About Alpha Rho
About the Alpha Rho Chapter at Missouri State University
Founded in 1948, the Alpha Rho Chapter has a long history on the MSU Campus. Sigma Pi is a group of men who strive for progress in every aspect of life. As a fraternity, we set ourselves apart from the established status quo. We have no type – our brothers hail from a variety of different backgrounds, interests, and lifestyles, and we use our differences to our advantage to create a diverse culture and welcoming environment. More than anything else, we value our brothers and the eternal friendship that our brotherhood represents. As gentlemen, we strive to lead by example and abolish negative stereotypes by maintaining the highest standards for chivalry, challenging one another to uphold virtuous moral character, and setting the standard on campus for academic excellence and service to our community. Sigma Pi, in a word, is unique, and we’re always searching for men who are seeking opportunities to grow and evolve into gentlemen and the chance to become a part of something larger than themselves.
About the International Fraternity
Sigma Pi Fraternity was founded in 1897 at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana. Our Executive Offices are located in Nashville, Tennessee. The fraternity is one of the top men’s collegiate organizations North America, with more than 120 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada. With over 100,000 alumni and 5,700 undergraduates; our men strive for excellence by living our core values to promote fellowship, develop character and leadership, advance heightened moral awareness, enable academic achievement, and inspire service. Sigma Pi is the only Greek letter organization with an international philanthropic program, The ACE Project, specifically designed to give back to our host institutions.
Our Philosophy
OUR MISSION
To advance man’s quest for excellence
OUR VISION
Our men will strive for excellence by living our core values.
OUR CORE VALUES
Promote fellowship
Develop character and leadership
Advance heightened moral awareness
Enable academic achievement
Inspire service
OUR CREED
I believe in Sigma Pi, a Fellowship of kindred minds, united in Brotherhood to advance Truth and Justice, to promote Scholarship, to encourage Chivalry, to diffuse Culture, and to develop Character, in the Service of God and Man; and I will strive to make real the Fraternity’s ideals in my own daily life.
THE TEN OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
Give proper attention to the interests of Sigma Pi.
Regard the fraternity with a spirit of sincerity and respect and give earnest consideration to its teachings and ideals.
Meet financial obligations promptly and fully.
Cheerfully perform tasks that may be assigned for the good of the fraternity.
At all times be a gentleman and use moderation in all things.
Strive at all times to cooperate for the good of the fraternity.
Work diligently to maintain good scholarship.
Participate in worthy college activities.
Profit by associations with men in spirit of fraternalism.
Be an exemplary Sigma Pi brother and citizen.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
In accordance with the Creed of the Fraternity, no Chapter shall deny membership to an individual meeting the criteria outlined in this article and the academic standards of both the Fraternity and the Chapter’s host institution based on race, color, ethnicity, country of origin, sexual orientation, religion or disability.
Our History
On January 26, 1897, Miss Charlotte N. Malotte 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. The fraternity would be known as Tau Phi Delta.
According to history, the mother of the first two initiates, Mrs. Bayard, took a deep interest in the organization and used her influence to steer Tau Phi Delta in the right direction. Taking a volume of Robert Browning’s poems from a shelf, she turned to ‘A Death In The Desert’, and read:
Progress, man’s distinctive mark alone,
Not God’s, and not the beasts’;
God is, they are.
Man partly is and wholly hopes to be.
“That” Mrs. Bayard said, “would make an excellent motto for your organization.”
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.
In 1984, the Fraternity again changed its name. At the 37th Biennial Convocation, Sigma Pi became an international fraternity by accepting its first Canadian chapter. This international status required the Fraternity to become Sigma Pi Fraternity, International. Today, Sigma Pi is comprised of 123 active chapters, 6 colonies, over 95,000 alumni.
