Sigma Nu records have been divided into the following series: Meeting Minutes and Financial Records, Pledging and Initiation Records, Alumni Records, Visual Materials, and Miscellaneous. These materials describe the history of the Gamma Nu chapter of Sigma Nu at the University of Michigan, and the national fraternity as well.
Sigma Nu fraternity was founded in 1869 at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in response to the strict hazing and obedience policies adhered to at the university. The founders, James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles, and James McIlvane Riley, wanted to create a different kind of brotherhood than already found at VMI. They replaced hazing and fear with fellowship and equality among all members. This ideal has since evolved into one of the largest Greek letter fraternities in the nation, as of 1998. With more than 100 chapters distributed around the United States, the organization continues to grow and initiate new members each year.
The Gamma Nu chapter of Sigma Nu was founded at the University of Michigan on September 29, 1902. The focus of the chapter ranged from internal events, such as social functions, to external participation in student government and other campus-wide activities. Members were primarily concerned with the state of the chapter, but still formed committees to deal with university policies and events. A political committee was formed to understand, comment, and establish policy on both the university and national governments.
The chapter was originally located in a red brick building with a spire at 915 Oakland Street. As the chapter and its needs grew in 1919, money was actively collected to fund a new residence. On August 16, 1919, Frederick Day and Jim Bailey signed the mortgage that installed the chapter at its present location, 700 Oxford Street. This home once belonged to the Dean of the School of Music and was a music conservatory.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the chapter began policies and procedures on linking current members with alumni. As a result of this drive to contact and maintain their historical roots, lists of initiates and alumni were created and updated, composite pictures were preserved, and copies of the national Sigma Nu magazine The Delta, were put on file in the house. In 1941, an effort to gather information on all living alumni resulted in records filed away in the chapter's library.
While the 1960s and 1970s brought a large scale renovation to the chapter house, there was a decline in overall membership. Initiate records and composite photographs reflect this drop-off in membership and a higher percentage of members had to take office. This resulted in more commitments and higher personal responsibility to the chapter.
