The list of University of Minnesota fraternities and sororities is extensive. Approximately eleven percent of undergraduates, 3,400 students, participate in one of the sixty chapters of social fraternities or sororities at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Participation in affiliated groups such as honor, service, and professional fraternities bring total Greek letter affiliation figures significantly higher. Counting past and present, more than half of the university's 200 Greek letter organizations remain active today, the pioneers of which have had a presence on the University of Minnesota campus for over 150 years. The university's Greek letter organizations includes professional fraternities, honor societies, service fraternities, and religious fraternities along with the highly visible residential undergrad academic and social chapters.
A comprehensive list of chapters, past and present, segmented by category, follows this brief overview of what these societies are and how they evolved. References for each group show current and former property addresses, either owned or leased. Contact information is provided via the references, where available.
Historical sketch
The University of Minnesota fraternity and sorority system, which in vernacular is sometimes called its "Greek system", is over 150 years old, having grown steadily with the rapid growth of the university. Its first men's fraternity, Chi Psi, dates to 1874, and its first women's fraternity, Kappa Kappa Gamma, dates to 1880, long before the term 'sorority' was popularized as a term for the women's 'houses'.
Yet these pioneer chapters did not themselves mark the beginnings of a fraternal presence at the school. Many of Minnesota's early university presidents and department heads were fraternity men or women from 'back East,' having experienced undergraduate life in the flourishing literary societies and old-line fraternities that in turn were born out of America's earliest institutions of higher learning. These include William Watts Folwell, the university's first president, who was a member of Alpha Delta Phi at Hobart College, Cyrus Northrop, who was both an Alpha Sigma Phi AND a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale,Contrary to persistent but understandable misinformation, President Northrop was not an Alpha Delt, but an Alpha Sig. There is a typo in the 1890 Minnesota Gopher yearbook that says Northrop Sr. was an Alpha Delt. See the talk page for a complete explanation. Note also that Northrop's son, Cyrus JUNIOR, was also a member of Deke, this time at the Minnesota chapter. See ΔΚΕ's national history, p.392. Retrieved June 11, 2014 Ada Comstock, Dean of Women, and a member of Delta Gamma at Minnesota, president George Vincent who was also a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale, and president James Morrill who was also an Alpha Sigma Phi, at Ohio State.
Still, because the University of Minnesota has one of the oldest fraternity systems in the nation, many of the university's fraternity and sorority chapters are among the oldest of their respective organizations and often have single-letter or first-series chapter names or designations. Similarly, the age, prestige, size, and breadth of the University of Minnesota have resulted in its hosting many of the nation's honor and professional fraternities for most disciplines. As early as 1925, the Minnesota Gopher yearbook reported the presence of 25 national academic fraternities, eighteen national academic sororities, and 33 national professional chapters on campus. Most of these, undergrad or professional, are (or were) residential.
In 2017, the university had 37 academic fraternities, 23 academic sororities, 61 honors societies, 31 professional societies, and four service- or religious-focused chapters.Per the University of Minnesota, multiple sources, including the Gopherlink directory of student organizations. Note that the distinctions may blur: One academic sorority is Christian-themed, whereas a new Jewish sorority prefers to be listed as religious, versus academic. The fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha is listed among both the NIC fraternities and the NPHC chapters.
Impact on campus, and population
Since its inception, these organizations have delivered an outsized influence and benefit to the campus: The first indicator of this impact is the fact of hundreds of pages devoted to the myriad of Greek Letter organizations profiled in each issue of the Minnesota Gopher yearbook during its century-long publication run.Gopher yearbooks are available online via the University of Minnesota Library, accessed 17 August 2022.The yearbook ended annual full-format publication in 1966. After a long hiatus with a couple of false starts, a revived full-format version is planned for 2015, to be published by Jostens. Retrieved May 28, 2014 These organizations have served as a primary hub of the student experience at the university for their entire existence, for active members, regular guests, and alumni.The Minnesota Gopher yearbook archive is available digitally. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
The high watermark for fraternity and sorority participation by percentage, indicated by a review of senior photos and club membership, was from 1910 through 1920 when approximately 1/4 of undergraduates participated in one or more of the academic or professional societies. The peak number of residential chapters came at approximately 75 in 1930.Carole Zellie (2003). "University of Minnesota Greek Letter Chapter House Designation Study, prepared for the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission". Author's firm: Landscape Research, St. Paul, MN: 3–4 of 180, and cited throughout by appendix chapter entry. While membership continued to expand into the 1930s, the membership percentage decreased as the Minnesota campus grew less residential. Through this period, interest in fraternity and sorority membership was not as strong among commuters, 'night class,' and non-traditional students. The Membership percentage of the overall undergraduate population reached a low point of 3% in the late 1960s. Later, an upturn resulted in a numeric peak that came during the early 1980s: In 1981, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life reported 3,100 net members, while 3,964 participated in 1984. In a spike downturn coinciding with the economic recession of that era, participation hit a marked numeric low point in about 2005, but recovered to 1,795 active members by 2011. Still expanding, by mid-2014, participation included approximately 2,800 net undergraduate members, as reported in June of that year, reflecting about 8% of the undergraduate population and about 12% of 2013–14's incoming freshmen class.The University of Minnesota / Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life annual report . Retrieved May 27, 2014Greek Community Strategic Task Force Report, 16 December 2012 . Retrieved June 9, 2014. Noteworthy membership gains continue: by 2017, participation had increased to 3,400, or fully 11% of the campus undergraduate population, even before adding students to the professional chapters. A new high point was reached in the fall of 2019, with 3,576 participants, or 12% of the student population. Since 2019, due mainly to the COVID pandemic, membership has declined somewhat, with Fall 2022 participation including 2,530 students, or 7% of the undergraduate student population. This number does not include professional or graduate student involvement.2022 MGAC Annual Report, p.2, accessed 10 January 2023.Statistics according to the 2017 OFSL View Book , p.18. Retrieved November 10, 2017. See also Regent minutes from March 2018 docket, p.27, referencing Greek participation . Retrieved November 21, 2018. Fifty-eight campus chapters were residential as of 2017.
Traditions For over a century, the university's fraternities and sororities provided the backbone of campus support for traditions such as Homecoming and Campus Carnival, which events, along with Greek Week, almost immediately sparked a procession of annual competitions between chapters for best decor, musical talent, cheer, theater, and dance. Athletic teams, where fraternity and sorority members were predominant among both varsity and club sports, similarly were knit into the campus life of previous decades, offering the university twin fountains of school spirit.
Homecoming The longest-running collegiate football "trophy game" rivalry in the United States is the University of Minnesota's enduring series of battles against the University of Michigan, whose Little Brown Jug was first captured by Minnesota in 1903. Building from the excitement of that memorable game, Minnesota's Homecoming tradition, an opportunity for alumni to gather at their Alma Mater, began in 1914 with a game against Wisconsin and a Homecoming Dance. By 1919, Greeks had organized a parade to mark the day, with fraternities, sororities, academic departments, and dorms all vying for the best-decorated float. The Minnesota Gopher yearbook of 1922 remarks in a retrospective of the 1919 event that "all University buildings, as well as the fraternities and sororities, were decorated in Minnesota and Michigan colors."Minnesota Gopher yearbook, 1922, p.250. Retrieved May 12, 2020. Due to publishing timing, the 1922 yearbook was produced for that class year, with writing and editing beginning in the 1920 academic year. Thus, the yearbooks often lag in dating of current events. This tradition has persisted and grown for over 100 years.
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