History of the Psi Chapter
On January 1st, 1868, three young men who had transferred from the University of Michigan founded Cornell's first fraternity, Zeta Psi. From the very start, Zeta Psi had as its goal to recruit the finest men from a fine university, and the founders took it upon themselves to do just that. The early days of Zeta Psi at Cornell were characterized by a small, but strong brotherhood, committed to academic as well as athletic excellence. In 1869 it was a group of Cornell Zetes who first published what is now known as the Cornellian. The crowning achievement for these early fraternity pioneers was the construction of the most expensive fraternity house ever built at the time, in 1891, located in the space where a parking lot now exists across from The Chapter House on Stewart Ave.
The Psi chapter Zetes occupied that incredible house until the 1940s, when the brotherhood lost many members due to the draft of World War II. When brothers returned from the war, they moved into the building that is now the Jewish Living Center. The original house burned down in the late 1940s, never to be rebuilt. Zeta Psi occupied that house until the late 1950s when they moved into the house that stands at 660 Stewart Ave.
Zeta Psi received a magnificent opportunity in 1972, when a wealthy alumnus donated enough money to purchase the rights of the house standing at 534 Thurston Ave. for Zeta Psi as long as it exists at Cornell University. Zeta Psi has continued to reside at that location ever since.
Zeta Psi has had a long and distinguished relationship with Cornell University, having many distinguished alumni including the entire Schoellkopf family, donators of the university football field. It has always been important for Zeta Psi to recruit the finest men on Cornell's campus. Throughout our proud history, we have always had a good share of campus leaders, academic achievers, and intercollegiate athletes.
Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America is one of the oldest and most distinguished national fraternities. Founded in 1847 at New York University, Zeta Psi has broken much new ground for the fraternity system, being the first fraternity to expand to the west coast of the U.S., the first fraternity to expand into Canada, and the first fraternity to be represented at every Ivy League institution. Zeta Psi International Fraternity only establishes chapters at the finest academic institutions, with 52 current chapters on its roll. Zeta Psi's list of famous and powerful alumni is staggering, including Former Chairman of Ford Motors, Henry Ford II; Former Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin; the entire Dean Witter family; Chairman of the Democratic Nat'l Committee, Howard Dean; Former CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Bill Harrison Jr.; TV personality, Dean Cain; NFL Hall-of-Famer, Harold "Red" Grange; Admiral James J. Carey of the U.S. Navy Reserve; Chairman of the Molson Companies, Eric Molson; and the recent Psi Chapter alum, Guns N' Roses band member, Dizzy Reed.
If you are considering joining a fraternity, or are simply interested in seeing the embodiment of what the word brotherhood means, stop by 534 Thurston Ave., home of Cornell's first and foremost fraternity.
Sincerely,
Preston J. Postlethwaite
President, Class of '09
