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The Pan Sophic Club was established in the winter term of the 1911-1912 school year at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania. The fraternity was originally called Pansophics Club in 1911. In 1913, the "s" was dropped, and by 1915 the current name, Pan Sophic, was in official use. In 1911 there were only a few organizations on campus, the Webster Debating Society and the Shakespeare Club and two girls' clubs. When paying tuition one had to sign a card which stated that he would not join or start a fraternity with Greek letters. That is why the fraternity is called the Pan Sophic Club, which was thought of while the young men were studying the Greek Sophists in Dr. Ketler philosophy class.
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| Founded in 1911 and recognized as a fraternity by college administration in 1913, Pan Sophic is the oldest organization of any kind at Grove City College. The fraternity is independent, meaning it is unaffiliated with any national society or organization. It is the oldest independent fraternity in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and one of the oldest local fraternities in the United States. the "Pans" have traditionally been involved with campus life in nearly every aspect, but the fraternity has been maintained as a separate entity in and of itself. |
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| Originally, there were no dining halls on the campus. Students ate together at varioius private boarding homes in Grove City. "Pans" dined at the McBurney house where the cost for two weeks' board was $4.50 to $5.25. Each week one man would be in charge of buying all the food and then collecting the money from the rest of the fellows. Most of the ten original members lived at the same house, ate together, and had classes together. The first meetings were secretly held at the McBurney house, but the constitution was drawn at Orman Dean's room on North Main Street. The meetings were simple but there were ceremonies of initiations. |
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During the two World Wars, our brothers did their part and we had a significant percentage of our number join the military to make the world safe for democracy. We also lost men in the Vietnam conflict. While we are not a political organization, Pan Sophic has always taken pride in our great nation.
In 1976, the Pans became "the swimming fraternity" when nearly the entire swim team pledged. Since then, we have remained primarily composed of athletes of the aquatic nature. However today our members can be seen in a plethora of clubs, groups, and teams on campus as we help promote both the name of Grove City College and the influence of "Old Pan Sophic." |
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