraternity already existed using the name Sigma Phi.[4] The three founders responded to the faculty's points one by one: 1) although there were already fraternities at Richmond, this new fraternity would be different; it would be founded not upon false notions of social hierarchy and snobbery but, rather, upon biblical notions of God's love and the principle of peace through brotherhood[4], 2) new members would quickly be taken in from the undergraduate classes to increase the new fraternity's size and strength and, 3) the name of the fraternity was still under debate within the group, so since the name Sigma Phi was already taken by a national fraternity, the name would be changed. With these assurances from the founders, the faculty committee approved the new fraternity's request for official recognition. Shortly afterwards, the founders met and decided to rename the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon[4].

Under Jenkens' inspiration and leadership, the new fraternity was formed around a spiritual philosophy of brotherly love, a philosophy that Jenkens referred to as the "rock" of the fraternity. Specifically, the founder described these words of Jesus: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-39) as "the greatest truth the world has ever known." Fittingly, Jenkens rooted the symbolism of the fraternity in the biblical notion of agape, or selfless love. The colors red and purple were chosen to represent the fraternity while the golden heart was chosen as the fraternity's symbol. Finally, the principles of Virtue, Diligence and Brotherly Love, known to members as "The Three Cardinal Principles", were woven by Jenkens into the very fabric of the new fraternity. Jenkens also designed the fraternity's distinctive badge. It was designed as a golden heart surmounted by a black enameled heart-shaped shield. Upon the shield are inscribed, in gold, the Greek-letters of the fraternity, ΣΦΕ, and below these letters, a skull and crossbones. The founders' badges, bordered by alternating garnets and rubies, were designed and ordered before the addition of "Epsilon" to the fraternity's name. Thus, they had only a "Sigma" and a "Phi" inscribed on the lobes of the heart, with the now-familiar skull and crossbones below. A last minute telegraph sent to the jeweler in Goldsboro, North Carolina requested that an "Epsilon" be added "somewhere" on the already-complete badges. The resourceful jeweler removed the bottom-most gemstones from the founders' badges and put, in their place, a black enameled "Epsilon." The badges of founders William Hugh Carter and Thomas Vaden McCaul, illustrating this unique piece of the fraternity's founding, are on display at the Sigma Phi Epsilon headquarters at Zollinger House.

In 1991 Sigma Phi Epsilon developed a four year, continuous development 'Balanced Man' program, which abolished pledgeship altogether, instituted year-round recruitment, encourages lifestyles based on the three cardinal principles, and includes a number of tasks geared towards creating diverse experiences that promote the ideals of "a sound mind and sound body". The program has been adopted by approximately 80% of Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters. SigEp headquarters credits the Balanced Man Program as the driving force behind the continued growth and success of the fraternity. Some of these accomplishments include SigEp's 90% undergraduate retention rate, a major improvement in the national average SigEp GPA (3.0), and SigEp's status as the nation's largest fraternity by undergraduate membership. Other fraternities have since chosen to adopt similar programs, such as Beta Theta Pi's "Man of Principle", and more recently Lambda Chi Alpha's "True Brother Initiative".

The Balanced Man Program consists of four challenges labeled Sigma, Phi, Epsilon, and Brother Mentor. Each challenge contains required tasks that progressively develop a member's self, chapter, and community. A new SigEp brother is welcomed with the introductory phase of the program, the Sigma Challenge, and must complete a program based on self-discovery, chapter activities, and community service. After completing the Sigma Challenge he enters the Phi Challenge, which is centered on building balance. Here, more advanced tasks await him that include becoming a member of other on-campus organizations and taking a leadership role in the chapter. The final challenge in the Balanced Man Program is the Epsilon Challenge, centered on being an effective campus and community leader; at this level the brother has a full understanding of the Fraternity, the brother is also expected to hold an executive or chairman position in both the Chapter, and at least one outside organization. In a traditional-model chapter, after completing the pledging process, a member would go through the Epsilon Ritual. The Brother Mentor level is an additional level introduced with the Balanced Man program. Brother Mentor signifies a brother's commitment to his chapter by completing all three levels of the Balanced Man and by going beyond and completing the challenges set forth by the Brother Mentor program. These include a very large community service requirement and tasks that better the chapter as a whole. All challenges in the Balanced Man program are self-paced. They can also be tailored to suit the chapter's and the individual brother's needs.

Many of the remaining traditional chapters openly protest the Balanced Man program. Traditional chapters claim that the Balanced man members do not form the bonds that a Traditional chapter has. Traditional chapters also contend that Balanced Man chapter members tend to know less about the history of the fraternity or its unwritten traditions and lore. Finally, many Traditional chapters claim that the Balanced Man cheapens the process by not creating any obstacles to become a SigEp, despite the many required tasks Balanced Man members must complete before reaching the final stages.

SigEp National will not allow chapters to be created or reinstated as traditional chapters; only as new Balanced Man chapters. Traditional chapters and those reinstated Balanced Man chapters that hold to their traditional ideals resent this practice. These chapters generally view SigEp National as an organization bent on becoming more of an honor society than a fraternity.

Sigma Phi Epsilon also promotes the Residential Learning Community (RLC) Program. Under this program, each fraternity adopts a resident scholar and a faculty fellow. The resident scholar is a graduate student (not necessarily a member of SigEp) who lives in the facility and advises the undergraduate chapter on operations, academics, and community involvement/philanthropy activities. The faculty fellow is a member of the college or university faculty who advises the undergraduate chapter, holds office hours in the house, and gives occasional lectures.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon Leadership Continuum is an award-winning series of distinct and progressive leadership opportunities aimed at teaching to and reinforcing SigEp values of a Brother from the day he joins to the day he graduates. Through self-discovery, analysis, and interaction, Brothers develop skills necessary to lead balanced lives and to continue leading the fraternity world. Consisting of EDGE, Carlson Leadership Academies, Ruck Leadership Institute, Grand Chapter Conclaves, and the Tragos Quest to Greece, the Leadership Continuum is a tailorable, structured continuous development plan for the college man.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon Tolerence Quarum is a newly instituted program that promotes equality among the large number of homosexual members and promotes recruitment practices geared toward inclusion of a wider range of sexual orientation.

The fraternity offers its own innovative program for first-year members, EDGE. EDGE is about making healthy choices that match your personal values and those of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Participants build greater self-awareness about the consequences of their actions and those around them through interactive discussions and reflective activities. Participants have fun through challenging experiences as ropes courses, physical challenges, and activities based upon camaraderie. Participants choose the lifestyle they wish to lead and receive training on overcoming obstacles with regard to alcohol and drug abuse, personal wellness, and goal achievement. The program involves a highly regarded faculty of senior undergraduates, distinguished alumni, and renowned guest speakers.

Sigma Phi Epsilon is currently partnered with YouthAids [2] as their officially sanctioned philanthropy. All SigEp chapters are encouraged to raise funds to donate to YouthAids through events and awareness programs. Also, following Hurricane Katrina, SigEp national headquarters encouraged individual chapters nationwide to donate to a relief fund. For every dollar donated by a chapter, Nationals, partnered with several businesses, donated three dollars to relief efforts.

Sigma Phi Epsilon can claim many innovations and achievements in the world of national fraternities. SigEp was first [5]

  • To charter a chapter in all 50 states.
  • To provide financial assistance to brothers for graduate school through the Resident Scholar program.
  • To establish a housing trust for all chapters and create a National Housing Corporation.
  • To receive a grant from the federal Department of Education to enhance member development programs.
  • To establish a traveling staff to assist chapters in effective operations.
  • Fraternity whose Educational Foundation built an endowment greater than $11 million.
  • To partner with the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy[3].
  • IFC National Fraternity to issue a bid of membership to an African-American (future U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (U.S. politician)).[citation needed]
  • In the spring of 2005 Sigma Phi Epsilon also became the first national fraternity to have a national grade point average surpassing 3.0. Nationally, the fraternity has stated that it hopes to raise this to 3.15 by 2011.[6]


  1. ^ Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity*About SigEp. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
  2. ^ a b c d The History of Sigma Phi Epsilon - The first 50 Years > Sigma Phi Epsilon Founded. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
  3. ^ a b The History of Sigma Phi Epsilon - The first 50 years >The First Meeting. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
  4. ^ a b c The History of Sigma Phi Epsilon - The First 50 Years > Fraternity Recognized. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
  5. ^ Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity*About SigEp. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  6. ^ Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity*About SigEp. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.

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