Phi Kappa (secondary)

Phi Kappa National Fraternity (ΦΚ) is a secondary school social fraternity. Since its founding in the early twentieth century, Phi Kappa has chartered nearly fifty chapters in eight states in the Deep South. No chapters of the fraternity have ever been chartered outside of the South. Phi Kappa is the oldest and largest exclusively Southern Greek-letter social fraternity.

History
Tradition records a founding on February 3, 1900, at Southern University Preparatory School in Greensboro, Alabama. However, the fraternity must have remained sub rosa for at least fifteen years and little in known about its operations.

Some fraternity historians have surmised that the fraternity may have arbitrarily chosen the date and that its true founding is attributed to Jacob Broughton Nelson who has been honored as its founder from at least the 1920s. Nelson was connected to the fraternity's first known expansion in 1919 and was its first "Grand Master" in the spring of 1919. Whether the fraternity was founded by unknown persons in 1900 or was begun in 1919 by Nelson, it was under the leadership and initiative of Nelson that the fraternity started an expansion program.

Broughton attended Southern University Preparatory School, a Methodist institution in Greensboro, Alabama, from 1914 to 1917. While at Southern, he became involved with Phi Kappa and roomed with another fraternity member, Jack Oscar Hain. When Broughton's father died in 1916, his tenure at Southern was cut short. He returned home to live with his mother in Troy, Alabama. In the summer of 1917, Hain visited his former roommate in Troy and found that Broughton had established a second chapter of Phi Kappa—Upsilon—in that town. The Upsilon chapter had a chapter room above Lorch's Jewelry store on the Troy town square. During his visit, Hain was initiated into the Upsilon chapter.

The following fall, Hain enrolled in the Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi, with three other members of the Upsilon chapter: Clarence Heath Cowart, F. Joseph Hendley, and William F. Palmer. The four decided to form a chapter of Phi Kappa at the academy. With Nelson's assistance, they chartered the Mu Theta chapter. Around the same time, the Gamma Beta chapter was established at the newly created Emory University Academy in Oxford, Georgia and operated sub rosa.

During this earliest period of expansion, there was a trend to name the chapters outside of Phi Kappa's home state of Alabama with a Greek letter corresponding to the new chapter's state. So, while the first two chapters retained single-letter chapter names—Alpha at Southern and Upsilon at Troy—Phi Kappa's third chapter was named Mu Theta, with Mu standing for Mississippi. The fourth chapter was named Gamma Beta, with Gamma standing for Georgia. This early pattern of chapter designation was soon abandoned.

In 1919, Nelson moved to South Dakota and never returned; neither family nor friends ever saw him again. Upsilon chapter disintegrated after Nelson's disappearance. The Alpha chapter was forced to fold when the Southern University Preparatory School was merged into Birmingham–Southern College on May 30, 1918.

Gamma Beta chapter was geographically isolated and finally succumbed to the pressure of an anti-fraternity administration in 1924, leaving Mu Theta as the only chapter. As Mu Theta members returned to their homes across the South each summer break, many founded Phi Kappa chapters in their hometowns. For example, members of the Mu Theta chapter established Beta chapter in Memphis, Tennessee; Lambda chapter in Mobile, Alabama; Delta chapter in Laurel, Mississippi; and Epsilon chapter in Birminham, Alabama. Other chapters were established by alumni of Mu Theta. As a result, Mu Theta earned the moniker within Phi Kappa of "Mother Mu Theta".

At its 1931 convention in Jackson, Tennessee, Phi Kappa adopted a new constitution, new by-laws, and a new system of government. The fraternity was incorporated in Delaware in 1943 under the guidance of alumnus Guy D. Campbell (Delta), a former Exalted Grand Master (national president). The fraternity was likely incorporated as "Phi Kappa National Fraternity" instead of "Phi Kappa Fraternity" to distinguish it from the well-established college fraternity named Phi Kappa.

Although Phi Kappa had chartered nearly fifty chapters and had initiated more than 10,000 members, only ten of these chapters survived into the 21st century. By 2005, the fraternity shrunk to a handful of chapters in a few southern Mississippi cities. In 2007, there was a concerted effort at re-organization and expansion. The Alpha Omega chapter in New Orleans was re-chartered but failed to gain many members before disbanding in 2009.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was concentrated on the Mississippi Gulf Coast where all but one of the remaining Phi Kappa chapters were located. Many national records, archives, and irreplaceable historical memorabilia of the fraternity were lost in the hurricane. In the aftermath of Katrina, many students were evacuated and schools closed temporarily. Many chapters went into long periods of inactivity and did not successfully recover.

Symbols and traditions
The Phi Kappa founding principles are Brotherhood, Scholarship, Community Service, and Faith in God. Its motto is "Brotherly Love".

Its colors are purple and white. The fraternity flower is the camellia. Its jewel is the amethyst. The fraternity's badge is a gold rhombus (diamond) with blue enamel, engraved with a Greek lamp at the apex, crossed scimitars in the middle, and the Greek letters ΦΚ at the bottom. The crossed scimitars are a well-known symbol of the fraternity. The fraternity's coat-of-arms incorporates the Greek letters Mu Theta in one quadrant of the shield to recognize the important role in the fraternity's survival played by the Mu Theta chapter.

National publications include The Scimitar, yearbook which was first published in July 1956, and The Herald, which is the national newsletter. The Key, which includes necessary secret information for the fraternity, is published as needed. The pledge manual is called The Nelson Dream and was first published in 1958.

Activities
The Phi Kappa members plan and coordinate community service projects and social activities. Chapters also participate in the national fraternity's Community Service Project Day, a tradition started in 1971. Phi Kappa's major philanthropy is St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Besides a yearly national convention, the fraternity hosts its annual national gathering called Conclave. The annual Grand Masters' Retreat was first held in 1960 to sharpen leadership skills and social ties between the officers of the various chapters. Founder's Day is a tradition that started in 1980 and is recognized by local chapters on or near Jacob Broughton Nelson's birthday on July 31.

Membership
Most Phi Kappa chapters are chartered in a city or town and are not related to or even officially recognized by the public or private high schools from which their members are drawn. However, some of Phi Kappa's earliest chapters were exceptions to this rule. As with collegiate fraternities, local chapters of Phi Kappa select prospective members and extend bids to pledge to the fraternity. The pledging period usually lasts around one academic semester. During this period, pledges learn about the fraternity and become better acquainted with the active members. The importance of academics is stressed, and pledges are expected to maintain a certain level of academic achievement during the pledge period. The fraternity forbids hazing of pledges; formally forbidding hazing at its 1971 convention. After completion of the pledge period, the new members are initiated into the fraternity and, at that point, become full and equal members of Phi Kappa.

Governance
At the national level, Phi Kappa is led by alumni members who comprise a governing body known as the executive council. Some of the executive council officers are elected by delegates of the fraternity who attend Phi Kappa's annual national convention. The elected members appoint other alumni to other positions on the council.

Local chapters are run by officers elected from the membership. The officers include a Grand Master (president), Worthy Master (vice president), Scribe (secretary), Treasurer, Pledge Master (pledge trainer), and a Sergeant-at-Arms who keeps order at meetings. Weekly chapter meetings are usually rotated between members' homes; although some chapters maintain a permanent meeting space. Regular and punctual attendance at chapter meetings is mandatory.

Each chapter has at least one adult sponsor, usually known as the "chapter parent". Most chapters have a "chapter mom" and a "chapter dad". Chapters also elect at least one female honoree or "little sister" from each grade at a local high school. One senior honoree is chosen as the chapter "Sweetheart." Little Sisters the Sweetheart attend the weekly chapter meetings and help the chapter plan and execute social and charitable functions; however, they are not initiated into the fraternity.

Chapters
The following is a list of all officially chartered chapters of Phi Kappa. Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are in italics.

Alumni chapters
Following is a list of known Phi Kappa alumni chapters. However, some are missing as there were six chapters when Alpha Gamma Triton was chartered.

Notable members

 * John Alexander (Delta Chi), a leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera for over four decades
 * Thomas L. Bailey, Governor of Mississippi who served from 1943 to 1946
 * Gil Carmichael (Delta Chi), former Federal Railroad Administrator and current senior chairman of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at University of Denver
 * Fred Haise, Jr. (Tau), an astronaut who served as the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 13 mission
 * Jacob Broughton Nelson (Alpha), founder of Phi Kappa
 * Steven Palazzo (Theta Gamma), U.S. House of Representatives
 * Jerome V. Reel Jr. (Alpha Omega) senior vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies at Clemson University
 * Fielding L. Wright, Governor of Mississippi served from 1946 to 1952