# Phi Alpha (fraternity)

Phi Alpha (ΦΑ) was an American historically Jewish fraternity founded in 1914. It merged with Phi Sigma Delta in 1959. Ten years later, that fraternity merged with Zeta Beta Tau.

## History

Phi Alpha was founded at George Washington University on October 14, 1914.
Five founders were honored:
* David Davis
* Edward Lewis
* Hyman Shapiro
* Reuben Schmidt
* Maurice H. Herzmark
The first pledge ceremony was held in February 1915, and was followed by the establishment of a chapter house. Dr. Edward Cafritz transferred to University of Maryland, Baltimore and helped start Beta chapter, which was installed on February 22, 1916. This was followed by Gamma chapter at Georgetown University on December 26, 1916.
On April 6, 1959 the fraternity merged with Phi Sigma Delta, retiring the name Phi Alpha. That fraternity's records note that there were sixteen active Phi Alpha chapters at the time of the merger. Both fraternities had chapters at three campuses, two of which were "readily resolved," and in the case of the third, this chapter was released to join another fraternity.
Ten years later Phi Sigma Delta itself merged with Zeta Beta Tau.

## Traditions, Milestones and Insignia

In 1921, Phi Alpha became a member of the National Interfraternity Conference. In 1926, the fraternity was incorporated nationally. Its national convention was held annually during the latter part of December.
Its magazine, the Phi Alpha Quarterly began publication in 1917. Its member-only, "esoteric" publication was the Phi Alpha Bulletin.
The Fraternity's badge was a gold plaque, rectangular, and wider than it was tall, superimposed with the raised letters ΦΑ and surrounded with a row of pearls. Its flower was the rose. The pledge button was circular, containing a blue circle within a red circle.

## Chapters

This is the list of chapters of Phi Alpha fraternity, prior to its merger into Phi Sigma Delta in 1959, then Zeta Beta Tau in 1969. Citations taken from Baird's Manual and checked against ZBT's referenced list.
| Name | Chartered | Institution | Location | Status |
| Alpha | October 14, 1914 | George Washington University | Washington, D.C. | Became Phi Alpha chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Beta | February 22, 1916 | University of Maryland at Baltimore | Baltimore, MD | Became Phi Beta chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Gamma | December 26, 1916 | Georgetown University | Washington, D.C. | Became Phi Gamma chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Delta | February 15, 1918 | Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | Became Phi Delta chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Epsilon | April 2, 1919 | University of Maryland, College Park | College Park, MD | Became Phi Epsilon chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Zeta | December 7, 1919 | Yale University | New Haven, CT | Became Phi Zeta chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1925 |
| Eta | December 30, 1919 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | Closed in 1938 |
| Theta | 1920 | New York University | New York, NY | Merged or released by ΦΣΔ |
| Iota | February 20, 1920 | Columbia University | New York, NY | Merged or released by ΦΣΔ |
| Kappa | March 3, 1921 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | Closed in 1939, revived in 1952 Merged or released by ΦΣΔ |
| Lambda | February 19, 1921 | DePaul University | Chicago, IL | Became Phi Lambda chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1927 |
| Mu | April 16, 1922 | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Became Phi Mu chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Nu | March 16, 1924 | Clark University | Worcester, MA | Became Phi Nu chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1969 |
| Xi | | (Unassigned) | | |
| Omicron | 1924 | University of New Hampshire | Durham, NH | Became Phi Omicron chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Pi | December 14, 1924 | Boston University | Boston, MA | Became Phi Pi chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Rho | February 6, 1925 | University of Richmond | Richmond, VA | Became Phi Rho chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Sigma | October 25, 1925 | Brooklyn Polytechnic (now Tandon) | Brooklyn, NY | Became Phi Sigma chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Tau | March 31, 1927 | College of William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA | Became Phi Tau chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1954 |
| Upsilon | April 24, 1927 | University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Merged or released by ΦΣΔ |
| Phi | March 19, 1927 | Duquesne University | Pittsburgh, PA | Became Phi Phi chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Chi | October 15, 1927 | Trinity College (Duke University) | Durham, NC | Became Phi Chi chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1929 |
| Psi | February 20, 1928 | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | Chattanooga, TN | Became Phi Psi chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1930 |
| Omega | May 11, 1928 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | Became Phi Omega chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1943 |
| Alpha Alpha | December 1, 1928 | West Virginia University | Morgantown, WV | Merged or released by ΦΣΔ |
| Alpha Beta | May 4, 1929 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA | Became Phi Alpha Beta chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Alpha Gamma | December 7, 1930 | Wayne State University | Detroit, MI | Became Phi Alpha Gamma chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed 1942-1961 |
| Alpha Delta | 1930 | University of Detroit Mercy | Detroit, MI | Closed in 1942 |
| Alpha Epsilon | 1937 | St. John's College | Annapolis, MD | Became Phi Alpha Epsilon chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1947 |
| Alpha Zeta | 1938 | St. John's University | New York, NY | Became Phi Alpha Zeta chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1941 |
| Alpha Eta | 1940 | CCNY | New York, NY | Became Phi Alpha Eta chapter of ΦΣΔ |
| Alpha Theta | 1941 | Washington College | Chestertown, MD | Became Phi Alpha Theta chapter of ΦΣΔ Closed in 1942 |
| Alpha Iota | 1953 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | Merged or released by ΦΣΔ |
| Alpha Kappa | 1957 | Lehman College (Hunter College) | Bronx, NY | Became Phi Alpha Kappa chapter of ΦΣΔ |