Nu Chapter History

In November 2006, the Nu Chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma celebrated the 80th Anniversary of our founding on Penn's campus. Phi Sig has a rich history at Penn - we were even the only sorority to remain on campus during the Vietnam War. As we move into the future, we aim to continue developing our members as leaders, as professionals, and as sisters.




  National History
Phi Sigma Sigma was founded November 26, 1913 at Hunter College, New York by ten women committed to strength in friendship and the act of giving. The Founders of Phi Sig came from a variety of religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. They wished to stay together as the group they had become while still in high school, but found that because of their varied backgrounds they all could not join one of the existing sororities on campus.

Lillian Gordon Alpern, Ethel Gordon Kraus, Josephine Ellison Breakstone, Shirley Cohen Laufer, Fay Chertkoff, Clair Wunder McArdle, Estelle Melnick Cole, Rose Sher Seidman, Jeanette Lipka Furst and Gwen Zaliels Snyder wanted to begin a sorority, one that would promote open membership to all women of character regardless of background.

Under the leadership of Fay Chertkoff, the first Archon of Alpha Chapter, the Founders obtained permission and Phi Sigma Sigma was born. Phi Sigma Sigma was the first non- sectarian sorority, the only one open to diverse membership from its inception with a ritual not based on scripture. First in the minds of these ten women were the twin ideals, which still endure today to the brotherhood of man and the alleviation of the world's pain. Each Founder extended herself to her fullest capacity to live up to the mottoes the group chose. The Founders attained high scholastic standing in an effort to stress the importance of scholarship and the advancement of womanhood.

Today Phi Sigma Sigma maintains 110 healthy, active collegiate chapters throughout the United States and Canada.



  Symbols and Such

Flower: American Beauty Rose
Open Motto: Diokete Hupsala - Aim High
Colors: King Blue and Gold
Stone: Sapphire
Twin Ideals: The brotherhood of man and the alleviation of the world's pain.
Official Hymn: Liebestraum
Symbol: Sphinx

The Fraternity symbols were chosen because they appealed to the Founders. Shirley Cohen Laufer chose the Sphinx because it is a mythological figure of mystery and secrecy for women. The American Beauty Rose was selected because of its statuesque beauty, and the balance of its sharp thorns and soft petals. Fay Chertkoff, Gwen Zaliels Snyder, and Estelle Melnick Cole literally locked themselves in a room together to write the first ritual. Gwen Zaliels Snyder designed the familiar sapphire-eyed Sphinxhead pin.