Pi Lambda Phi at RPI
Introduction[edit]
Pi Lambda Phi, first founded in 1895 on the principle to eliminate sectarianism and welcome all brother for their differences, was established as an independent fraternity at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1949. The NY Kappa Tau chapter did not received their official charter from Pi Lambda Phi until 1954.
Current Pi Lambda Phi House
History[edit]
The Pi Lambda Phi fraternity was founded in 1895, the founding fathers, Frederick Manfred Werner, Louis Samter Levy, and Henry Mark Fisher attended Yale University and were denied entry to fraternities based on their religious and racial backgrounds. This injustice led these three to establish a new fraternity where "neither sect nor creed shall ever act as a bar to admission," seeking to create an environment where "all men were brothers."
This new fraternity spread quickly with the original chapters reaching Columbia University, the C.C.N.Y., Cornell, and M.I.T. in 1896. As growth continued a fraternity newsletter was developed, The Frater (1915), and in 1916 a new national constitution was established providing a governing body for the fraternity. By the late 1920s, Pi lambda Phi was flourishing with chapters across the United States and internationally, at the 1928 Founder's Day celebration, Henry Fisher (founding father of Pi Lambda Phi) had this to say, "As I look back over 30 years I recall the humble beginnings of our fraternity. I realize that we, who founded Pi Lambda Phi, built better than we knew. The fraternity has grown beyond our fondest dreams. That this has come to pass is due, of course, entirely to those who came after the founders and who have labored so zealously. Need I tell you how deeply I appreciate the spirit that actuated Founders’ Day and may I venture to hope that from each year there may come increased devotion to the aims of our fraternity.”
The Pi Lambda Phi NYKT House[edit]
The current fraternity house of the NY Kappa Tau Chapter is located at 300 Pawling Ave and has been standing for 146 years. The original property was purchased by a jeweler named George Harrison in 1877, on which he built the initial structure of the house. Upon his death, the property was purchased by an Emma Kate Greer in the early 1900s and later remodeled and expanded to its present form. By 1935 the house was sold again to Benjamin and Mollie Katz for $11,820 (~ $258,116 in today's economy) and would remain in the possession of the Katz family until 1969 when Lois Katz, the daughter-in-law to Benjamin and Mollie, sold the house to the NY Kappa Tau Chapter of Pi Lambda Phi for $51,000.
Founding Brothers (RPI)[edit]
Ken Anderson '50 (President)
Amir Fazli '52
Ray Branting '52
Dick Clough '52
Bill Hickey '52
Frank Reynolds '52
George Robinson '55
Chuck Stattel '52
Dick Tear '48
John Vallace '52