The Formation of Epsilon Rho

In early 1983 a group of Lenoir-Rhyne College friends encouraged and supported each other in every endeavor, and a tight bond formed between them as they worked to achieve the highest personal levels of scholastic and extra-curricular achievement. They were determined to join a group that would promote a strong and lifelong brotherhood between its members. They also wanted the opportunities such as developing leadership qualities and scholastic excellence. Four chapters of national fraternities existed on the campus at that time (Sigma Phi Epsilon, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Chi, and Theta Xi), but none of them possessed the true form of brotherhood that they were in search for.

When the group realized that the existing fraternities could not fulfill these needs they set out to bring a new one to campus…something that had not been done in 17 years.  After reviewing several National Fraternities from all around the country they came across an organization that fit their ideals perfectly.  This organization was Pi Kappa Phi.

Pi Kappa Phi was founded at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina in the year 1904. At that time, the College of Charleston was a small, lively municipal college. The all-male student body saw the creation of its athletic program in 1897, and by 1904, the basketball, football and baseball programs were a source of great pride. In 1904, there were 71 students at the college. Forty of them had grown up within the city limits of Charleston, attending the city high school, and all were from the state of South Carolina. Most had known each other from early childhood.

Three of these students were Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Simon Fogarty Jr., and Lawrence Harry Mixson.  The three friends encouraged and supported each other in every endeavor, and a tight bond formed between them as they worked to achieve the highest personal levels of scholastic and extra-curricular achievement.

 Three small chapters of national fraternities existed on the campus at that time, but none of them possessed the true form of brotherhood that they were in search for.  In the course of several meetings at Mixson's home on Wentworth Street, the three men led a small campus movement to form a group called "Nu Phi," which stood for "non-fraternity."  The loyal Nu Phi's agreed to hold a meeting on December 10, 1904, at Simon's home at 90 Broad Street to found a real fraternity. Seven loyal Nu Phi's were at the meeting: Kroeg, Fogarty, Mixson, A. Pelzer Wagener, Thomas F. Mosimann, Theodore ("Teddy") Barnwell Kelley and James Fogarty. All were friends and students at the College who had grown up together in Charleston.

In 1906, the group rejected a charter offered from another national fraternity. Although that might have been the easiest way to achieve permanence, the men chose instead to expand and create more Pi Kappa Phi chapters. On March 9,1907, the men of "Alpha Chapter" at Charleston granted a charter for "Beta Chapter" at Presbyterian. By this time, Teddy Kelley had moved to the other side of the United States to attend the University of California, and he cultivated a group interested in Pi Kappa Phi. The men of Charleston granted a long-distance charter for "Gamma Chapter." The Gamma Chapter truly established Pi Kappa Phi as a national fraternity, perhaps making it the most significant charter ever granted.

Kroeg, by then studying law at College of Charleston, saw the need for the fraternity to secure "Articles of Incorporation" to protect the fraternity's name and existence. Accordingly, Pi Kappa Phi became legally registered in the state of South Carolina on December 23, 1907.  Over the course of the next few decades, Pi Kappa Phi continued to grow.  By 1983 there were 112 chapters all across America.

On February 18, 1983, Mike O'Donnell, director of the Pi Kappa Phi Foundation, and Ernest Johnson, Executive Vice-President of Pi Kappa Phi Properties, to speak to a group of young men interested in chartering the 113th chapter at Lenoir Rhyne College.  According to the group, the presentation was “clear, concise, and caring,” convincing the young men that Pi Kappa Phi was the right choice for them.  On December 3, 1983 the Alpha and Beta classes were initiated into Pi Kappa Phi thus creating Epsilon Rho.