History

National History

Zeta Psi (ΖΨ) is a collegiate fraternity.  It was founded on June 1, 1847, at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters encompassing roughly fifty thousand members. It is a founding member of the North American Interfraternity Conference.  One of the world's oldest collegiate fraternities, Zeta Psi has historically been selective about the campuses at which it has established chapters. The chapter at the University of California, Berkeley (June 10, 1870) made Zeta Psi the first fraternity in the U.S. west of the Mississippi. Its chapter at the University of Toronto, (March 27, 1879) was the first in Canada.  The founding of the Eta chapter at Yale University (1889) briefly made it the only fraternity to have chapters at all eight Ivy League schools. The fraternity became intercontinental on May 3, 2008, with the chartering of Iota Omicron at the University of Oxford, and then with the chartering of Theta Omicron at Trinity College Dublin in 2012. Its newest such chapter, Psi Omicron at the University of Paris, joined on May 18, 2019.

Zeta Psi's headquarters is located in Pearl River, New York.

The motto is "ΤΚΦ" in Greek, rendered in English as "Tau Kappa Phi", "TKP", or "TKPhi".

Local History

  • The first steps in that history were taken in 1914 when A. Wendall Brackett founded the Brooks Club, a social club with members from the Episcopalian Church and fraternities. Over the next six years, these founders searched for a permanent home and identity. That search ended with their choice to affiliate with and become a chapter of Zeta Psi. With the help of Dean Padelford, these founding students met with some Seattle Zetes.
  • In 1920, Phi Alpha Ellis Ames Ballard, Executive Secretary Chester A. Lydecker and representatives of the Mu and Iota Chapters visited Seattle to meet the founders and grant them the right to petition the Grand Chapter at the 1920 Convention in New York. The Charter was granted in June 1920, and the new Phi Lambda Chapter was installed in December of 1921. The charter members included Dr. Henry Suzzallo, president of the University of Washington, Richard F. Sholz, and Dr. Robert Max Garrett. 
  • In 1927, under the design of Arthur Loveless, an English Tudor hunting lodge style house was built for the chapter. It was not just a house, but also a home. The chapter got off to a wonderful start, with one national officer commenting that the men were “A good group, wise in its leadership and abundant in its enthusiasm. I foresee for it only a strong future. It has at all times been enthusiastic in its conception of the spirit of the Fraternity and in its willingness to get the broader concept of the Fraternity viewing it as a tremendous international brotherhood of which they are but one small link.”
  • In 1965, the new section of the house was built at the cost of $250,000, with the kitchen remodeling alone costing $40,000. Four prominent elders, Bob Boroughs, Bob Dupar, Jack Reichardt, and Emery Ringstad, tirelessly worked to secure the funding. In 1987, the original section of the house was renovated, costing $350,000.
  • In 1989, another milestone was reached. After 32 years of service, George Hannon retired as house cook. For three decades "the Hannon" served as a common link for hundreds of undergrads, and his irascible wit and unique personality will never be replaced.
  • Momentum for the house continued into the 90s as the men of Phi Lambda we recognized by the International as the top chapter in Zeta Psi four (4) times: '94, '96, '97, and '98.  This trend has continued with Phi Lambda being named top chapter of Zeta Psi 10 times from 2000 – 2023.
  • Phi Lambda has achieved strong academic success, landing among the top 5 fraternities in GPA for the last 20 years.
  • Phi Lambda has consistently looked for opportunities to give back to the community with named philanthropies of Camp Goodtimes Project and B+ Foundation.