Our History

Over A Century Of Leadership And Service

Our Founders

A SMALL BEGINNING

Three friends, Andrew Kroeg, Simon Fogarty, and Harry Mixson, decided to take the lead on a calm December evening in 1904 in Charleston, South Carolina. The trio of men decided to form their own fraternity. Three became seven, seven became eight, and eight became eleven. They began in 1907 at the College of Charleston, moved to a local Presbyterian, and in 1909, moved to California. Pi Kappa Phi evolved into a genuinely nationwide fraternity in just over four years. A fraternity with modest origins has expanded into a brotherhood with over 120,000 members over the span of a century.

Founders - Pi Kappa Phi Northern Arizona University

I believe that the ideal chapter is made up of men

Who are bound together in common loyalty that transcends any personal selfishness;

Nu Phi - The Non-Fraternity

AN UNLIKELY ORIGIN

Undoubtedly, there were difficulties in our early days. The original name of Pi Kappa Phi was Nu Phi, which stood for "non-fraternity." Our founders founded Nu Phi as a way to get into leadership positions within the Chrestomathic Literary Society because they were fed up with fraternities controlling all aspects of school politics. But when some of the Nu Phis turned out to be disloyal, the plan to take over the Society was foiled. After the devoted Nu Phis got together again, the seven guys who were left founded a new organization on December 10, 1904, which would later be called Pi Kappa Phi.

Pi Kappa Phi still values its Nu Phi ancestry. It takes many forms and gives us the confidence to address problems in novel and creative ways.