Zeta Phi
| Zeta Phi | |
|---|---|
| ΖΦ | |
 |
|
| Founded | 1870 University of Missouri, (Columbia, Missouri), United States |
| Type | Social |
| Scope | International |
| Members | 140 collegiate 1,000 lifetime |
| Nickname | Beta |
| Headquarters |
520 S. College Avenue Columbia, Missouri United States |
| Homepage | zetaphisociety |
The Zeta Phi Society (ΖΦ) was a fraternal organization founded at the University of Missouri (MU or Mizzou) in Columbia, Missouri in 1870. The society became a chapter of Beta Theta Pi in 1890. It is the oldest fraternity in continuous existence at the University and the first fraternity founded west of the Mississippi River.
The driving force behind the creation of Zeta Phi (ΖΦ) was a young university professor named Oren Root II. The son of a university professor and the elder brother of statesman Elihu Root, Professor Root came to the University of Missouri in June 1866 to fill the chair of English Language and Literature. Root had been a member of Sigma Phi, an established eastern fraternity, during his younger days. It is probably no coincidence that Root's fledgling fraternity at Missouri University was given a name similar to that of his college fraternity. In fact, the new society's fraternity pin, adopted in December 1870, closely resembled a Sigma Phi pin, with the Greek letter zeta replacing the sigma superimposed over the letter phi. Some have speculated that Professor Root may have intended that Zeta Phi one day become a chapter of Sigma Phi. For whatever reason, however, the fraternity remained independent for two decades. Minutes from one of the early meetings of the Zeta Phi Society record discussions over whether the group should link up with an eastern fraternity. At the following meeting it was decided that the society would, instead, become the genesis for a western fraternity with the Missouri group as the mother chapter to the organization.
The first meeting of Zeta Phi was held in the Union Literary Hall at the University, (now known as Switzler Hall), and was attended by Root and eight students. Those in attendance included Frank M. Houts of Warrensburg, Jacob Linn Ladd of Mexico, Nelson Washington Allen of Allenton, Evans Perry McDonald of Wellington, George Bingham Rollins of Columbia, Robert Franklin Walker of Versailles, Lycurgus A. Marvin of Sedalia, Scott Hayes of Springfield, and Oren Root, Jr. Root initially was not a formal member of the society but was subsequently inducted and is listed as the twelfth name on the rolls of Zeta Phi. Five weeks after the first meeting on December 15, 1870, the society adopted a fraternity color - white, and the previously described badge as its fraternal regalia.
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