Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. () is an American historically multicultural sorority founded on April 11, 1997, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Theta Nu Xi was incorporated on April 29, 1999.
History Theta Nu Xi was founded during a time when cultural Greek organizations began to proliferate on campuses across the United States. Theta Nu Xi was the first multicultural sorority founded in the Southeastern United States. The sorority has since grown to more than sixty chapters and kaleidoscopes in over twenty years of existence.
In the Spring of 1996, Melissa Jo Murchison-Blake sought a sisterhood that openly embraced all women and crossed cultural boundaries. As a bi-racial woman, she did not want to choose between historically Caucasian or African-American sororities. Murchison-Blake felt that if she did choose one, she would be denying half of her heritage.
Murchison-Blake recruited six other women who would become the national founders of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. The founders were Geeta Nadia Kapur, Natalie Nicole Barker, Peggy Virginia Long, Melissa Jo Murchison-Blake, Brenda Imade Eribo, Katherine Ellen Stanley, and Janelle Kalia Poe.
In the early days of its existence, the sorority met resistance from its campus of founding. The director of Greek Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill advised the national founders to consider joining an existing organization, expressing his concern that a new Greek organization based on the principle of multiculturalism, would not survive at UNC. Despite such resistance, the national founders' continued efforts set the stage for Theta Nu Xi's presence in the Greek, non-Greek, and surrounding communities.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill officially recognized Theta Nu Xi's Alpha chapter on April 11, 1997. To commemorate the result of their perseverance, the national founders–now known as the Founding Monarchs–acknowledged April 11, 1997, as the official founding date of the organization. With the collaborative efforts of the Founding Monarchs and the initiates of spring of 1998, the organization grew exponentially.
The earliest members of Theta Nu Xi addressed an immediate need to develop an official process of expansion that would support new entities as well as serving the interests of the sorority. Under the visionary guidance of Anna Lamadrid, new chapters were founded in the spring of 1999 at North Carolina State University and one at UNC Greensboro. The three groups of women designated themselves Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, respectively, and thus the national organization was born.
The sorority was incorporated on April 29, 1999. With the participation of the Alpha chapter, the Beta Kaleidoscope, and the Gamma Kaleidoscope, the national organization was established at the first annual National Convention on August 21, 1999. The first out-of-state expansion effort resulted in the founding of the Epsilon chapter at Utah State University in the spring of 2000.
In the first national constitution, the earliest members of Theta Nu Xi laid the foundation for an active post-graduate status. On July 19, 2000, sixteen women petitioned the national board to be granted status as an Alumnae chapter. The national board granted the Alumnae chapter status, allowing them to send representatives to the 2000 National Convention. Other alumnae chapters followed.
The sorority's national office is located in Norfolk, Virginia.
Symbols The motto of Theta Nu Xi is "Sisters of Diversity, Together as ONE". Its tenets or pillars are scholarship, service, sisterhood, leadership, and multiculturalism.
Theta Nu Xi's badge is a replica of its shield. The sorority's colors are black, lavender, and Carolina blue. Its symbol is the tiger swallowtail butterfly. Its flower is the sterling silver rose.
Chapters
Undergraduate chapters In the following list of Theta Nu Xi undergraduate chapters, active chapters are indicated in bold and the inactive chapters are in italics.
ChapterCharter date and rangeInstitutionLocationStatusAlphaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill, North CarolinaInactiveBetaNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleigh, North CarolinaInactiveGammaUniversity of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboro, North CarolinaActiveDeltaDuke UniversityDurham, North CarolinaInactiveEpsilonUtah State UniversityLogan, UtahInactiveZetaGeorgia State UniversityAtlanta, GeorgiaActiveEtaVirginia TechBlacksburg, VirginiaInactiveIotaUniversity of UtahSalt Lake City, UtahInactiveKappaEast Texas A&M UniversityCommerce, TexasInactiveLambdaFlorida State UniversityTallahassee, FloridaInactiveMuUniversity of ArizonaTucson, ArizonaInactiveNuUniversity of PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaInactiveOmicronUniversity of HoustonHouston, TexasInactivePiUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesville, VirginiaInactiveRhoMuhlenberg CollegeAllentown, PennsylvaniaInactiveSigmaSyracuse UniversitySyracuse, New YorkInactiveTauArizona State UniversityTempe, ArizonaInactiveUpsilonIndiana University BloomingtonBloomington, IndianaActivePhiUniversity of Texas at AustinAustin, TexasInactiveChiColumbia UniversityNew York City, New YorkInactivePsiUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerque, New MexicoInactiveAlpha AlphaUniversity of FloridaGainesville, FloridaActiveAlpha BetaWayne State UniversityDetroit, MichiganInactiveAlpha GammaCollege of New JerseyEwing Township, New JerseyInactiveAlpha DeltaEast Carolina UniversityGreenville, North CarolinaInactiveAlpha EpsilonUniversity of MichiganAnn Arbor, MichiganInactiveAlpha ZetaUniversity of Colorado BoulderBoulder, ColoradoInactiveAlpha EtaUniversity of Texas at El PasoEl Paso, TexasInactiveAlpha ThetaRamapo CollegeMahwah, New JerseyInactiveAlpha IotaState University of New York at PlattsburghPlattsburgh, New YorkInactiveAlpha KappaVirginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VirginiaInactiveAlpha LambdaWorcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester, MassachusettsActiveAlpha MuFlorida Gulf Coast UniversityFort Myers, FloridaAlpha NuEmory UniversityAtlanta, GeorgiaInactiveAlpha XiUniversity of DenverDenver, ColoradoActiveAlpha OmicronUniversity of KentuckyLexington, KentuckyInactiveAlpha PiOur Lady of the Lake UniversitySan Antonio, TexasInactiveAlpha RhoUniversity of OklahomaNorman, OklahomaActiveAlpha SigmaUniversity of GeorgiaAthens, GeorgiaInactiveAlpha TauOklahoma State UniversityStillwater, OklahomaActiveAlpha UpsilonFlorida International UniversityMiami, FloridaInactiveAlpha PhiMiami UniversityOxford, OhioActive
Graduate, alumnae, and professional (GAP) chapters These are the non-collegiate or GAP chapters of Theta Nu Xi, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.
ChapterCharter date and rangeLocationStatusXi AlphaNew York City Metro Area and New JerseyActiveXi BetaGreensboro, North CarolinaActiveXi GammaMid-Atlantic (Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia)ActiveXi DeltaNorth-East TexasInactiveXi EpsilonAtlanta Metro Area, GeorgiaActiveXi ZetaSoutheast Florida (based in Miami, Florida)ActiveXi EtaArizona and Southern CaliforniaInactiveXi ThetaRaleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North CarolinaActiveXi IotaMidwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin)ActiveXi KappaSalt Lake City, UtahInactiveXi LambdaNortheast Florida (based in Tallahassee, Florida)InactiveXi MuCentral Florida (based in Orlando, Florida)InactiveXi NuHouston, TexasInactiveXi XiMahwah, New JerseyInactiveXi OmicronRichmond, VirginiaActiveXi PiDetroit, MichiganActiveXi RhoBoulder, ColoradoActiveXi SigmaAustin, TexasInactiveXi TauTampa Bay Area, FloridaInactiveXi UpsilonIndianapolis, IndianaActiveXi PhiCharlotte, North CarolinaActiveXi ChiNortheast Florida (based in Jacksonville, Florida)InactiveXi PsiNorthern California, Oregon, and WashingtonActiveTucsonTucson, ArizonaInactiveLas VegasLas Vegas, NevadaInactiveRio GrandeAlbuquerque, New MexicoActiveXi OmegaOklahomaActiveXi Alpha AlphaNew England (based in Boston, Massachusetts)Active
See also
Cultural interest fraternities and sororities List of social sororities and women's fraternities
References