Phi Delta Pi

Phi Delta Pi
ΦΔΠ
Founded October 23, 1916
Normal College of the American Gymnastics Union (now Indiana University School of Education) in Indianapolis, IN.
Type Professional
Affiliation PFA (former)
Emphasis Physical Education
Scope National
Colors   Purple and   Gold
Symbol Oak leaf
Flower Purple violet
Jewel Amethyst
Chapters 14 active, 16 inactive at merger
Members 5,000 (1967) lifetime
Merged with Delta Psi Kappa (1970)
Headquarters
US

Phi Delta Pi (ΦΔΠ) was a national professional fraternity for women in the disciplines of health and physical education, health sciences, and recreation.

History

Phi Delta Pi was founded on October 23, 1916 at the Normal College of the North American Gymnastics Union.

Phi Delta Pi was one of the eleven women's professional fraternities to found the Professional Panhellenic Association in 1925.

Many of its early chapters were placed at vocational-oriented Normal Schools for Physical Education which did not survive the Great Depression. Later chapters were placed at colleges with broader course offerings and stronger financial footing. Baird's reports there were fourteen active chapters and sixteen inactive chapters in 1967, but provides only twenty chapter names in the 20th Edition of that resource.

Phi Delta Pi merged with Delta Psi Kappa, a professional fraternity, in March 1970.

Chapters

The chapters of Phi Delta Pi were as follows; this list may be incomplete, and some chapters here listed as inactive may have merged or been absorbed only as alumni clubs (no active chapters). Chapters known to be active at the time of merger in bold, inactive chapters in italics.

Name Chartered Institution Location Status Notes Reference
Alpha October 23, 1916–1942 Normal College of the North American Gymnastics Union Indianapolis, IN Dormant
Beta 1918–March 1970 Temple University Philadelphia, PA Merged Joined the existing Tau chapter of ΔΨΚ
Gamma 1918–1919 Northwestern University Evanston, IL Dormant
Delta 1919–1965 American College of Physical Education (now De Paul) Chicago, IL Dormant
Epsilon 1918–March 1970 Kellogg School of Physical Education Battle Creek, MI Merged Became or joined the Eta chapter of ΔΨΚ
Zeta 1919–1921 Chicago Normal School of Physical Education Chicago, IL Dormant
Eta 1920–19xx ? University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT Dormant ?
Theta 1922–19xx ? Ithaca School of Physical Education Ithaca, NY Merged ?
Iota 1924–1944 Savage School of Physical Education New York, NY Dormant
Kappa 1927–1944 Panzer College of Physical Education East Orange, NJ Dormant
Lambda 1928–1936 Ohio University Athens, OH Dormant
Mu 1929–19xx Utah State University Logan, UT Dormant
Nu 1930–1942 Southeastern Teachers College Durant, OK Dormant
Xi 1931–19xx Brigham Young University Provo, UT Dormant
Omicron 1933–1943 University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Dormant
Pi 1935–1954 Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, PA Dormant
Rho 1949–1965 Wittenberg University Springfield, OH Dormant
Sigma 1951–19xx University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN Dormant
Tau 1952–1970 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL Merged
Upsilon 1959–1970 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Merged


Membership

Four types of membership existed in Phi Delta Pi:

  • Active
  • Alumni
  • Honorary
  • Special Membership

Notable Honorary Members

Notable Honorary Members include:

  • Maud May Babcock, pioneer leader in physical education in Salt Lake City, UT.
  • Lillian Schoedler, former secretary of the Women's Division of the NAAF.
  • Jane Deeter Rippin, past National Director of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
  • Grace E. Jones, Supervisor of Health and Physical Education, Summit, NJ.
  • Helen E. Manley, Director of Health and Physical Education, University City, MO. President of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, University City, MO.
  • Anne Schley Duggan, Director of Health and Physical Education, Texas State College for Women, Denton, TX.