History
The interest in Sigma Chi history has grown significantly in recent years. Every day, The Sigma Chi Historical Initiative receives calls for information on the history of the Fraternity. Until recently, the archives’ primary customer was The Magazine of Sigma Chi, and to some extent, the other members of the staff of Sigma Chi headquarters here in Evanston, Illinois. As news of the establishment of a formal historical program at HQ has become widely known, however, there are more and more requests for information from the membership-at-large and from outside the Fraternity. With that in mind, the Sigma Chi Historical Initiative designed this website to be a clearing house of historical information about Sigma Chi.
Because there are many brothers who work to preserve the Fraternity’s history, below you will find a paragraph or two describing each of their functions.
Under the direction of Noah Phelps, NORTHWESTERN 2008, The Sigma Chi Historical Initiative acts as the nexus point for implementation of the activites of The Historical Commission, The Archives Committee, and the Monuments and Memorials Commission. The Initiative works with printers to put The Historical Commission’s publications into production. The Initiative catalogues, re-houses, and where appropriate, digitizes historical documents, photographs, and audio-visual media.
Additionally, The Initiative staff functions as the curators of the Museum of Sigma Chi in the J. Dwight Peterson Headquarters building in Evanston, Illinois; provides research services to Headquarters staff, membership and the general public; and maintains this website and its set of online tools.
The offices of The Sigma Chi Historical Initiative are located in the J. Dwight Peterson International Headquarters building. For more information on The Sigma Chi Historical Initiative, click below.
The History Commission’s main function is to gather historical documents and artifacts with the express purpose of preserving the legacy of our great brotherhood. Along with that mission, the Commission also seeks to promote the history of the Fraternity to the membership through publications. In 2009, the commission released the first of several planned books marking the rebirth of the Commission’s publishing program. That book, One in Heart and Purpose seeks to be the definitive historical resource concerning the Founders and the Founding of Sigma Chi. The Archives Committee is a part of the History Commission and its primary functions is to assure the preservation of the historical items gathered by the Historical Commission and The Magazine of Sigma Chi in its day-to-day operations. These items are stored in the Sigma Chi museum and archives at Sigma Chi International Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois
Member contributions from brothers and chapter or pledge class fundraising projects help to insure the perpetual care of the Fraternity’s major monuments, memorials and historical sites in a program sponsored by the Sigma Chi Foundation. These monuments and sites are:
The Chapter Archives functions on a local level in the same way as the international level committees listed above. The brother in charge, the Chapter Historian, gathers and makes a permanent record of members and activities in the form of a scrapbook or chapter history. He preserves the library, historical records and properties of the chapter. The Chapter Historian also furnishes the Grand Historian with chapter information and assists in the preparation of historical material for Fraternity publications.
