Oliver Spurgeon English, 1922

Our brothers careers have been productive, constructive, spirited, and prosaic. They displayed impressive skills, talents, and abilities They were, and we continue to be, a beautiful and lively expression of our enduring fraternal beliefs, and that underlying harmony is far-reaching in expectation for all brothers’, undergraduate and graduate. It is the core of what our fraternal founders asserted in 1848 and 1874 and 1899: to live active, commendable, and responsible lives, and to build up community. Clearly and compellingly, they added, and continue to add, positive value at the local, state, national, global, and fraternal level because they engaged life fully and responsibly. In short, they were authoritative pillars throughout life. They were-are exemplary in their citizenship, character, and their sense of dutiful responsibility, and, in many instances, they were leading voices in their career fields. They prove that success of any kind does not occur by luck or accident, and we remember them because they continue to provide that message for our time. Their spirit permeates our brotherhood, and it always will. 

We have long been, from one generation to the next, proud to be Omega Mu Fijis. We continue to cherish our fraternal friendships, our shared memories, and our evolving, forward-focused history at the University of Maine. These things, above and beyond everything else, are the underlying rooted connections that make us proud to be Omega Mu Fijis. Why, after all, should we believe otherwise? We have always exhibited a can-do fraternal spirit since 1874. And, to be sure, all present and future generations of Omega Mu Fijis will continue to do the same, with fraternal enthusiasm and commitment. As a brotherhood, we always see the path behind us and the way forward with equal clarity, and our future remains bright at 79 College Avenue because we fearlessly move forward, always guided by sound fraternal principles. Perge.

Omega Mu Portrait
Oliver Spurgeon English,
​1922

Omega Mu Years

Oliver Spurgeon English, second row, second brother in from the right.

Altos
O. S. English, '22

Horns
O. S. English

Jefferson Medical School

"Oliver--the great English, the banjo-spanker, the lady-killer, the student from the backwoods of
​Maine"

"Although a quiet and modest chap, Spurg has become most popular with his associates, He and "Abe" will doubtless quiet the sick and suffering in the Hospital next year
​with banjo and fiddle"

After graduating from Thomas Jefferson Medical School, Oliver Spurgeon English did additional graduate work in hospitals in New York, Berlin, Vienna, London, and Boston before accepting a teaching position at Harvard Medical School in 1929.

Oliver Spurgeon English was an instructor in the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry from 1929-1932.

​Oliver Spurgeon English came to Temple University Medical School in 1933, and in 1936 he became the head of the
​Psychiatry Department.

Temple University
​Medical School

In 1938, Oliver Spurgeon English established the first clinic for psychosomatic medicine and child psychiatry in the United States. In 1940, he established the first child psychiatry clinic in the United States.

"Oliver Spurgeon English, of Maine, another honor graduate, went on to outstanding prominence in the field of psychiatry as well as another on psychosomatic disorders, in which fields he became  recognized as authoritative. For many years he served as Chairman of Psychiatry at Temple University School of Medicine."

​"Dr. English is one of the world 'greats' in the realm of psychiatry."

Dedication to Dr. English.

 li"...His indefatigable spirit...his considerate counsel....his example of a full life.. physician, teacher, humanitarian,
​Doctor O. Spurgeon English..."

"For your abilities as a teacher, for giving us a finer appreciation of the mental sufferings of our fellowmen, and finally for a better philosophy of life itself, we the Class of 1945 thank you, Dr. O. Spurgeon English. Knowing you has been a real privilege."

"We can well imagine that the high degree of positive socialization that this ​erstwhile boy from the farm exhibits today had its early
beginnings with
his membership
there in the
​Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity."

Author

Oliver Spurgeon English co-authored one of the first books on psychosomatic medicine in 1943. The book brought him considerable fame, and the Associated Press lofted high praise on Dr. English in describing him: "One of the first psychotherapist to write about the connections
between mental health and physical health." ​

Dr. English with his wife and children.

"We race from early morning until late at night doing routine things and don't get to see the people we want to see, read the book we want to read or enjoy the hobby we want."

"Dr. English argued that men needed to be more involved with their children and pay as much attention to the daughters as they do sons."

Honorary Doctorate,
University of Maine

...."Internationally known lecturer who has sought to determine through research some of the precise factors which cause mental illness..."

Oliver Spurgeon English Humanitarian Award

"The Humanitarian Awards are named in honor of
​Dr. English."

"The Humanitarian Awards are granted to leading physicians and scientists who have made major humanitarian contributions
​ to human welfare."

Award Recipients

John Nash, Princeton University.

“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)

Fraternally,
​Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge