Pi Beta Phi- History

History

National History

Pi Beta Phi Fraternity was founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, on April 28, 1867. It was originally named I.C. Sorosis and was the first national secret society of college women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men. There were twelve founding members--Emma Brownlee Kilgore, Rosa Moore, Libbie Brook Gaddis, Fannie Thomson, Nancy Black Wallace, Clara Brownlee Hutchinson, Margaret Campbell, Inez Smith Soule, Ada Bruen Grier, Jennie Horne Turnbull, Fannie Whitenack Libbey, and Jennie Nicol.

For more information about Pi Beta Phi nationally, go to www.pibetaphi.org.

Local History

Pi Beta Phi at Wake Forest University was originally the Strings Society, denoted by the letters lambda iota. Strings was the first society on the campus, and it was a strong presence at Wake Forest. The society held many of the same beliefs and traditions as Pi Beta Phi. When Wake Forest decreed that societies adopt national sorority charters in 1993, Strings chose Pi Phi as its best match and has been proud of the conversion ever since. The symbol of the society, the Stringman, can be seen to the left.