Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Gamma Delta forms half of the Jefferson Duo."North American College Fraternities: The 'Jefferson Duo'", page 68. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004 Since its founding, the fraternity has initiated more than 211,000 brothers.
History
Founding
Phi Gamma Delta was founded on April 22, 1848, at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Six students gathered in a dormitory room (known by the students as "Fort Armstrong") to establish a secret society."The Phi Gamma Delta Story: The Founding of Phi Gamma Delta", page 85. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004 The society they formed was initially called "The Delta Association". The founders, referred to by members as the "Immortal Six", were Daniel Webster Crofts, James Elliott Jr., Naaman Fletcher, Ellis Bailey Gregg, John Templeton McCarty, and Samuel Beatty Wilson."The Phi Gamma Delta Story: The Immortal Six", pages 85-92. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004 Contrary to popular belief, the Immortal Six were not Freemasons when they entered Jefferson College.
The first regular meeting of Phi Gamma Delta and the adoption of the fraternity's constitution took place on May 1, 1848."The Phi Gamma Delta Story: The Founding of Phi Gamma Delta", page 84. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004 Consequently, May 1 was chosen to be Founder's Day at the 43rd Convention held in 1891 and has traditionally been celebrated as the founding date of the Fraternity."Fiji Heritage - Customs and Traditions: Founders Day", page 121. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004
A second chapter, Beta, was established at Washington University later in 1848.Jacobs, Albert P. Greek-Letter Societies. Detroit: Gulley Printing House, March 1879. p. 28-30. via HathiTrust. In 1850, Gamma, was chartered at the University of Nashville. This was followed by Delta at the Union University and Epsilon at the University of North Carolina in 1851. Eleven of the fraternity's first sixteen chapters were in the Southern United States. By 1878, it had initiated 2,472 members.
By 1890, Phi Gamma Delta had 4,244 members, 40 active chapters, and 23 inactive chapters. It had established a club with a rented house in New York City and had graduate associations in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and New York City. In 1905, the fraternity had initiated 9,979 members and chartered 81 chapters, with 57 being active..
By 1930, Phi Gamma Delta had initiated 27,582 members and had seventy active collegiate chapters, 24 inactive collegiate chapters, 73 graduate chapters, and 37 graduate associations. All seventy of the active college chapters had houses. The fraternity had graduate club houses in New York City and Detroit, Michigan. It also had a summer camp in the Rocky Mountains.
Kappa Alpha Theta Members of the Lambda chapter at Indiana Asbury University (now known as DePauw University) played an important role in the founding of Kappa Alpha Theta women's fraternity. Bettie Locke, the sister of George W. Locke (DePauw, 1871), was one of the first women enrolled at DePauw. Bettie Locke had many Phi Gam friends and one of them asked her to wear his badge. She contended that she would do so only if she knew the secrets behind the letters. The fraternity, after debate, declined to initiate her. So, upon the suggestion of her father, John Wesley Locke, a Beta Theta Pi, she formed Kappa Alpha Theta with a few other women enrolled at DePauw at the time. Kappa Alpha Theta was founded on January 27, 1870. Phi Gamma Delta later presented Bettie Locke with an engraved silver cake basket as a token of friendship.
Symbols The fraternity's motto is the Greek phrase , which the fraternity translates as "Friendship, the sweetest influence". Its mission statement lists five core values or pillars: friendship, knowledge, service, morality, and excellence."The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004 In addition, members are encouraged to live by three priorities in this respective order: scholarship, fraternity, and self."Scholarship - a Phi Gam's Top Priority", page 135. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004
Phi Gamma Delta's badge is diamond-shaped, with the Greek letters "" on a black background and a gold border. About the letters is a white enamel five-pointed star; below are the Greek letters which stand for the founding year 1848. The fraternity's pledge pin is a white enamel five-pointed star.
The fraternity's coat of arms is a metallic gold shield with a purple chevron with three silver stars, between three red roses. Above the shield, the crest is a front-facing owl; below is a scroll with the fraternity's motto .
The fraternity's colors are royal purple and white. Its flower is the purple clematis. Its flag features the Greek letters "" on a purple field, with a white star in the top right corner.
Phi Gamma Delta has chosen not to use the term alumni for members who have graduated; post-collegiate members are referred to as Graduate Brothers, to imply that membership extends past the undergraduate experience. The fraternity uses the motto "Not for College Days Alone" to signify this."The Not for College Days Alone", page 177. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004
Publications The fraternity's publication is The Phi Gamma Delta, was first issued in 1879 and has been published quarterly since then. The fraternity issues the Purple Pilgrim manual to all new members of the fraternity; it has been updated numerous times, most recently in 2024. It is available online to read for non-members.
Use of Greek letters and etymology of "FIJI" Phi Gamma Delta limits the written display of its Greek letters. Under the fraternity's international bylaws, its chapters and members may only inscribe their letters in the following seven locations:"Greek Letters", pages 123-124. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004
On a uniform diamond-shaped member badge On memorials to deceased brothers On the fraternity's official flag On the fraternity's official seal On a chapter house marker On a brother's official college ring On a brother's certificate of membership
In place of the actual Greek letters, "Fiji," "Phi Gam," or the English spelling "Phi Gamma Delta" is used in their place on objects such as apparel. The Fiji nickname started at New York University as a suggested name for the fraternity magazine (Fee Gee). It was officially adopted by the national fraternity at the 1894 convention in the belief that the term would be distinctive and appeal to the imagination."Fiji Heritage - Customs and Traditions: Origins of "Fiji", page 119. The Purple Pilgrim: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Guide to Brotherhood. 2004 Before its formal appropriation by the organization at large, nicknames for members of the fraternity varied greatly; ranging from "Phi Gamm" and "Delta" by brothers across the nation, "Fee Gee" in New York, and "Gammas" in the South. Today, "Fiji" and "Phi Gam" are considered by the fraternity to be the only appropriate nicknames for Phi Gamma Delta members on the international scale, though local nicknames related to a chapter's Greek name or other colloquialisms do exist."The Origins of 'Fiji'", page 140. The Purple Pilgrim: A Manual for the Education of the Pledges of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. 1984
Chapters
The fraternity is composed of two types of chapters. Most chapters serve primarily undergraduate students and are established at a single college or university. There are also chapters to serve members of the fraternity who have graduated and are established to serve a city or larger region.
Membership At the 174th Ekklesia in 2022, the fraternity began a process to officially abolish pledging in all of its chapters from July 1, 2024 onward, the seventh such Greek organization to do so. The fraternity cited the negative impact of hazing on fraternity membership as well as the example of other Greek organizations that had previously abolished the pledging process behind the change. Chapters are now required to initiate new members within four days of the acceptance of their bids.
Activities Fiji Islander Built upon the "Fiji" nickname, many chapters hold an annual "Fiji Islander" party. These are typically large, tropical-themed festivities, often using banana and palm trees as decoration, although they can vary widely from chapter to chapter. Some are large parties where alcohol, sand, and tropical foliage are present. Others may be alcohol-free, and some are charity projects, rather than parties.
Honors and awards Each year, the Phi Gamma Delta organization gives out several awards, both to chapters and to individual members.
Pig Dinner The Frank Norris Pig Dinner is an annual graduate dinner held by all Phi Gamma Delta chapters. The dinner is named for author Frank Norris, a member of the chapter at the University of California, Berkeley, where the first Pig Dinner was held in 1893. Pig Dinner is sanctioned by the International Fraternity, and it serves to welcome graduate brothers back to their undergraduate chapters.
Governance The fraternity is governed by its archonate, consisting of officers that are elected at annual conventions called . Its international headquarters is in Lexington, Kentucky.
Notable members
Phi Gamma Delta has had alumni active in a variety of fields such as the arts, business, entertainment, law, politics, and sports. A select group of famous fraternity alumni include:
Scott Bakula (University of Kansas, 1977), actor on Quantum Leap, Murphy Brown, and Star Trek: Enterprise John Cappelletti (Pennsylvania State University, 1974), Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Carson (University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 1949), host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Calvin Coolidge (Amherst College, 1895), 30th President of the United States and 29th Vice President of the United States Matthew Fox (Columbia University, 1989), actor on Party of Five, Lost, and We Are Marshall Phil Knight (University of Oregon, 1959), co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike Robert McNamara (University of California, Berkeley, 1937), 8th United States Secretary of Defense and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Jack Nicklaus (Ohio State University, 1961), professional golfer, World Golf Hall of Fame inductee and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Norman Vincent Peale (Ohio Wesleyan University, 1920), Christian theologian, author of The Power of Positive Thinking and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Mike Pence (Hanover College, 1981), 48th Vice President of the United States and 50th Governor of Indiana Dean Smith (University of Kansas, 1977), two-time NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament champion as coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team, Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Morgan Spurlock (New York University, 1993), independent documentary film director of Super Size Me Jack Swigert (University of Colorado Boulder, 1953), NASA astronaut on Apollo 13, member-elect of the United States House of Representatives and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient