Theta Kappa Nu

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Theta Kappa Nu
ΘΚΝ
FoundedOctober 11, 1924; 98 years ago (October 11, 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, Ohio
United States
WebsiteSee Official website

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

History[edit]

Theta Kappa Nu Fraternity was founded on June 9, 1924 when delegates from eleven local fraternities from nine different states united to form the new fraternity. The organizing meeting took place in Springfield, Missouri, with the chapters being chartered on October 11, 1924. Theta Kappa Nu had, over its first decade, become the fastest-growing fraternity until that time, chartering forty 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This chapter originated as Phi Kappa Nu (local), a local fraternity formed in 1919.
  2. ^ This chapter originated as Tau Lambda Delta, a local fraternity formed in 1921.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ This chapter originated as Kappa Kappa Kappa, a local fraternity formed in 1919.
  5. ^ This chapter originated as Kappa Delta Psi, a local fraternity formed in 1917.
  6. ^ This chapter originated as Sigma Delta Chi, a local fraternity formed in 1920.
  7. ^ This chapter originated as Phi Beta Omega, a local fraternity formed in 1920.
  8. ^ This chapter originated as Phi Alpha Sigma, a local fraternity formed in 1910.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ This chapter originated as Kappa Phi, a local fraternity formed in 1906.
  11. ^ This chapter originated as Phi Sigma, a local fraternity formed in 1916.
  12. ^ This chapter originated as "Lambda Chi", a local fraternity formed in 1923. Name similarity appears coincidental.
  13. ^ This chapter originated as Alpha Delta Mu, a local fraternity formed in 1908.
  14. ^ This chapter originated as the P.I.E.S. Club, a local fraternity formed in 1900.
  15. ^ This chapter originated as Zeta Alpha Kappa, a local fraternity formed in 1902.
  16. ^ a b c d e f 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.
  17. ^ The oldest of all local chapters that became Theta Kappa Nu, this chapter originated as Alpha Delta Theta, a local fraternity formed in 1867.
  18. ^ Reverted to local status at the time of the merger. This chapter had its origin as Beta Chi, a local formed in 1921
  19. ^ This chapter originated as a local called Phi Sigma Phi, formed in 1928.
  20. ^ 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.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ Theta kappa nu; Lybarger, Donald Fisher (1930). Vir quisque vir est; the pledge manual of Theta kappa nu fraternity. Cleveland: The fraternity.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Fraternity, Theta Kappa Nu (July 1939). "The Inescutcheon". The Theta News. XV (4): 5.
  5. ^ Peyser, Charles (1992). The History of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Indianapolis, IN: Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. p. 54.

External links[edit]

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