"Ubi Amici Ibidem Sunt Opes"
Historical Dates for Sigma Nu Fraternity:
1869 Sigma Nu is founded at the Virginia Military Institute
1902 Sigma Nu chapter at the University of Illinois is founded
1932 Sigma Nu builds its historic chapter house at the University of Illinois located at 1009 W. Pennsylvania Avenue in Urbana.
1994 Sigma Nu celebrates 125 years as a college fraternity
2002 Sigma Nu celebrates 100 years at the University of Illinois
History of Our National Fraternity
Our National Headquarters
Headquartered in Lexington, Virginia, Sigma Nu Fraternity currently has nearly 180 active chapters and colonies on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada, and has initiated over 214,000 members since its founding.
The Sigma Nu National Fraternity was founded in 1869 at Virginia Military Institute by three cadets. Sigma Nu is one of the oldest and largest national fraternities in the nation. Originally founded as the “Legion of Honor,” our founders adopted Honor as a guiding principle. This was a natural move since a rigid code of Honor was already an established tradition of the VMI Corps of Cadets. The Honor system at VMI required each cadet to conform to the duty imposed by his conscience that each act be governed by a high sense of Honor. The vows taken by our three Founders bound them together to oppose hazing at VMI and encouraged the application of the Principle of Honor in all their relationships. More information regarding the history of the our national may be found at www.sigmanu.org/about/history.php.
History of the Sigma Nu Chapter at the University of Illinois
The Sigma Nu Chapter at the University of Illinois, founded in 1902, was the ninth fraternity to be chartered at U of I. In our 106 year history, our chapter has initiated over 1650 members.
703 S. Third Street, Champaign, IL - 1902
Green Street, Champaign, IL - c.1910
303 E. John Street, Champaign IL - c.1930
1009 W Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL - c.1941
In 1932, as a part of a new “Greek Row” being formed by the Lincoln Avenue Sororities (i.e., Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Gamma Delta, and Kappa Delta) and the Pennsylvania Avenue fraternities (i.e., Sigma Nu and Alpha Tau Omega), Sigma Nu built its historic chapter house located at 1009 W. Pennsylvania Avenue. This Georgian style mansion has been the home of our fraternity since this time.
The Sigma Nu Fraternity NOW
The Sigma Nu Fraternity at the University of Illinois is proud to be a selective fraternity with membership averaging near 80 men. Our members span a variety of majors including engineering, journalism, business, classical studies and music. Our house has a friendly environment where each member’s individuality is highly valued. Optimism, a sense of humor, and dedication to our common purposes are all hallmarks of our undergraduate brotherhood.
As for our alumni chapter, it has over 800 living members. Our alumni advisory board is actively involved in assisting us to provide the high quality speakers for our LEAD Program, to improve the features of our historic fraternity house, and to provide career and executive officer (fraternity leadership) mentoring. As undergrads, we greatly value the contributions of our alumni to the welfare of our chapter. Many of our alumni are also present to meet and greet prospective members at one of our Fall recruiting events.