Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records, 1982-2023

Summary

Abstract:

The Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records document the history and day-to-day operations of the Beta Psi Boulé. A professional fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi was founded on May 15, 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its members are distinguished African American men with college and graduate degrees. Beta Psi is the fraternity's 69th Boulé founded on May 5, 1984 in the Capital District of New York.

Extent:

14.47 cubic ft.

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records, 1982-2023, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York.

Background

Scope and content:

The Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records document the history of the Capital District's chapter of the nation's oldest Greek-letter organization comprised of college-educated and professional African American men. The collection contains Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi charter certificates, administrative records including meeting agendas and minutes, notices, correspondences and financial reports, the Northeast Regional and Grand Boulé conference materials, photographs, subject files, executive committee records, and Sigma Pi Phi's official publication The Boulé Journal.

The collection also includes records of Beta Psi community involvement and contributions to the Capital Region, member achievements and recognition, annual events, and articles of memorabilia. The collection covers the years of existence of the Beta Psi Boulé, from 1984 onward. There is a nearly complete run of the publication The Boulé Journal.

Biographical / historical:

Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé is the Capital District's chapter of the nation's oldest Greek-letter organization comprised of college-educated and professional African American men. Founded in Philadelphia on May 15, 1904, the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity is referred to as the Boulé which is Greek for a council of noblemen. Its members are called Archons and their wives are Archousia. As of 2012, Sigma Pi Phi had over 5,000 members in 129 "chapters", known as member Boulés, throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and the Bahamas. A secret society, Sigma Pi Phi has begun to release information about itself to the public, however, it still holds to confidentiality within the organization.

The national office is the Grand Boulé with five regional Boulés to represent the Northeast, Southeast, Central, Western, and Pacific regions with individual Boulés within each. Sigma Pi Phi's elected executive officers are referred to by Greek titles. The local Boulé head is the Sire Archon, and there is a Sire Archon-Elect, and an Immediate Past Sire Archon. The Grammateus is the executive secretary, the Thesauristes is the treasurer, the Rhetoricus arranges meetings and programs, the Agogos heads the constitution and by-laws committee and the Grapter is the official news reporter of the Boulé in charge of news and editorial duties. The Grand Boulé's elected executive officers are Grand Officers with the title Grand before their post and the regional Boulés' elected executive officers have the respective Region added before the position title. For example, Northeast Region Sire Archon would be the head of the Northeast Region.

The Beta Psi Boulé of the Capital Region was established on May 5, 1984. It has been active in and supportive of the Capital District community for more than a quarter century hosting annual community events, supporting charitable initiatives for various causes and sponsoring endowments directly from Beta Psi or from the Sigma Pi Phi Foundation. The University at Albany Spellman Achievement Award is a Beta Psi scholarship endowment created in honor of the late Seth Spellman Jr., one of the founders of the Beta Psi Boulé. The members of Beta Psi are high ranking officials in the Capital District community, including faculty and administrators in area Universities, business owners and other professionals with postgraduate educations and titles.

Acquisition information:

Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé donated all of the materials in this collection to the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives beginning in November 2012. The organization donated additional records annually between 2013-2022.

Processing information:

Processed in 2013 by Pernel Wilfred. Additional processing completed by Sheri Sarnoff in 2017 and by Jodi Boyle in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into the following series:

1. Series 1 - Administration, 1984-2020
2. Series 2 - Subject Files, 1984-2019, Undated
3. Series 3 - Special Events, 1985-2018
4. Series 4 - Publications, 1983-2019

Series 1 and 4 are arranged chronologically. Series 2 and Series 3 are arranged alphabetically.

Physical location:

The materials are located onsite in the department.

Physical facet:

plus digital contents of CDs and floppy disk

Related

Related material:

Additional materials about the Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records may be found in the papers of Bernard Ashe at the the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Separated material:

Archivists transferred the following titles: the two volume monograph The History of Sigma Pi Phi: First of the African-American Greek-Letter Fraternities by Charles Wesley and Hobart Sidney Jarrett; Son of Prince Edward County by Twitty J. Styles; and The Thornton Family by Maurice Thornton to the book division of Special Collections. The catalog records for these monographs already were or will be included in the University Library Catalog.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

African Americans and Civil Rights Organizations
Albany, New York
African Americans--Education (Higher)
African American Greek letter societies
African American fraternal organizations
African American college graduates--New York (State)--Albany (N.Y.)
By-laws (administrative records)
Constitutions
Ritual Objects
Charters
Administrative records
Minutes (administrative records)
Agendas (administrative records)
Newsletters
Financial Records
Membership lists
Press Releases
Correspondence
Programs (documents)
Photographs

Names:

Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé
Sigma Pi Phi

Places:

Albany (N.Y.)

Restrictions:

Access to this record group is unrestricted with the exception of select files located in Series 1, including the official meeting minutes of the organization.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to the University Libraries. Copyright resides with the Beta Psi Boulé. Beta Psi must be notified of all requests to photocopy and scan records. Beta Psi has the right to inquire of the requestors and establish additional restrictions. Official minutes of the organization are restricted and shall be accessed only with express permission of Beta Psi. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection or to access the meeting minutes should be discussed first with the Head of Special Collections and Archives. The department will then contact the Beta Psi Boulé as appropriate.

Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records, 1982-2023, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York.

Location of this collection:

State University of New York at Albany

M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives

Science Library 350

1400 Washington Ave

Albany, NY 12222, United States

Link to repository site

Contact:

518-437-3933