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History

Fraternity History:

On Friday evening, November 17, 1911, three Howard University undergraduate students, with the assistance of their faculty adviser, gave birth to the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. This event occurred in the office of biology Professor Ernest E. Just, the faculty adviser, in the Science Hall (now known as Thirkield Hall). The three liberal arts students were Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper and Frank Coleman. From the initials of the Greek phrase meaning "friendship is essential to the soul," the name Omega Psi Phi was derived. The phrase was selected as the motto. Manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift were adopted as cardinal principles. A decision was made regarding the design for the pin and emblem, and thus ended the first meeting of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Click here to learn more about Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. 

​Mu Chapter History:

The Mu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was first chartered Friday, October 1, 1920 as a graduate chapter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1923, under the 9th Grand Basileus, the Honorable Brother Jasper Alston Atkins, chapters were renamed in order to distinguish the graduate from the undergraduate. It was in that year that Brother William Charles Jason, Jr., then a law student at Penn, was initiated into the fraternity.

On Wednesday, May 23, 1923 the undergraduate chapter of Mu was chartered at the University of Pennsylvania. Five members were initiated on the charter line and Brother Jason was elected the chapter's first Basileus. Mu Chapter operated exclusively on the University of Pennsylvania campus until 1933. In this year the chapter was branched out to encompass all of Philadelphia. Today, Mu Chapter encompasses the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Villanova University, St. Joseph’s University, & La Salle University

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