Phi Sigma Pi was the brainchild of President Eldo L. Hendricks, Dean Claude A. Phillips and Prefessor C. H. McClure of what is now Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri.  Approximately 26,000 students in academic institutions with Phi Sigma Pi chapters have enjoyed a rich professional experience because of the vision and zeal of these three founders, of whom President Hendricks was the leader.  Early members of the Alpha Chapter will always remember the fellowship, hospitality, and professional inspiration stimulated by the fraternity meetings conducted in the home of Dr. Hendricks.

        Dr. Hendricks served as president of the Warrensburg institution from 1915 until his retirement in 1937.  He began his service as head of the History Department in 1910.  He was one of the foremost members of the American Association of Teachers Colleges and was an active champion of progressive policies for the professional education of teachers.  He served the national organization of Phi Sigma Pi diligently and assumed the newly created position of Central Regional Director from 1931 until 1935.  He was also instrumental in founding the Alpha Chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma, a national social fraternity chartered at Warrensburg in 1920.  Hendricks died on November 22, 1938, at his home after suffering a heart attack following an illness that had lasted since June.  With the passing of Dr. Hendricks, Phi Sigma Pi had its first significant break in the ranks of its founders and the country lost one of its most well-known figures from the field of teacher education.

        Dr. Claude A. Phillips served for many years as the dean of faculty at the Warrensburg institution.  He spent a total of eighteen years at Warrensburg.  In 1924, Dr. Phillips became a professor of education and director of the University Elementary School at the University of Missouri.  His lectures and writings on various phases of elementary education made him well-known throughout the country.  While he was never very active on the national level, Dr. Phillips returned to Alpha Chapter to lecture and inspire well into the 1950s.

        Of the three founders, no man put more of his time into the national development of Phi Sigma Pi than Dr. C. H. McClure, professor of history.  He served Warrensburg for eighteen years, thirteen of which were served as head of the History Department.  In 1928, McClure accepted a teaching position at the State Teachers College, Kirksville, Missouri, where he immediately formed a chapter of Phi Sigma Pi.  His efforts led to the chartering of Beta Chapter in 1929.  He served as both National Counselor and Vice President from 1930 to 1937.  In recognition of all that he had given to the fraternity since its nationalization in 1921, he was awarded the first service key ever issued by Phi Sigma Pi in 1931.