About Sigma Chi - Founders
Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon. Sigma Chi has seven founding members: Benjamin Piatt Runkle, Thomas Cowan Bell, William Lewis Lockwood, Isaac M. Jordan, Daniel William Cooper, Franklin Howard Scobey, and James Parks Caldwell.
Sigma Chi's purpose is to promote the concepts of Friendship, Justice, and Learning; its mission statement is to develop values-based leaders committed to the betterment of character, campus and community. Sigma Chi's vision statement is "to become the preeminent collegiate leadership development organization—aligned, focused and living our core values".
On June 13, 2005, Sigma Chi was the first Greek-letter society to be honored by the United States Congress for the fraternity's 150th anniversary.
The Gamma Sigma Chapter of Sigma Chi was founded on March 24, 1934, at Auburn University
(then Alabama Polytechnic Institute). The local fraternity that preceded the Gamma Sigma
Chapter was Phi Kappa Delta. Phi Kappa Delta was founded on October 12, 1919 by nine
members of Auburn's class of 1920 and two members of the class of 1921. Phi Kappa Delta was
the eleventh social fraternity established at Auburn. There were 22 active members of Phi Kappa Delta who were initiated on March 24, 1934, when
Gamma Sigma received its charter. Hugh L. Cottle, class of 1934, from Montgomery, was the
chapter's first Consul. Since its founding on Auburn’s campus more than 2,300 men have been initiated into Sigma Chi.
The Auburn Chapter
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