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Theta Kappa Phi

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This article is about the defunct social fraternity. For the Asian-interest sorority, see Theta Kappa Phi (sorority).
Theta Kappa Phi
ΘΚΦ
FoundedOctober 1, 1919; 105 years ago (1919-10-01)
Lehigh University
TypeSocial
Former affiliationNIC
StatusMerged
Merge dateApril 29, 1959
SuccessorPhi Kappa Theta
EmphasisCatholic students
ScopeNational
Member badge
Colors  Red,   Silver and   Gold
SymbolSun
FlowerColumbine
PublicationThe Sun of Theta Kappa Phi
Chapters24
Headquarters
United States

Theta Kappa Phi (ΘΚΦ) was a social fraternity founded on October 1, 1919, at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. On April 29, 1959, Theta Kappa Phi merged with a similar Catholic fraternity, Phi Kappa, to form Phi Kappa Theta.[1]

History

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The idea for the organization developed from a group of men who were a part of the university’s Newman Club, who had met in 1914. Plans for the official establishment of the fraternity fell through upon the entry of the United States into the First World War in 1917, with several members subsequently joining the armed forces. Of the original group, three returned to Lehigh at the end of hostilities to resume their studies. These became the Founders:

  • August Concilio
  • Peter J. Carr
  • Raymond J. Bobbin [2]

Following the conclusion of the war in November 1918 and the return of members back to school, Carr led efforts to restart the process of establishing a social fraternity at Lehigh. Ultimately thirty men, including Concilio, Carr, and Bobbin, agreed to the establishment of the X Club, the original name of Theta Kappa Phi.[2][3]

During the first few months of the new fraternity’s existence, several important actions were undertaken. In a meeting on November 12, 1919, the X Club would select Theta Kappa Phi as its new name. At the time of its adoption, the letters simply stood in place for ‘The Catholic Fraternity’ before they were given a secret meaning later upon merger into Phi Kappa Theta in 1959. The founding group would elect Concilio as the fraternity’s first President. Carr successfully began the infant fraternity’s nationalization by unifying with the a fraternity called Kappa Theta at Pennsylvania State University, establishing the group there as its Beta chapter on March 22, 1922.[3]

Meanwhile, the fraternity would receive valuable help and inspiring leadership from local Bethlehem pastor, Rev. William I. McGarvey. Since none of the existing members had fraternity experience, McGarvey was a valuable asset in developing the fledgling group into a true fraternity in its early days. McGarvey would additionally secure the help of Rev. Michael Andrew Chapman in writing Theta Kappa Phi’s ritual, who was an Episcopal priest as well as a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Bard College. The basics of Theta Kappa Phi’s ritual are still used in Phi Kappa Theta’s ritual today, while McGarvey’s effort for Theta Kappa Phi have seen him recognized as the fraternity’s fourth founder, alongside Concilio, Carr, and Bobbin.[3]

Theta Kappa Phi would continue to expand to other colleges and universities in the surrounding region. By the time the merger came about in 1959, Theta Kappa Phi maintained 24 open and active chapters across the United States.

The merger, called a union of relative equals, took place on April 29, 1959.

Symbols

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  • Publication - The Sun of Theta Kappa Phi
  • Badge - Shield displaying upon black enamel the letters Θ, Κ and Φ in gold over a golden heart. All this was mounted on a gold shield bordered with crown-set pearls, and four rubies in the form of a cross.
  • Pledge button - Shield of white, bordered with a gold chain enclosing a golden sun.
  • Colors - Red, Silver and gold
  • Flower - Columbine

Chapters

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Chapters of Theta Kappa Phi were as follows. Chapters and colonies in bold were active at the time of the merger, those in italics were inactive:[4]

Name Chartered Institution Location Status Notes Reference
Alpha October 1, 1919 Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Pennsylvania Alpha chapter of ΦΚΘ [5]
Beta March 24, 1922 Penn State University University Park, Pennsylvania Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Pennsylvania Beta Gamma chapter of ΦΚΘ [6][7][8]
Gamma May 9, 1922 Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Ohio Gamma Theta chapter of ΦΚΘ [6][9][8]
Delta May 12, 1923 University of Illinois Champaign and Urbana, Illinois Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Illinois Beta Delta chapter of ΦΚΘ [6][10]
Epsilon May 9, 1924 University of New Hampshire Durham, New Hampshire Merged, ΦΚΘ Became New Hampshire Epsilon chapter of ΦΚΘ [11]
Zeta April 9, 1925 Ohio Northern University Ada, Ohio Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Ohio Zeta chapter of ΦΚΘ [12]
Eta June 25, 1925 City College of New York New York City, New York Merged, ΦΚΘ Became New York Eta chapter of ΦΚΘ [13]
Theta June 1, 1927–1931 Cornell University Ithaca, New York Inactive Renamed New York Theta chapter of ΦΚΘ [14]
Iota May 22, 1932 Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Pennsylvania Iota chapter of ΦΚΘ [15]
Kappa January 4, 1934 University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Oklahoma Kappa chapter of ΦΚΘ [16]
Lambda November 10, 1935 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, Massachusetts Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Massachusetts Lambda chapter of ΦΚΘ [17]
Mu November 29, 1936 Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri Mines) Worcester, Massachusetts Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Missouri Mu chapter of ΦΚΘ [18]
Nu May 2, 1937 Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Oklahoma Nu chapter of ΦΚΘ [19]
Xi April 14, 1938 Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Louisiana Xi chapter of ΦΚΘ [20]
Omicron May 4, 1941 University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Louisiana Omicron chapter of ΦΚΘ [21]
Pi April 10, 1948 St. Louis University St. Louis, Missouri Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Missouri Kappa Kappa chapter of ΦΚΘ [22][23]
Rho October 23, 1948 Mississippi State University Starkville, Mississippi Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Mississippi Rho chapter of ΦΚΘ [24]
Sigma March 13, 1949 Boston University Boston, Massachusetts Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Massachusetts Sigma chapter of ΦΚΘ [25]
Tau April 10, 1949 Saint Francis University Loretto, Pennsylvania Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Pennsylvania Tau chapter of ΦΚΘ [26]
Upsilon May 21, 1949 University of Missouri Columbia, Missouri Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Missouri Kappa Upsilon chapter of ΦΚΘ [6][27][28]
Phi December 4, 1949 Kent State University Kent, Ohio Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Ohio Phi chapter of ΦΚΘ [29]
Chi April 15, 1951 University of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Mississippi Chi chapter of ΦΚΘ [30]
Psi December 11, 1954 Northern Illinois University DeKalb, Illinois Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Illinois Psi chapter of ΦΚΘ [31]
Omega May 18, 1957 University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, Michigan Merged, ΦΚΘ Became Michigan Omega chapter of ΦΚΘ [32]
SJS Colony 1953–1954 San Diego State University San Diego, California Inactive Did not charter with ΦΚΘ
UW Colony 1954 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, Wisconsin Absorbed, ΦΚΘ Joined Wisconsin Lambda chapter of ΦΚΘ [33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 17th Ed, Baird's, p 734-735
  2. ^ a b Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. VIII-25–26. ISBN 978-0963715906.
  3. ^ a b c Staff (2016). "The Journey of Phi Kappa Theta". The History of Phi Kappa Theta, Part 3: The Early Days of Theta Kappa Phi (18 ed.). Indianapolis, Indiana: Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity. pp. 34–36. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. ^ William Raimond Baird; Carroll Lurding (eds.). "Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive), document with Theta Kappa Phi list". Student Life and Culture Archives. University of Illinois: University of Illinois Archives. Retrieved 18 December 2021. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.
  5. ^ This chapter originated as the X Club in 1914.
  6. ^ a b c d The Phi Kappa chapter on this campus was slightly older, thus the age of the chapter is calculated from the earlier date.
  7. ^ The Theta Kappa Phi branch originated as Kappa Theta (local) in 1920.
  8. ^ a b The Journey of Phi Kappa Theta 2011
  9. ^ The Theta Kappa Phi branch originated as Iota Lambda (local) in 1920.
  10. ^ The Theta Kappa Phi branch originated as Phi Lambda Pi (local) in 1921.
  11. ^ This chapter originated as Nu Sigma Mu (local) in 1922.
  12. ^ This chapter originated as the Newman Club in 1923.
  13. ^ This chapter originated as Pi Theta Phi (local) in 1921.
  14. ^ Oddly, this chapter originated as a local with the same name as the later united fraternity. It was formed as Phi Kappa Theta (local) in 1924, per the Baird's Archive and Cornell yearbooks, becoming Theta Kappa Phi in 1927.
  15. ^ This chapter originated as Chi Lambda Phi (local) in 1926.
  16. ^ This chapter originated as Delta Phi Epsilon (local) in 1930.
  17. ^ This chapter originated as the Friars Club (local?) in 1930.
  18. ^ This chapter originated as the Cardinal Mercier Club (local) in 1925.
  19. ^ This chapter originated as the Friars Club (local?) in 1936.
  20. ^ This chapter originated as a ΘΚΦ colony in 1937.
  21. ^ This chapter originated as a colony in 1938. Baird's Archive shows it as being installed in 1941, a long incubation period, probably due to WWII enlistments and roster changes.
  22. ^ Fall 2014 Temple
  23. ^ This chapter originated as Delta Nu (local) in 1933.
  24. ^ This chapter originated as a ΘΚΦ colony in 1942.
  25. ^ This chapter originated as a ΘΚΦ colony in 1947.
  26. ^ This chapter originated as Iota Chi Mu (local) in 1947.
  27. ^ The branch from ΘΚΦ originated as a colony in 1948.
  28. ^ PHI KAPPA THETA MO Kappa Upsilon Chapter Our History
  29. ^ This chapter originated as the Friars Club (local?) in 1947.
  30. ^ This chapter originated as a ΘΚΦ colony in 1949.
  31. ^ This chapter originated as a ΘΚΦ colony in 1953.
  32. ^ This chapter originated as a ΘΚΦ colony in 1956.
  33. ^ The Wisconsin Lambda chapter came from ΦΚ, and its name did not change after the April 29, 1959 merger. However, it absorbed an unnamed colony of ΘΚΦ that at the merger was already five years old (1954-1959). The ΦΚ chapter had originally formed out the Loyola Club (1920). The ΘΚΦ colony was never chartered.

See also

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