History

Phi Lambda Sigma was organized in March, 1965 on the campus of Auburn University, by Charles Thomas, then a student, with the approval of the faculty of the School of Pharmacy. Following a two - year probationary period, the Auburn University Student Senate granted a charter to the Society on Oct ober 3, 1967. The Phi Lambda Sigma National Fraternity was legally incorporated in Lee County, Alabama on June 28, 1968. That same year, the name “Phi Lambda Sigma” was registered with the U.S. Bureau of Patents and Copyrights in Washington, D.C. In 1987 the Sigma chapter was established at MCPHS University.

The Phi Lambda Sigma National Office was moved from Auburn University to Atlanta, Georgia in 1992. In 1996, the National Office relocated from Atlanta to the campus of the University Of Tennessee College Of Pharmacy in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1999, the Society relocated to the University of Missouri -Kansas City School of Pharmacy, where it makes its current home.

During the Phi Lambda Sigma 35th anniversary celebration, Charles Thomas was formally recognized as its founder. The Leadership Challenge competition was renamed to honor Pharmacist Thomas’ foresight of the importance to acknowledge and foster leadership development in pharmacy students and pharmacists equal to that of scholastic achievement.