Fraternities, Sororities and Cooperative Life records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: UA 172

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Fraternities, Sororities and Cooperative Life records span more than 130 years of Greek Life at Purdue. They document the history and operations of more than 80 fraternities, sororities, and cooperative houses. The material in the collection ranges from chapter award congratulations to chapter suspensions, from alumni news to university violations. Newspaper clippings accompany most chapter histories in the collection, adding a local voice to incidents at the time. This collection may useful to researchers interested in the history of Greek Life at Purdue, the founding of its first fraternities, sororities, and cooperative houses and the expansion of Greek Life throughout the twentieth century. Types of materials included: clippings, correspondence, scrapbook, brochures, pamphlets, photographs, newsletters.

Dates

1873 - 2010

Access Information

Collection is open for research but access to some materials is restricted. This restricted material comes from Series 1, Sub-series 1, Box 1; Series 2, Subs-series 2, Box 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Series 3, Sub-series 1, Box 14; Series 3, Sub-series 2, Box 18; Series 4, Box 19 and 20; Series 6, Sub-series 1, Box 21 and 22. Material removed from boxes 1-11 have been noted with separation sheets and moved to box 25 (restricted). Materials removed from boxes 12-22 have been noted with separation sheets and moved to box 26 (restricted).

Historical Information

Purdue University houses more than 80 fraternities and sororities and is home to 12 cooperative houses. Fraternities, sororities and cooperatives have been part of Purdue for more than a century and were always regulated under the Office of the Dean of Students as student organization. Sigma Chi, founded in 1875, was the first fraternity founded at Purdue University. Forty years later, in 1915, Purdue had its first sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, though attempts to establish a sorority go back to 1889. In 1937, Purdue offered its first cooperative houses: Chauncey, Ann Tweedale, and Glenwood Houses. The Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life Division was founded in 2013 and is divided into five sub-divisions: The Interfraternity Council regulates activities for more than 41 fraternities; the Panhellenic Association governs 20 women’s fraternities and sororities. The Multicultural Greek Council regulates affairs for 11 multicultural fraternities and sororities and the National Pan-Hellenic Council houses 9 historically Blackn fraternities and sororities at Purdue. The Purdue Cooperative Council governs the 12 cooperative houses.

Extent

22.876 Cubic Feet (19 cubic foot boxes, four letter-size manuscript boxes, one legal-size manuscript box, one half-width letter-size manuscript box, one flat box, and one folder)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series:

General Fraternities, Sororities and Cooperative Life materials. (1951 - 2010; 3.8 cubic feet) The series documents Greek Life at and beyond Purdue through scrapbooks, conference and expansion materials, etc.
Interfraternity Council (1922 - 2007; 6.5 cubic feet). This series documents the history, chapters, policies, and events of the Interfraternity Council and its fraternities.
Panhellenic Association (1873 - 1997; 6 cubic feet). This series documents the history, chapters, policies, and events of the Panhellenic Association and its sororities.
National Pan-Hellenic Council (1943 - 1995; 0.6 cubic feet).This series documents the history, chapters, policies, and events of the eight historically Black fraternities and sororities.
Multicultural Greek Council (1991 - 1994; 0.1 cubic feet).This series documents the history of sororities and fraternities governed by the Multicultural Greek Council.
Cooperative Housing (1938 - 2010; 4 cubic feet). This series documents the history, policies, and events of Purdue Cooperatives (PCC) and individual houses.

Technical Access Information

Digital media in this collection consist of two compact discs and one cassette tape. These must be migrated to a digital format before use. Contact Purdue University Archives and Special Collections if interested in using this material.

Acquisition Information

Records were transferred by the Fraternities, Sororities and Cooperative Life Division of the Dean of Students Office via Brandon Cutler on November 5, 2014, and October 12, 2016.

Related Materials

MSP 159, Purdue University Fraternities and Sororities collection, Purdue Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries.

MSK 5, Fraternities materials, Purdue University, Purdue Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries.

Processing Information

Whenever possible, original order of the materials has been retained. The collection was minimally processed, i.e. folders in good conditions were maintained, newspaper clippings have been housed in polyester sleeves but have not been photocopied. Digital media has been separated from the collection for preservation purposes. The collection only contains series and sub-series descriptions, but an inventory can be requested.