Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 232 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni.
Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee.
The fraternity was founded on February 26, 1897, by William R Kennedy, James T Kingsbury, George M Patterson, and Rolin R James at Vincennes University. The group was initially known by the Greek letters Tau Phi Delta (), but was renamed Sigma Pi in 1907. The change of name was instigated by Robert George Patterson, then a student at Ohio State University. Patterson had wanted to join the Sigma Pi literary society at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois, but the latter group had rejected his request to expand to OSU. In 1907 Patterson approached Tau Phi Delta members, claiming to represent a historic fraternity called Sigma Pi that dated to the 18th century. Tau Phi Delta accepted Patterson's invitation to merge and adopted the named Sigma Pi.
Later, Patterson's “history” of Sigma Pi was shown to be false, but the organization kept the name.
The organization oversees several charitable programs, including the Altruistic Campus Experience and maintains the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation "to assist needy and deserving students to complete their education; and to aid aged or disabled former students who are in need or worthy of assistance."
History
Founders
Rolin Rosco James (October 16, 1879 – February 4, 1953): Born in Lincolnville, Indiana. Graduated from Vincennes University in 1900; A. B., Earlham College, 1902; Studied at Harvard Law School. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and by profession, a consulting attorney. William Raper Kennedy (November 22, 1877 – December 5, 1944): Born in Vincennes, Indiana. Graduated Vincennes University in 1897. Served in the Spanish–American War and re-enlisted in the infantry a month after being discharged. He was continuously in military service and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the infantry. He was a faculty member at Culver Military Academy from 1905 until retiring in 1944. James Thompson Kingsbury (January 8, 1877 – October 1, 1950): Born in Lawrence County, Illinois. Descended from the Kingsbury family who settled in Massachusetts in 1615. Graduated Vincennes University in 1897; A. B. University of Illinois 1899, LL.B 1902. Practiced law in Bisbee, Arizona. He was a member of the Christian Church and of Masonic Lodges in Tombstone, Arizona and Phoenix. George Martin Patterson (November 7, 1877 – April 7, 1960): Born in Palmyra, Township, Knox County, Indiana. His ancestors settled in Vincennes before Indiana became a state and was a prominent part in the development of that part of the country. Served as the Deputy Recorder of Knox County and then followed in his father's footsteps of farming.