Richmond College in the early 20th Century was attended by less than 300 students. Almost half this number belonged to five fraternities previously chartered on the campus. The little Baptist college, founded in 1830, became home to Sigma Phi Epsilon. Sigma Phi Epsilon was founded because 12 young collegians hungered for a campus fellowship based on Judeo/Christian ideals that neither the college community nor the fraternity system at that time could offer. The desire for brotherhood was in the young men's souls. Sigma Phi Epsilon was needed.

Carter Ashton Jenkens, the 18-year-old son of a minister, had been a student at Rutgers University, New Jersey, where he joined Chi Phi Fraternity. When he transferred to Richmond College in the Fall of 1900, he sought companions to take the place of the Chi Phi brothers he had left behind. He found five men who had already been drawn into a bond of friendship and urged them to join him in applying for a charter of Chi Phi at Richmond College. The request for a charter was forwarded to Chi Phi only to meet with refusal. Chi Phi felt that Richmond College was too small for the establishment of a Chi Phi chapter. Wanting to maintain their fellowship, Carter Ashton Jenkens, Benjamin Gaw, William Carter, William Wallace, Thomas Wright, and William Phillips decided to form their own local fraternity.

The six original members found six others also searching for a campus fellowship neither the college campus nor the existing fraternity system could offer. The six new members were Lucian Cox, Richard Owens, Edgar Allen, Robert McFarland, Franklin Kerfoot, and Thomas McCaul. The 12 met in October, 1901, in Gaw and Wallace's room on the third floor of Ryland Hall. They discussed the organization of a fraternity they would call "Sigma Phi."

A committee of Jenkens, Gaw, and Phillips was appointed to discuss plans for recognition with the faculty at the college. These men met with a faculty committee, where they were requested to present their case. The faculty committee requested that the new group explain a) the need for a new fraternity since five fraternities were on the campus and the enrollment at Richmond College was less than 300; b) the right to name the new fraternity Sigma Phi, the name of an already established national fraternity; and c) The wisdom of this attempt to organize a new fraternity, with 12 members, seven of whom were seniors.

They answered, "This fraternity will be different, it will be based on the love of God and the principle of peace through brotherhood. The number of members will be increased from the undergraduate classes. We will change the name to Sigma Phi Epsilon."

Immediately at the close of the meeting with the faculty committee, the fraternity committee rushed to Jenkens' room to borrow Hugh Carter's Greek-English Lexicon. They convinced themselves that Epsilon had a desirable meaning, and then telegraphed jeweler Eaton in Goldsboro, North Carolina, to add an E at the point of each of the 12 badges. Eight other students were invited to join SigEp. The purchase order was then increased to 20 badges at $8 each, with the initials of each man engraved on the back of his badge. These 20 heart-shaped badges were of yellow gold, with alternating rubies and garnets around the edge of the heart, with the Greek characters S f and the skull and crossbones in gold and black enamel in the center and a black E in gold at the point.

Founder Lucian Cox reflected on the "brotherhood that had inspired him and his brothers" when he wrote in the Sigma Phi Epsilon Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1, March, 1904, "As a member of an ideal fraternity, the resources of every member of that body are my resources, the product of their lives is my daily life. The fraternity is a common storehouse for experience, moral rectitude, and spirituality; the larger and purer the contribution of the individual, the greater the resources of each member."

Sigma Phi Epsilon ended its fifth year of operation with 14 chapters in nine states. The next five years brought 17 new chapters and representation in a total of 18 states. In 1938, a major development took place—a merger between Sigma Phi Epsilon and the Theta Uspilon Omega national fraternity. In 1940, there were 69 active chapters. The 1940s saw the Fraternity's expansion increase, with 27 new charters granted by 1949. By 1959, Sigma Phi Epsilon had 148 active chapters. Sigma Phi Epsilon chartered 33 new chapters between 1960 and 1969, and membership reached its highest levels.

In 1968, the College Survey Bureau reported that 59% of the 173 chapters were among the top chapters on their campuses. The growth of the late 1970s continued into the first half of the 1980s and did not show any signs of slowing. Sigma Phi Epsilon held its strongest position ever, with 250 chapters in 45 states. With 16,000 undergraduates on college campuses, 170,000 lifetime members, and more men joining than any other fraternity, SigEp became the strongest and most popular fraternity in history.

The turn of the 20th Century found Sigma Phi Epsilon poised for continued excellence and a renewed emphasis on the Fraternity’s mission, “Building Balanced Leaders for the World’s Communities.” To answer the demand for leaders, SigEp pioneered the Leadership Continuum, the first such development program of its kind in the fraternity world. In 1999, the Carlson Leadership Academies were expanded to reach more undergraduate participants and heighten the undergraduate experience. Also in 1999, a new leadership experience found its debut. Named after Frank J. Ruck, Past Grand President, the Ruck Leadership Institute teaches the few to lead the many.

To facilitate the needs of the newest brothers, 2001 saw the addition of the New Member Camp, now called EDGE, to the Leadership Continuum. This program, which focuses on acclimation to college and substance abuse prevention, has fast become a favorite event for all new SigEps. At the pinnacle of the Leadership Continuum, SigEp expanded its leadership experience out into the world. In May of 2001, the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation began the Balanced Man Quest to Greece. A handful of Balanced Man Scholars are selected to travel to Greece each summer, sharing common readings and learning of the origin of the Balanced Man Ideal. When combined, these four programs—the EDGE, Carlson Leadership Academy, Ruck Leadership Institute, and Balance Man Quest to Greece—create a formidable arena for undergraduates to hone their leadership skills. Truly, with 258 chapters, over 14,000 current undergraduates, and over 250,000 lifetime members, Sigma Phi Epsilon is Building Balanced Leaders for the World’s Communities.

During the 1979-1980 academic year, Scott Zajac organized a student interest group with the intent of establishing a new men's fraternity at Northeast Missouri State University. Zajac's group was one of three organizations on campus interested in colonizing a fraternity. Interest Groups affiliated with Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon were courting the Interfraternity Council as well. That year, the IFC would invite only one National Interfraternity Conference fraternity to establish a colony at NMSU. Zajac's interest group, endorsed by Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp), presented the most persuasive proposal, and the NMSU Sigma Epsilon colony was established. By the middle of the Spring 1981 semester, the colony had met or exceeded all of the requirements for national chartering. On March 28, 1981, a delegation from Sigma Phi Epsilon headquarters – Zollinger House in Richmond, Virginia – installed the Missouri Mu chapter of ΣΦΕ.

Throughout the 1980s, the chapter flourished and grew steadily in manpower and engagement on campus and in the community. Mike Jessen served for two years as the chapter’s president, Cory Juma attained the IFC presidency, and David Galloway served as Assistant IFC Advisor. Former chapter president Michael Taylor was selected to serve the national fraternity as a Regional Director.

Local radio personality Charles Porter was initiated as an honorary member and allowed the chapter to register him each year with Zollinger House as the Chapter Counselor. A series of NMSU faculty members served as advisors, including Dobson Hall Director David Lascu, Business Instructor Ross Fink, and Professor of Biology Gary Sells.  Professor Sells' term as faculty advisor was collateral with the three years his son, Jim, was an active in the chapter.

During the Spring 1991 semester, then-IFC Advisor Dr. Roger Festa was assigned as the new faculty advisor as part of a ruling by the IFC Judicial Board stemming from infractions committed by the fraternity.  Dr. Festa found the SigEps to be a group of outstanding young men that had erred because of a lack of internal advisement and continuity. Dr. Festa resigned as fraternity dean at the end of 1991 and returned full-time to his professorship in chemistry. He stayed at Sigma Phi Epsilon as the faculty advisor and Chapter Counselor, and remains in these roles today. Dr. Festa was initiated as an Honorary Member in the Renaissance of Brotherhood program on September 27, 1997.  He has now joined the ranks of "famous" SigEp alumni, having served as the national president of the American Institute of Chemists (the second SigEp to hold this prestigious leadership position in American chemistry).

The initial eclectic mix of men in the fraternity was from St. Louis and from outstate Missouri (primarily northeast Missouri). By its 10th Chartering Anniversary in March 1991, Sigma Phi Epsilon had more than 100 active members and a strong and distinctive presence on campus. The   Missouri Mu chapter had developed a cultural identity emerging from the diverse, multi-ethnic, urban Catholic culture of St. Louis; a strong sense of brotherhood; and both a self-image and a public image predicated on athletic excellence, fashionable style, and gentlemanly conduct.

The annual Chartering Anniversary Weekend in March is called “Meltdown” and serves as Missouri Mu’s spring alumni reunion event.  Many of our nearly 800 alumni travel to Kirksville to reunite with their brothers, reminisce about old times, and catch up on current happenings. During Meltdown XXV in 2006, national ΣΦΕ leaders from Zollinger House in Richmond joined the men of Missouri Mu in Kirksville to congratulate and honor the chapter on its success and growth since1981. 

Since our founding, Sigma Phi Epsilon has been regarded in the university as one of the strongest student organizations and one of the four premier fraternities on campus [Sigma Phi Epsilon, Phi Kappa Theta, Sigma Tau Gamma, and Alpha Kappa Lambda].  During the years in which Sigma Phi Epsilon has participated in intramural sports, the chapter has never finished out of the top three.  Sigma Phi Epsilon has won the interfraternity intramural All Sports Trophy every year from 1986-1999.  

Missouri Mu has received the Outstanding New Men's Formation Program Award from the IFC every year this award has been given since 1992, and five SigEps have received the Boucher Award for Outstanding Fraternity Man of the Year. The chapter has received three Buchanan Cups – Sigma Phi Epsilon’s highest national honor for a chapter – for overall excellence in all aspects of chapter operations during a two-year period (1995, 1997, 2001).  In addition to Michael Taylor in 1984-1985, three members of Missouri Mu were selected by the national fraternity leadership to serve as Regional Directors during the 1990s (Ryan Brennan, Matt Strohschein, Chris Minnis).

During the 1998-1999 academic year, Sigma Phi Epsilon entered a period of financial difficulty. The 1999 VP Finance, Chris O'Neal, took charge and, under his leadership as the next chapter president, Sigma Phi Epsilon had a local surplus account ready to be invested for the future of the chapter. This money was put to work during the summer of 2008 when the Sigma Phi Epsilon house went through a complete renovation.  This project – designed and directed by President Ryan Farrar and VP Programming Grant Henson – resulted in the remodeling of the entire interior and exterior of the house.  Improvements include new carpeting, tile, drywall, paint, remodeled bathrooms, a new flat-panel TV, and shuffleboard and air hockey for the recreation room.  The outdoor deck was rebuilt and extended in a wrap-around design, including a south deck overlooking the redesigned wiffleball field. 

The brothers spent many hours preparing the house for the renovation, and they were aided by some of the undergraduates’ fathers.  Eddie Farrar (father of Ryan Farrar) and Randy Fox (father of Andrew Fox) worked several weekends preparing the house for the fall semester.  The house was rewired as part of the renovation, a courtesy of John Sanderson (father of Matt Sanderson) who owns Sanderson Electric in St. Louis.  As a result of this hard work, the Sigma Phi Epsilon house is one of the newest looking and attractive fraternity houses on campus.  The prestigious St. Louis architectural firm, Powers Bowersox, has also designed an expanded house for Missouri Mu and fund raising for the new house is under way among the chapter’s alumni leaders.

Sigma Phi Epsilon is an integral part of the diversity at Truman State University and, as Dr. Festa wrote in 1991, “Our great heart upon the hill casts the scarlet glow of the sacred across our secular campus.”

Revised January 18, 2009 by Ryan Farrar