Theta Phi Alpha

Theta Phi Alpha (ΘΦΑ) (commonly known as Theta Phi) is a women's fraternity founded at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. Theta Phi Alpha is one of 26 national sororities recognized in the National Panhellenic Conference. Today, Theta Phi Alpha has 53 active chapters across the United States and four colonies, with alumnae clubs and associations in almost every major city. The organization is involved in the philanthropies Glenmary Home Missioners and The House that Theta Phi Alpha Built which help the homeless and underprivileged, specifically in the Appalachian Mountain region.

Theta Phi Alpha was born out of the demise of a local Catholic sorority, Omega Upsilon. Father Edward D. Kelly contacted Amelia McSweeney to discuss the possibility of a new organization. Amelia and nine other founding sisters, active collegiates and alumnae of Omega Upsilon, banded together to organize Theta Phi Alpha throughout the summer of 1912. Theta Phi Alpha continued to grow, especially after the merger with another Catholic social women's fraternity, Pi Lambda Sigma, in 1952. Although Theta Phi Alpha began as a sorority for Catholic women, the organization opened its doors to all women in 1968.

Phi Alpha Literary Society

Phi Alpha (ΦΑ) is a men's Literary Society founded in 1845 at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. It conducts Business Meetings, Literary Productions, and other activities in Beecher Hall, the oldest college building in the state of Illinois.

Origin

"On Thursday evening, September 25, 1845, seven students from Illinois College gathered in a small room on the third floor of the old dormitory and made a momentous and historic decision. In order to unite a group of men whose ideas and principles were similar enough as to desire a common bond of fellowship, a new society was to be organized. Five days later the Immortal Seven drew up and adopted the constitution that proved to be the birth certificate of Phi Alpha Literary Society."

Founders

The seven founders of Phi Alpha who are called the Immortal Seven are: