# Phi Beta

Phi Beta Fraternity (ΦΒ) is an American professional collegiate fraternity for the creative and performing arts. It was founded in 1912 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Phi Beta is gender inclusive and incorporates all art forms into its membership. It is a founding member of the Professional Fraternity Association.

## History

Phi Beta Fraternity began as a local club at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on May 5, 1912. It was established as a women's professional fraternity for music and speech. Its three founders were Gladys Burnside, Josephine Mack, and Elsie Schultz.
The fraternity was incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1914. Phi Beta organized its first residence, renting a house at 1928 Sherman Avenue in Evanston, Illinois.
In 1915, Phi Beta petitioned the women's social fraternity Alpha Delta Pi for a charter. Because most of Phi Beta's members were enrolled in professional two- or three-year coursework, as opposed to traditional four-year programs, that petition was denied. Also in 1915, a group of women at the Chicago Conservatory petitioned to become a chapter of Phi Beta Fraternity; Beta chapter was installed on July 17, 1917.
Helen Rowan served as Phi Beta's first national president. Phi Beta's first convention was held in the spring of 1918 in Chicago, Illinois. The fraternity became a member of the Professional Panhellenic Association when that group formed in 1925.
By 1963, the fraternity had chartered 41 chapters (31 actives) and had 34 alumni chapters, with more than 13,000 members.
In 1974 and 1975, its chapters voted to become co-ed, prompted by Title IX. Today, Phi Beta is gender inclusive. In 1978, Phi Beta became a founding member of the Professional Fraternity Association (PFA), with Phi Beta member Mary Ellin Frohmader serving as the first president of PFA.
Phi Beta is also affiliated with the Fraternity Communication Association (FCA) and the National Interfraternity Music Council (NIMC). It was a member of the American Educational Theatre Association, Music Educators' National Conference, the National Federation of Music Clubs, the American Educational Theatre Association, and the Speech Association of America.

## Symbols

Phi Beta's badge is a monogram of the Greek letters ΦΒ; the outside of the Φ can be set with pearls and its bar can be set with pearls or diamonds. The fraternity's pledge pin is a small gold Φ. The fraternity also has a recognition pin, in the shape of a gold laurel wreath that has a baton through it middle.
Phi Beta's colors are violet and gold. Violet represents sincerity and gold symbolizes success. Its flower is the yellow rose, tied by a violet ribbon. Symbolically, the rose and ribbon reflect the fraternity's colors, but are also intended to represent "joy, friendship, and new beginnings." Its motto is "To be rather to seem to be". Its quarterly publication is The Baton.

## Membership

In the beginning, the fraternity limited its membership to women majoring in music and speech. Over time, the fraternity has grown to embrace all of the creative and performing arts and their related therapies and histories, marking this broader acceptance of art students instead of only fine arts, or only dance.

## Philanthropy

Annually, Phi Beta awards scholarships to its collegiate members and grants to its alumni members.
Phi Beta has completed several national projects including: enlarging by hand sheet music for the visually impaired, service in USO shows, aiding music programs in Mexico, and most notably its continued work with The MacDowell (artists' residency and workshop) in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
In 1931, the fraternity built and endowed a stone cottage at the MacDowell Colony for use by creative artists. Pi Sigma also built a practice studio at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan in 1934.

## Chapters
### Collegiate chapters

In the following list of collegiate chapters, active chapters, and colonies are indicated in bold, and inactive chapters and institutions are in italics. The fraternity refers to its colonies as probationary chapters.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Institution | Location | Status |
| Alpha | May 5, 1912 | Northwestern University | Evanston, Illinois | Inactive |
| Beta | July 17, 1917 – 1954 | Chicago Musical College | Chicago, Illinois | Inactive |
| Gamma | 1919 | American Conservatory of Music | Chicago, Illinois | Inactive |
| Delta | 1918 | University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music | Cincinnati, Ohio | Inactive |
| Epsilon (First) | 1920 | New Orleans Conservatory of Music | New Orleans, Louisiana | Inactive, Reassigned |
| Zeta | 1920 | Cosmopolitan School of Music | Cincinnati, Ohio | Inactive |
| Eta | 1921 | Stetson University | DeLand, Florida | Inactive |
| Theta | 1923 | Rollins College | Winter Park, Florida | Inactive |
| Iota | 1923–c. 1932 | Bush Conservatory of Music | Chicago, Illinois | Inactive |
| Kappa | 1925 | University of Kentucky | Lexington, Kentucky | Inactive |
| Lamba | 1925 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, California | Inactive |
| Mu | 1925 | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | Inactive |
| Nu | 1926 | Knox College | Galesburg, Illinois | Inactive |
| Xi | 1927 | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Madison, Wisconsin | Inactive |
| Omicron | 1928 | William Woods University | Fulton, Missouri | Inactive |
| Pi | 1929 | University of Oregon | Eugene, Oregon | Inactive |
| Rho | 1929 | MacPhail School of Music | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Inactive |
| Sigma | 1929–before 1962 | University of Illinois | Champaign, Illinois | Inactive |
| Tau | 1931 | Central Methodist University | Fayette, Missouri | Inactive |
| Upsilon | 1931–before 1962 | Butler University | Indianapolis, Indiana | Inactive |
| Phi | 1932 | Capital University | Bexley, Ohio | Active |
| Chi | 1932–before 1962 | Arkansas State University | Jonesboro, Arkansas | Inactive |
| Psi | 1932–before 1962 | Carroll University | Waukesha, Wisconsin | Inactive |
| Omega | 1933–c. 1955 | College of Music of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | Inactive |
| Epsilon (Second) | 1939 | Loyola University New Orleans | New Orleans, Louisiana | Inactive |
| Alpha Alpha | 1939–before 1962 | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Inactive |
| Alpha Beta | 1939 | Virginia Intermont College | Bristol, Virginia | Inactive |
| Alpha Gamma | 1947–1961 | University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, California | Inactive |
| Alpha Delta | 1948 | Transylvania University | Lexington, Kentucky | Inactive |
| Alpha Epsilon | 1948 | University of Houston | Houston, Texas | Inactive |
| Alpha Zeta | 1950 | George Pepperdine College | Los Angeles County, California | Inactive |
| Alpha Eta | 1951–1960 | Sacred Heart Dominican College | Houston, Texas | Inactive |
| Alpha Theta | 1953 | University of Portland | Portland, Oregon | Inactive |
| Alpha Iota | 1954 | Centenary University | Hackettstown, New Jersey | Inactive |
| Alpha Kappa | 1955 | California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach, California | Inactive |
| Alpha Lambda | 1955 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, California | Inactive |
| Alpha Mu | 1956 | Stanford University | Stanford, California | Inactive |
| Alpha Nu | 1959 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | Monroe, Louisiana | Inactive |
| Alpha Xi | 1962 | St. Mary's Dominican College | New Orleans, Louisiana | Inactive |
| Alpha Omicron | 1962 | Louisiana Tech University | Ruston, Louisiana | Inactive |
| Alpha Pi | 1962 | Hofstra University | Hempstead and Uniondale, New York | Inactive |
| Alpha Rho | 1962 | Portland State University | Portland, Oregon | Inactive |
| University of Michigan | | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan | Colony |
* ↑ The Bush Conservatory closed in 1932.
* ↑ In 1966, the MacPhail family gave the MacPhail College of Music to the University of Minnesota, which changed the name to the MacPhail Center for the Performing Arts.
* ↑ The college merged with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, which is now part of the University of Cincinnati.
* ↑ Chapter formed at Long Beach State College, now California State University, Long Beach.
* ↑ Chapter formed at Northeast Louisiana State College, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
* ↑ The college closed in 1984.
* ↑ The fraternity uses the term "probationary chapter" instead of colony.

### Alumni chapters

Following is an incomplete list of Pi Beta alumni chapters.
| Chapter | Location | Status |
| Pi Eta | Madison, Wisconsin | Active |
| Pi Epsilon Alpha | Virtual | Active |
| Pi Alpha Sigma | Cleveland, Ohio | Active |
| Pi Alpha Mu | Cincinnati, Ohio | Active |
| Pi Alpha Tau | Houston, Texas | Active |