Phi Epsilon Pi. Gamma Chapter (Northwestern University)

Biography

The Gamma Chapter of Phi Epsilon Pi existed at Northwestern University from 1920 to 1971. Comprised primarily of Jewish students, the fraternity maintained a relatively high membership during most of its existence. After 1946, for example, Phi Epsilon Pi usually included at least seventy members and pledges per year.

Although the chapter was formed in 1920, mention of Phi Epsilon Pi first appears in the 1923-1924 issue of the Student Directory. Then located at 628 University Place, the fraternity moved to 1923 Sherman Avenue in 1927, where it remained for the next eleven years. In 1938, Phi Epsilon Pi moved to 576 Lincoln Street, where the chapter house was located at the west end of a row of newly-constructed fraternity houses. Phi Epsilon Pi, together with all other fraternities on campus, leased its house to the military for three years beginning in 1943.

The first indications of a declining membership did not appear until 1969. During the fraternity's final four years of existence, its membership dropped from seventy-eight to thirty-six.

In November 1970, the national organization of Phi Epsilon Pi merged with Zeta Beta Tau. The latter sued the former when the alumni of the defunct Phi Epsilon Pi chapter attempted to establish a scholarship fund with the fraternity's surplus funds. The Gamma Chapter of Phi Epsilon Pi was formally dissolved in 1974. Efforts to create a Zeta Beta Tau chapter at Northwestern University proved unsuccessful.

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