Chi Tau () was an American men's fraternity. It was founded on October 3, 1920, in Durham, North Carolina, at Trinity College, the predecessor to Duke University. The majority of its nine chapters were in North Carolina. It disbanded at the start of the Great Depression, with members and chapters dispersing by 1929. At least two chapters lingered as independent organizations for several years.
History Chi Tau men's fraternity was founded at Trinity College in Durham, North Carolina, now known as Duke University, on October 3, 1920. Its purpose was for "fostering good fellowship and understanding among its members and acting the role of a mutual benefit society for its members in scholastic and extra-curricular activities."The Howler (yearbook). vol. 20. Wake Forest: Wake Forest College, 1939. p. 125. via Internet Archive. Accessed 10 June 2019. Its founders were Henry Belk, Merrimon Teague Hipps, Samuel L. Holton Jr., and Numa Francis Wilkerson. The group existed as a local for almost three years.
On May 2, 1923, Chi Tau met in Durham with Lambda Sigma Delta, a similar society at North Carolina State College. The two groups merged to form a new national fraternity under the name Chi Tau. Chi Tau was incorporated in North Carolina in 1923.
Additional chapters formed in 1923 at the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest College. These were followed by a chapter at the Presbyterian College of South Carolina in 1924. In 1925, chapters formed at the University of California, Columbia University, and Wofford College. It also established a chapter at the University of Illinois in 1927.
Demise Chi Tau reported that internal dissension developed, and by 1929, the fraternity disintegrated without a national successor. But this oblique statement may not have captured the situation fully. In an article published marking the initiation of the former Chi Tau chapter at Wake Forest, the May 1940 Sigma Phi Epsilon journal notes that, In 1924, the Alpha chapter disbanded. In quick succession, the other chapters followed suit until only two chapters were left--one here at Wake Forest and the other at the University of Illinois. Both lodges [~chapters] decided to go their own way as locals and to drop any idea of a revival of the national organization.Writing about the period of disintegration after 1925, the authors appear unaware of the decision by apparently healthy Epsilon chapter at Presbyterian College to similarly seek a move to align with another national fraternity, Beta Kappa, in 1930. Additionally, contradicting the statement from Wake Forest, rather than meeting its demise in 1924 Alpha chapter continued its presence - according to Duke's yearbook, The Chanticleer - through 1928. In the 1929 edition, it was abruptly gone.Of forty participants, either undergrad, graduate, or professorial listed on the 1928 Duke University yearbook's Chi Tau page, by the following year, just three or four of these men were still named anywhere in the yearbook, and none with reference to Chi Tau. The change was rather abrupt as the book listed many pledges. Accessed 13 June 2019.
Once disbanded, the Iota chapter at the University of Illinois continued as a local chapter for three years. In 1933, it opted to merge into Phi Sigma Kappa's Alpha Deuteron chapter on that campus, expanding on friendships that had developed between the members. Another chapter, Delta at Wake Forest, continued into 1939 when it became a chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Symbols Chi Tau motto was the same as the State of North Carolina, .
Chi Tau's badge was a hexagon, taller from top to bottom, with the Greek letters "", a torch, a single triangle, and three stars. The fraternity's colors were white, crimson, and gold. Its flowers were white, red, and yellow rose buds.
For several years, the fraternity published a quarterly journal called the Ex Tee. One reference notes another publication called The Hexagon.
Chapters Following are the chapters of Chi Tau, with inactive chapters indicated in italics. Chapter closure dates reflect activity as a local organization, after the ending the national fraternity in 1929.
ChapterCharter date and rangeInstitutionLocationStatusAlpha – 1933Duke UniversityDurham, North CarolinaInactiveThe Howler (yearbook). vol. 21. Wake Forest: Wake Forest College, 1940. p. 136. via Internet Archive. Accessed 18 August 2022.Beta – 1928North Carolina State College of Agriculture and EngineeringRaleigh, North CarolinaInactiveRaleigh's city directory, 1928 edition, notes the NC State chapter at 103 Chamberlain St., Raleigh, NC, as does the 1929 edition. But the 1930 directory locates the school's chapter of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity at that address, a group dating to 1915. Accessed 12 Jun 2019. Similarly, the Chi Tau building in the 1928 Agromeck yearbook is the same house pictured for Delta Sigma Phi in the 1929 edition of the yearbook, both accessed 15 Jun 2019.Gamma1923–1929University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, North CarolinaInactiveYackety Yack (yearbook) vol. 45. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1931. p. 337. via North Carolina Collections. Accessed 14 Jun 2019.
Shows two Chi Tau members (Uzzell and Smith) continuing as members of local Sigma Epsilon. However, after the 1929 yearbook, Chi Tau and its other members were not listed.Delta1923–1940Wake Forest CollegeWake Forest, North CarolinaWithdrew ()Epsilon1924–1928Presbyterian College of South CarolinaClinton, South CarolinaWithdrew ()The 1928 PAC-Sac, Presbyterian College's yearbook, lists the Epsilon chapter of the fraternity, its installation date, and magazine name.Pac Sac (yearbook). Clinton, South Carolina: Presbyterian College, 1930. pp. 190-191. via Internet Archive. Accessed 11 Jun 2019. Virtually all Chi Tau members from 1929 are now listed as Beta Kappa members.Zeta1925–1939University of CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaInactiveEta1925–1929Columbia UniversityNew York City, New YorkInactiveTheta – 1929Wofford CollegeSpartanburg, South CarolinaInactiveBohemian (yearbook). vol. 20. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Wofford College, 1927. p. 233. via Internet Archive. Accessed 11 Jun 2019.Iota1927–1935University of IllinoisUrbana, IllinoisWithdrew ()The Illio (yearbook). Champaign: University of Illinois, 1929. p. 486. via University of Illinois Library. Accessed 5 Jun 2019.
1929 marks the frst Illinois yearbook appearance, noting nine active chapters. The 1931 Illio notes one active chapter of Chi Tau, just Illinois, as do the and editions. Chi Tau was not listed in the book. A separate local fraternity, Chi Tau, was established at Chico State University in 1939. This was ten years after the demise of the original Chi Tau national. Any name similarity to the North Carolina-established group is a mere coincidence.
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