Fraternity History On January 26, 1897, Miss Charlotte N. Malotte, the professor of Latin and French, spoke to a student group at the chapel hour. She spoke on the subject of 'College Fraternities' which sparked the interest of several students. Then, on the afternoon of February 26, a new fraternity had its first meeting. When, after a long session, the meeting adjourned, a literary society had been born, though it was yet unnamed.
The founders of the Fraternity, all cadets at Vincennes University, were William Raper Kennedy, James Thompson Kingsbury, George Martin Patterson, and Rolin Rosco James. The first three were seniors; James was a freshman. Samuel and Maurice Bayard were the first initiates. They were made members of the Fraternity before a name was selected or a constitution adopted. Many of the first meetings of the Fraternity were held at the old Bayard home. At the Bayard house, the constitution was written and the first ritual was developed and used in the loft of the family's carriage house. February 11, 1907, is a significant date in the Fraternity's history. It was then the members last assembled as Tau Phi Delta and first assumed the name of Sigma Pi Fraternity of the United States. Tau Phi Delta had had limited ambitions for expansion. Soon after the name change, Sigma Pi embarked on a program of establishing chapters on other campuses. |
Chapter History In the fall of 2008, Sigma Pi Fraternity International expanded to the University of Central Florida. With the help of representatives from the international expansion committee and a receptive greek community, Sigma Pi found an ever-growing group of kindred and motivated students, interested in being a part of an organization dedicated to tenants of brotherhood, scholarship, chivalry, character and community.
After only a few short weeks of recruitment, the Central Florida Colony of Sigma Pi was established on September 18, 2008, with a record 54 members. United by common goals, and rallying behind early success participating in philanthropies and athletics, the colony grew quickly together, motivated to make its presence known. In the year that followed, the colony took great strides toward proving its value to the UCF community and to Sigma Pi internationally. Successful altruistic and philanthropic events, impressive academic standards, extremely competitive athletics, and drive to be involved both on and around campus lead the newly formed colony to quickly develop into a formidable presence at UCF. Only two semesters after its formation, with awards and support of the community at its back, the colony applied to be instated as an official chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity International. All of their hard work received its reward; on August 22, 2009, 59 men from UCF became the Founding Fathers of the Iota Kappa Chapter of Sigma Pi. Since receiving its charter, the Iota Kappa Chapter has continued to grow and thrive on the UCF campus. Even as it increases in size, as events gets more extravagent, and as competitions become more intense, the chapter holds ever closer to the ideals upon which it was founded: an impassioned dedication to one another and an unending pursuit to better oneself and the world in which we live. |