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 National History Over 150 years ago, two college students William Henry Letterman, and Charles Page Thomas Moore founded the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity on the basis of serving others. They attended Jefferson College of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, located in the hills of Western Pennsylvania. They were nursing and watching their stricken friends during an epidemic of typhoid fever at the college. Through the long night vigils, an appreciation of the great joy of serving others came into their lives. Calling a number of others to join them, a Brotherhood was founded on February 19, 1852. It flourished, and gradually extended to other colleges and universities throughout the country. Idealists all, these founders of Phi Kappa Psi taught a new fraternity --a fraternity which complements the work of the university by cultivating those humanities without which the educated man fails of his greatest usefulness. Phi Kappa Psi was the first fraternity founded with the idea of expanding to other Universities. The fraternity, 17th oldest in the United States, has survived the Civil War and various other national troubles to be one of the most widespread fraternities in the nation with over 100 chapters and colonies. Chapter History Phi Kappa Psi first considered colonizing LSU in 1952, but it took another ten years before the GAC approved its colony establishment. Paul Erickson of Michigan Alpha and John C. Hershaw of Oklahoma Alpha started the Louisiana Alpha Colony in the fall of 1963. The first few years of the Colony were rocky ones, but finally on May 7, 1966, the Chapter's 25 original members were granted their charter. In the fall of 1968, Brothers moved into their first chapter house purchased from the local ACACIA Fraternity chapter (presently the Energy Studies building). Louisiana Alpha reached its greatest numbers in 1973 with about 80 Brothers, but membership started to decline sharply in 1978. By 1982, our numbers were too small to afford the house, and the fate of the chapter looked grim. However, in 1985, the Chapter was reorganized: the five active members became alumni, and fourteen new initiates joined. Within three years, they were able to acquire a new house on West Parker, and within another year, they were large enough to move to our current residence on campus. The Alpha Xi Delta (AZD) Sorority was having issues with LSU as they were dissolving and did not want to sell their house to the school. Phi Psi bought the house from AZD for $70,000 even though it was later appraised for over $200,000. A kitchen fire in 1995 forced the chapter into the Ramada Hotel for a semester which negatively affected morale and rush. However, the Housing Corporation was given a large check from our insurance company to update the house to current fire standards, so the house was given a major internal facelift. On August 21, 1996, the Fraternity finally officially owned the house, and after renovations were completed the brothers moved back in. As luck would have it, the second floor caught fire a year later while going through more remodeling, but the sprinkler system installed after the last fire saved the rest of the house. With the new millennium came a surge of new interest in Phi Kappa Psi at LSU. In 2004 our chapter was the fourth largest fraternity on campus with over 115 brothers. In 2005 an incident occurred during homecoming week between our pledge class and the pledge class of another fraternity. Our chapter was sentenced to a three year probation beginning on May 19, 2006. This was a very difficult time for our chapter, many brothers began to feel apathetic and as a result, our numbers began to drop. It was at this time that the officers of the fraternity decided to embrace the situation they had inherited, they brought the brothers back to the principles on which Phi Kappa Psi was founded. Due to excellent leadership, apathy has ceased among the brothers as we see the light at the end of the tunnel, May 19, 2009. We are now by far the leading fraternity on campus regarding philanthropy and community service hours. More so than ever before, we have outstanding brotherhood amongst our brothers. Our chapter is now 50 men strong and we are entering into what will be our last year of probation with excitement and enthusiasm.  Our Fraternity house is located on the east side of LSU's campus among the newer Greek houses ("Sorority Row") overlooking the scenic lakes of the campus. 
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