Phi_Sigma_Rho

Phi Sigma Rho

American engineering social sorority

Phi Sigma Rho (ΦΣΡ; also known as Phi Rho or PSR) is a social sorority for individuals who identify as female or non-binary in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.^[2]^[3] The sorority was founded in 1984 at Purdue University.^[4] It has since expanded to more than 40 colleges across the United States.^[4]

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. (February 2023)

Quick Facts Founded, Type ...

Phi Sigma Rho
ΦΣΡ

Founded	September 24, 1984; 39 years ago (1984-09-24) Purdue University
Type	Social
Affiliation	Independent
Emphasis	Engineering
Scope	National
Mission statement	Phi Sigma Rho is a social sorority for women and nonbinary persons in engineering and technical studies, serving our sisters and the community by promoting: high standards of personal integrity, respect, and character; lifelong bonds of sisterhood; and academic and professional excellence with a social balance.^[1]
Motto	Together we build the future
Slogan	Re-engineering Sorority life
Colors	Wine red silver
Symbol	Star and pyramid
Flower	Orchid
Jewel	Pearl
Mascot	Sigmand the penguin
Publication	The Key
Philanthropy	Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Chapters	47
Colonies	4
Members	> 2,500 collegiate > 12,000 lifetime
Nickname	Phi Rho or PSR
Headquarters	P.O. Box 5307 Northville, MI 48167 United States
Website	Official website

History

Phi Sigma Rho was founded on September 24, 1984, at Purdue University by Rashmi Khanna and Abby McDonald.^[5] Khanna and McDonald were unable to participate in traditional sorority rush due to the demands of the sororities and their engineering program, so they decided to start a new sorority that would take their academic program's demands into consideration.^[5]

The Alpha chapter at Purdue University was founded with ten charter members: Gail Bonney, Anita Chatterjea, Ann Cullinan, Pam Kabbes, Rashmi Khanna, Abby McDonald, Christine Mooney, Tina Kershner, Michelle Self, and Kathy Vargo.^[2]

Phi Sigma Rho accepts students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics who identify as female or who identify as non-binary. The sorority made the decision to include non-binary students in all chapters in the summer of 2021.^[2]

Phi Sigma Rho has grown more than 40 chapters nationally.^[5] Its headquarters is located in Northville, Michigan. Its online magazine is The Key.^[6]

Symbols

The colors of Phi Sigma Rho are wine red and silver.^[5] The sorority's flower is the orchid, and its jewel is the pearl.^[5] Its mascot is Sigmand the penguin.^[5] Its motto is "together we build the future."^[5]

Objectives

The objectives of Phi Sigma Rho are:^[7]

To foster and provide the broadening experience of sorority living with its social and moral challenges and responsibilities for the individual and the chapter.
To develop the highest standard of personal integrity and character.
To promote academic excellence and support personal achievement, while providing a social balance.
To aid the individual in the transition from academic to the professional community.
To maintain sorority involvement with the alma mater and the community through responsible participation.
To maintain the bond of sisterhood with alumnae members through communication, consultation, and participation in Sorority functions.^[7]

Philanthropy

Phi Sigma Rho's national philanthropy is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.^[8]

The Phi Sigma Rho Foundation was established as a separate nonprofit organization in 2005.^[8] It supports the educational and philanthropic efforts of the sorority's members and offers merit-based scholarships to sorority members.^[8]^[9]

Chapters

The following tables lists Phi Sigma Rho chapters, prospective chapters, and interest groups.^[10] Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are indicated in italic.

More information Chapter, Symbol ...

Chapter	Symbol	Chartered/Range	Institution	Location	Status	Reference
Alpha	Α	September 24, 1984	Purdue University	West Lafayette, IN	Active	^[4]
Beta	Β	1988	Ohio State University	Columbus, OH	Active	^[4]
Gamma	Γ	1989	University of Dayton	Dayton, OH	Active	^[4]
Delta	Δ	1992	University of Toledo	Toledo, OH	Active	^[4]
Epsilon	Ε	1999	University of Kentucky	Lexington, KY	Active	^[4]
Zeta	Ζ	2000	University of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, PA	Active	^[4]
Eta	Η	2000	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	Active	^[4]
Theta	Θ	2001	University of Connecticut	Storrs, CT	Active	^[4]
Iota	Ι	2001	Ohio Northern University	Ada, OH	Active	^[4]
Kappa	Κ	2002	University of Arkansas	Fayetteville, AR	Active	^[4]
Lambda	Λ	2002	Pennsylvania State University	University Park, PA	Active	^[4]
Mu	Μ	2002	University of Washington	Seattle, WA	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Nu	Ν	2003	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	Active	^[4]
Xi	Ξ	2003	Rutgers University	New Brunswick, NJ/ Piscataway, NJ	Active	^[4]
Omicron	Ο	2003	Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland, OH	Active	^[4]
Pi	Π	2004	University of California, Irvine	Irvine, CA	Active	^[4]
Rho	Ρ	2004	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Rolla, MO	Active	^[4]
Sigma	Σ	2005	Oregon State University	Corvallis, OR	Active	^[4]
Tau	Τ	2005	University of Florida	Gainesville, FL	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 2]}
Upsilon	Υ	2005	University of Houston	Houston, TX	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 2]}
Phi	Φ	2006	Howard University	Washington, DC	Active	^[4]
Chi	X	2007	University of California, San Diego	La Jolla, CA	Active	^[4]
Psi	Ψ	2011	California State Polytechnic University, Pomona	Pomona, CA	Inactive	^[4]
Omega	Ω	2011	Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond, VA	Active	^[4]
Alpha Alpha	ΑΑ	2011	Youngstown State University	Youngstown, OH	Active	^[4]
Alpha Beta	ΑΒ	2011	University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, OH	Active	^[4]
Alpha Gamma	ΑΓ	2012	University of Louisville	Louisville, KY	Active	^[4]
Alpha Delta	ΑΔ	2012	Michigan State University	East Lansing, MI	Active	^[4]
Alpha Epsilon	ΑΕ	2013	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Urbana-Champaign, IL	Active	^[4]
Alpha Zeta	ΑΖ	2013–2022	Wright State University	Dayton, OH	Inactive	^[4]
Alpha Eta	ΑΗ	2014	Vanderbilt University	Nashville, TN	Active	^[4]
Alpha Theta	ΑΘ	2015	University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	Active	^[4]
Alpha Iota	ΑΙ	2016–2022	Penn State Erie, The Behrend College	Erie, PA	Inactive	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 3]}
Alpha Kappa	ΑΚ	2016	University of Arizona	Tucson, AZ	Active	^[4]
Alpha Lambda	ΑΛ	2016	Arizona State University	Tempe, AZ	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 4]}
Alpha Mu	ΑΜ	2017	University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, CO	Active	^[4]
Alpha Nu	ΑΝ	2017	Boise State University	Boise, ID	Active	^[4]
Alpha Xi	ΑΞ	2017	University of California, Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA	Active	^[4]
Alpha Omicron	ΑΟ	2018	University at Buffalo	Buffalo, NY	Active	^[4]
Alpha Pi	ΑΠ	2019	University of Wyoming	Laramie, WY	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 5]}
Alpha Rho	ΑΡ	2019	Old Dominion University	Norfolk, VA	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 5]}
Alpha Sigma	ΑΣ	2019	University of Nevada, Reno	Reno, NV	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 5]}
Alpha Tau	ΑΤ	2020	Northeastern University	Boston, MA	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Alpha Upsilon	ΑΥ	2020	Cleveland State University	Cleveland, OH	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Alpha Phi	ΑΦ	2020	Texas A&M University	College Station, TX	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 7]}
Alpha Chi	ΑΧ	2021	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, MA	Active	^[4]^{[lower-alpha 7]}
Alpha Psi	ΑΨ	2022	Purdue University Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, IN	Active
Alpha Omega	ΑΩ	2023	University of Akron	Akron, Ohio	Active
Beta Alpha	ΒΑ	2023	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	Active
Beta Beta	ΒΒ	2023	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	Active
Beta Gamma	ΒΓ	2024	University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	Active
Beta Delta	ΒΔ	2024	University of Georgia	Athens, Georgia	Active
Prospective Chapter		2023	University at Albany	Albany, New York	Active
Prospective Chapter		2023	Florida International University	Miami, Florida	Active

Notes

Started as a prospective chapter in 2001.
Started as a prospective chapter in 2004.
Started as a prospective chapter in 2014.
Started as a prospective chapter in 2015.
Started as a prospective chapter in 2017.
Started as a prospective chapter in 2018.
Started as a prospective chapter in 2019.

References

[1]
"MISSION". Phi Sigma Rho. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
[2]
"History". Phi Sigma Rho. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
[3]
"Phi Sigma Rho votes to accept non-binary members". Purdue Exponent. West Lafayette, IN, USA. 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
[4]
Lurding, Carrol; Becque, Fran (December 3, 2022). Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
[5]
"History". Phi Sigma Rho. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
[6]
"The Key". Phi Sigma Rho. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
[7]
"Mission". Phi Sigma Rho. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
[8]
"Phi Sigma Rho Foundation". Phi Sigma Rho Foundation. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
[9]
"Scholarships". Phi Sigma Rho Foundation. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
[10]
"Chapter Locator". Phi Sigma Rho. Retrieved 2023-01-27.

^[1]

[1]
"Phi Sigma Rho votes to accept non-binary members". The Purdue Exponent. November 5, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2023.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Phi_Sigma_Rho, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.