A fraternity is more than a house, humble and old, or new and magnificent, decorated for homecoming. It is more than a group of fellows wearing the same kind of badges on their shirts or rings on their fingers. It is more than Greek letters on a windshield. It is more than a ritual with music and robes. It is more than a big dance or an inter-fraternity game. The Greek letter fraternity, in its highest expression, is a group of men of common purposes, living, playing and studying together, with an underlying feeling of deep friendship. It is a group of select men, each of whom contributes to the group and benefits from this association with chosen brothers of the same character. It is a group of men united in a high ideal beautifully expressed in a ritual. It is an association that makes a man of the boy who entered college, and sends him out into the world poised and self confident, and, even more important, surrounded by a group of friends, a brotherhood, who will be close to him through life.

Chi Phi was founded on the basis of Truth, Honesty, and Personal Integrity. These are timeless values, which guide the fundamental purposes of the fraternity. The mission of Chi Phi is to build better men through lifelong friendships, leadership opportunities, and character development. Men that join Chi Phi Chapters have an awesome array of possibilities ahead of them. Those men not only have the incomparable experience of lifelong brotherhood, but they hold membership in one of the most distinguished and venerable organizations in the country.

Since 1824, Chi Phi members have been invited to contribute to the greater effort of Brotherhood and receive even more opportunities in return. Those men become better leaders through experience, better athletes through competition, better citizens through service, and better students through the assistance of their peers. Some more specific benefits of membership in The Chi Phi Fraternity include access to an outstanding network of over 40,000 living alumni, excellent social programming to improve your college experience, and educational and leadership training programs such as The Chi Phi College of Excellence and Regional Leadership Alliances. Through its annual Congress, Chi Phi allows Brothers to actively play a part in the direction of the national organization. One of the only fraternal groups to give supreme authority to its collective undergraduate chapters, Chi Phi also instills true responsibility and authority in every member. The Chi Phi Educational Trust, founded in 1930, provides over $65,000 in individual scholarships and over $100,000 in grants subsidizing educational programs for the Fraternity each year. Recognized as a charitable educational foundation, the Chi Phi Educational Trust receives contributions each year from Chi Phi undergraduate and alumni members, parents, friends, and even other organizations to further the educational programs, scholarships and leadership opportunities of our members.

The Rho Chapter of Chi Phi was founded at Lafayette in 1874. We have a rich and honorable history on campus and look forward to its continuation.

Brotherhood is a special bond that we have built though our experiences that last much longer than your time at college. Brotherhood is a lifelong dedication to the principles and teachings or making us better men. These eternal friendships are the backbone of the Chi Phi Fraternity.

The true gentleman is a man whose conduct proceeds from goodwill and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled when necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, fringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but with sincerity and sympathy always; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue is safe.

We will have a dynamic three day New Member Education program that is held over one full weekend. The weekend is set up as a retreat that consists of rituals, historical lessons, guest speakers (Chi Phi alumni from Lafayette and elsewhere, from the Lafayette administration or facultiy/staff, or from the Chi Phi National Office), basic workings, structure, and operations of the chapter, and learning modules aimed to prepare new members to perform "best practices" to further strengthen the chapter. The three-day NME program also aids in further developing leadership skills through team building exercises. We will ensure that New Members believe in, and are committed to living the values of the Chi Phi Fraternity. You will be provided with material on local and national history of the fraternity along with other material needed to review prior to the NME weekend.

NO. WE DO NOT AND WILL NEVER HAZE! We are proud that we treat men with respect and dignity. This is a value that we simply will not compromise.

We are looking for demonstrated leaders that are involved on campus and in the community, with a goal of academic excellence, and willingness to be part of something that serves for the better good of our society.

Academics come first! This is the reason that you are at college. Chi Phi has a scholastic chairman that sets up group help, goal setting, and reward programs all to help maximize your academic performance at college.

Let's define "rush" to help answer this: Making friends, networking, and telling other men about something that you believe in. Letting your friends know that you think they would not only be a great asset to the organization, but they would be able to better themselves by joining. So the answer is: of course.

You may be a member of professional fraternities, but not other social fraternities. We do encourage, however, you to take part in other organizations on campus and in the community.

Yes, we encourage it, but also expect you to follow your coach's team policy.

Chi Phi is something that you join for life. Once you are initiated you will always be a Chi Phi. You will see that this fraternity goes far beyond your academic years at school. We invite all classes of men to join and better themselves.

No different from most clubs, organizations or associations, being a Chi Phi costs money. Costs potentially include housing, meal plan / eating club, national dues, and local dues. Housing costs will be identical to Lafayette's rooming fees. National dues are as follows:

National New Membership Dues - First Semester
• $90 one-time pledging fee
• $240 one-time initiation fee

National Membership Dues - Subsequent Semesters
• $50 per semester National membership dues
• $65 liability insurance (Billed $130 in the Fall semester)*
  *One of the least expensive of all men's fraternities in the nation

Local chapter dues along with the meal plan cost will be posted in the near future. We will be offering several scholarships based on academic performance and at least one paid officer position to help offset these costs.

Initially, there will not be an eating club (or meal plan) available at Chi Phi. We do expect to reopen the full kitchen in the Chi Phi House and have it staffed with a professional cook in the near future. Traditionally, three high quality meals a day have been served at Chi Phi, Monday through Friday.

Historically, rooms in Vallamont, the Chi Phi house are highly sought after. It is a wonderful place to live. During the initial re-population period, we expect that all members will be required to live in the house to insure that it remains full. Once the house is full, a system which considers GPA and officer position will be used to determine who has the privilege of living in the house.

As a member of Chi Phi, you would be expected to attend weekly Chapter meetings, potentially hold a leadership position such as a house officer, committee chairman or committee member, participate in at least one campus activity, and maintain at least the minumum GPA.

The Lafayette College chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity is actively looking to identify interested and prospective new members.

Show Your Interest:

First: Let us know about you by filling out this simple form

Then:

We're here to answer your questions and are excited to introduce you to Chi Phi.