Theta Kappa Nu

Theta Kappa Nu (ΘΚΝ) Fraternity was founded in 1924 by delegates from 11 local fraternities. It later merged with Lambda Chi Alpha in 1939.

Theta Kappa Nu
ΘΚΝ
FoundedJune 9, 1924 (June 9, 1924)
TypeSocial
AffiliationNIC (former)
ScopeNational
MottoVir Quisque Vir Est
(Every man is a man)
Colors  Argent,   Sable and   Crimson
SymbolSyriac numeral eleven
FlowerWhite Tudor Rose
PublicationThe Theta News
Chapters55
Members<1,000 collegiate
~7,000 lifetime
UnionMerged with Lambda Chi Alpha (1939)
Headquarters(previously) 422 Engineers' Building
Cleveland, OH
U.S.
WebsiteSee Official website

History

Theta Kappa Nu Fraternity was founded on June 9, 1924 when delegates from 11 local fraternities from nine different states united to form the new fraternity. The organizing meeting took place in Springfield, Missouri. Theta Kappa Nu had, over its first decade, become the fastest-growing fraternity until that time, chartering 40 chapters with almost 2,500 initiates by the close of 1926.[1][2]

Most of Theta Kappa Nu’s chapters were established at small, private colleges as local fraternities.[1] The fraternity placed great emphasis on academics, offering graduate scholarships throughout its history, even during dire financial crises.

A change of direction

The Great Depression hit small colleges, and Theta Kappa Nu very hard. Expansion nearly ceased and chapters began closing in the early 1930s. By the end of the decade, fraternity leaders realized that a merger with another fraternity was necessary to continue solvency.

Merger with Lambda Chi Alpha
Further information: Lambda Chi Alpha

Throughout its lifetime, leaders of Theta Kappa Nu had established numerous friendships with peers within Lambda Chi Alpha, whose expansion program had preferred chapters at larger institutions. Initial informal talks quickly led to a formal merger committee. In 1939, Lambda Chi Alpha merged with the Theta Kappa Nu in what was regarded as the largest fraternity merger to date. The ceremony was held in Birmingham, Alabama, at Howard College (now Samford) at the home of the oldest chapter among the original founding chapters of Theta Kappa Nu, Alabama Alpha chapter, where the documents were signed.

The union of Lambda Chi Alpha and Theta Kappa Nu resulted in 105 active chapters for the combined fraternity and over 27,000 initiates. Theta Kappa Nu’s heritage entered that of the united fraternity with additions to the coat of arms, the white tudor rose as the fraternity flower, a new pledge pin (now the associate member pin) design, a new pledge ceremony (Now the associate member) which is a condensed version of Theta Kappa Nu’s ritual, and the Latin open motto Vir Quisque Vir, or "Every man a man". It also brought an infusion of leadership to Lambda Chi Alpha that helped steer the united fraternity through the end of the Depression Era and World War II.

Chapters

The following chapter list is taken from Vir Quisque Vir (1936/37), the pledge manual of Theta Kappa Nu. It is augmented with the chapter designation assigned by Lambda Chi Alpha at the time of the union in 1939. Where chapters of both fraternities had been chartered at a single institution, the Lambda Chi Alpha chapter designation was retained by the merged chapter and the potential Theta- or Kappa- series designation (indicating origin as a Theta Kappa Nu chapter) was reserved (unused) to honor the origin of the former chapter. Added to the 1937 list is the Mississippi State chapter, chartered at the last grand chapter one day before the merger with Lambda Chi Alpha took effect.[3]

Chapters that were active at the time of the merger indicated in bold, inactive chapters, or those few that did not participate in the merger, are indicated by italics.[1]

Number Name Institution City Chartered Became inactive L.C.A designation Merged with Ref
Alabama Alpha Howard College (Samford) Birmingham Founder Theta-Alpha [4]
Florida Alpha Rollins College Winter Park Founder Theta-Gamma [5]
Florida Beta University of Florida Gainesville Founder 1939** Theta-Epsilon Epsilon-Mu [6]
Indiana Alpha Hanover College Hanover Founder Theta-Zeta [7]
Iowa Alpha Iowa Wesleyan College Mount Pleasant Founder Theta-Iota [8]
Iowa Beta Simpson College Indianola Founder Theta-Lambda [9]
Kansas Alpha Baker University Baldwin City Founder 1932 Theta-Beta [10]
Missouri Alpha Drury College Springfield Founder Theta-Sigma [11]
North Carolina Alpha North Carolina State College Raleigh Founder Theta-Phi Gamma-Upsilon [12]
Oklahoma Alpha Oklahoma City College Oklahoma City Founder Theta-Delta [13]
Pennsylvania Alpha Gettysburg College Gettysburg Founder Theta-Pi [14]
12 Missouri Beta Westminster College Fulton October 6, 1924 1931 Theta-Omicron [15]
13 Alabama Beta Birmingham-Southern College Birmingham December 16, 1924 Theta-Mu
14 North Carolina Beta Wake Forest College Wake Forest December 16, 1924 Theta-Tau
15 Mississippi Alpha Millsaps College Jackson December 20, 1924 Theta-Eta
16 Massachusetts Alpha Clark University Worcester January 23, 1925 Theta-Theta
17 New York Alpha Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn Brooklyn January 24, 1925 Theta-Upsilon
18 Pennsylvania Beta Thiel College Greenville March 7, 1925 Theta-Xi [16]
19 Illinois Alpha Eureka College Eureka March 12, 1925 Theta-Chi
20 Indiana Beta DePauw University Greencastle March 12, 1925 1935 Theta-Omega Xi
21 Indiana Gamma Rose Polytechnic Institute Terre Haute March 28, 1925 Theta-Kappa [17]
22 Louisiana Alpha Louisiana State University Baton Rouge March 30, 1925 Theta-Nu Upsilon
23 Louisiana Beta Centenary College Shreveport March 31, 1925 Theta-Rho
24 Louisiana Gamma Louisiana Polytechnic Institute Ruston April 1, 1925 Theta-Psi [18]
25 Ohio Alpha Marietta College Marietta March 26, 1925 Kappa-Alpha
26 Indiana Delta Franklin College Franklin April 25, 1925 1932 Kappa-Gamma
27 North Carolina Gamma University of North Carolina Chapel Hill May 7, 1925 1938** Kappa-Epsilon Gamma-Nu [19]
28 Pennsylvania Gamma Washington & Jefferson College Washington 1925 1931 Kappa-Zeta Gamma-Zeta
29 Minnesota Alpha University of Minnesota Minneapolis June 13, 1925 1933 Kappa-Iota Gamma-Omega
30 Michigan Alpha University of Michigan Ann Arbor September 25, 1925 1933 Kappa-Lambda Sigma [20]
31 Georgia Alpha Oglethorpe University Atlanta October 5, 1925 1934 Kappa-Beta
32 New York Beta Alfred University Alfred November 7, 1925 Kappa-Sigma
33 Ohio Beta Baldwin-Wallace College Berea February 19, 1926 Kappa-Phi
34 Illinois Beta University of Illinois Champaign March 13, 1926 1933** Kappa-Delta Chi [21]
35 Alabama Gamma Auburn University Auburn April 24, 1926 1939** Kappa-Pi Omega [22]
36 South Carolina Alpha Wofford College Spartanburg 1926 Kappa-Omicron
37 Missouri Gamma Culver-Stockton College Canton May 22, 1926 Kappa-Mu [23]
38 Virginia Alpha Randolph-Macon College Ashland 1926 Kappa-Tau
39 Virginia Beta Hampden–Sydney College Hampden Sydney 1926 Kappa-Eta
40 Arkansas Alpha University of Arkansas Fayetteville June 11, 1926 1939** Kappa-Theta Gamma-Chi [24]
41 Illinois Gamma Bradley Polytechnic Institute Peoria, Illinois May 28, 1927 Kappa-Upsilon
42 Pennsylvania Delta University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh 1927 1931 Kappa-Xi Gamma-Epsilon
43 California Alpha University of California Berkeley March 31, 1928 Kappa-Chi Mu
44 Kentucky Alpha Georgetown College Georgetown May 19, 1928 Kappa-Omega
45 Maine Alpha Colby College Waterville 1929 1938** Kappa-Kappa Alpha-Rho [25]
46 Oregon Alpha Oregon State University Corvallis May 17, 1930 Kappa-Nu Alpha-Lambda
47 Michigan Beta Michigan State East Lansing May 24, 1930 1938 Kappa-Rho Gamma-Omicron
48 Idaho Alpha College of Idaho Caldwell 1930 1937** Kappa-Psi [26]
49 Wisconsin Alpha University of Wisconsin Madison 1931 1934 Nu-Alpha Alpha-Beta
50 New York Gamma Cornell University Ithaca 1931 Nu-Gamma Omicron
51 Pennsylvania Epsilon Muhlenberg College Allentown 1931 1938** Nu-Epsilon
52 Ohio Gamma Wittenberg University Springfield 1932 Nu-Zeta
53 Texas Alpha Southern Methodist University Dallas 1932 Nu-Iota Gamma-Sigma
54 Maryland Alpha Washington College Chestertown 1935 Nu-Lambda Epsilon-Theta [27][28]
55 Mississippi Beta Mississippi State College Starkville 1939 Nu-Beta Epsilon-Chi

[**] - some inactive dates taken from a July 1939 short special edition of The Theta News.[29]

References
  1. William Raimond Baird; Carroll Lurding (eds.). "Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive)". Student Life and Culture Archives. University of Illinois: University of Illinois Archives. Retrieved 14 December 2021. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.
  2. Peyser, Charles (1992). The History of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Indianapolis, IN: The Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. p. 45.
  3. 1930 Vir quisque vir est
  4. This chapter originated as Phi Kappa Nu, a local fraternity formed in 1919.
  5. This chapter originated as Tau Lambda Delta, a local fraternity formed in 1921.
  6. This chapter originated as Tau Lambda Delta, the second chapter (1923) of a local fraternity formed in 1921 at Rollins College which also joined Theta Kappa Nu. Baird's reports it died before the merger with ΛΧΑ. Alumni may have been added to its rolls.
  7. This chapter originated as Kappa Kappa Kappa, a local fraternity formed in 1919.
  8. This chapter originated as Kappa Delta Psi, a local fraternity formed in 1917.
  9. This chapter originated as Sigma Delta Chi, a local fraternity formed in 1920.
  10. This chapter originated as Phi Beta Omega, a local fraternity formed in 1920.
  11. This chapter originated as Phi Alpha Sigma, a local fraternity formed in 1910.
  12. This chapter originated as Tau Lambda Delta, the third chapter (1923) of a local fraternity formed in 1921 at Rollins College, all three chapters of which joined Theta Kappa Nu.
  13. This chapter originated as Kappa Phi, a local fraternity formed in 1906.
  14. This chapter originated as Phi Sigma, a local fraternity formed in 1916.
  15. This chapter originated as "Lambda Chi", a local fraternity formed in 1923. Name similarity appears coincidental.
  16. This chapter originated as Alpha Delta Mu, a local fraternity formed in 1908.
  17. This chapter originated as the P.I.E.S. Club, a local fraternity formed in 1900.
  18. This chapter originated as Zeta Alpha Kappa, a local fraternity formed in 1902.
  19. Baird's says this chapter survived until the merger, when it joined an existing chapter on the campus. Perhaps Lambda Chi Alpha records can resolve this.
  20. Baird's says this chapter survived until the merger, when it joined an existing chapter on the campus. Perhaps Lambda Chi Alpha records can resolve this.
  21. Baird's says this chapter survived until the merger, when it joined an existing chapter on the campus. Perhaps Lambda Chi Alpha records can resolve this.
  22. Baird's says this chapter survived until the merger, when it joined an existing chapter on the campus. Perhaps Lambda Chi Alpha records can resolve this.
  23. The oldest of all local chapters that became Theta Kappa Nu, this chapter originated as Alpha Delta Theta, a local fraternity formed in 1867.
  24. Baird's says this chapter survived until the merger, when it joined an existing chapter on the campus. Perhaps Lambda Chi Alpha records can resolve this.
  25. Baird's says this chapter survived until the merger, when it joined an existing chapter on the campus. Perhaps Lambda Chi Alpha records can resolve this.
  26. Reverted to local status at the time of the merger. This chapter had its origin as Beta Chi, a local formed in 1921
  27. This chapter originated as a local called Phi Sigma Phi, formed in 1928.
  28. The Washington College chapter was not allowed by the college administration to merge with the local Lambda Chi Alpha chapter. Instead, it briefly reverted to local status and chartered as the Beta-Eta chapter of Theta Chi fraternity in 1940. Peyser, Charles (1992). The History of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Indianapolis, IN: Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. p. 54.
  29. Fraternity, Theta Kappa Nu (July 1939). "The Inescutcheon". The Theta News. XV (4): 5.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.