Chi Tau

This article is about the disbanded national fraternity, Chi Tau. For other uses, see Chi Tau (disambiguation).
Chi Tau
ΧΤ
FoundedOctober 3, 1920 (1920-10-03)
Trinity College
TypeSocial
AffiliationIndependent
StatusDefunct
Defunct date1929
ScopeNational
MottoEsse Quam Videri
Member badge
Colors  White,   Crimson and   Gold
SymbolTorch, triangle, three stars
FlowerWhite, yellow and red rose buds
PublicationEx Tee
Chapters9
Headquarters
United States

Chi Tau (ΧΤ) 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.[1][2] 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."[3] Its founders were Henry Belk, Merrimon Teague Hipps, Samuel L. Holton Jr., and Numa Francis Wilkerson.[1] 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.[1][2] The two groups merged to form a new national fraternity under the name Chi Tau.[1] Chi Tau was incorporated in North Carolina in 1923.[1]

Additional chapters formed in 1923 at the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest College.[1] These were followed by a chapter at the Presbyterian College of South Carolina in 1924.[1] In 1925, chapters formed at the University of California, Columbia University, and Wofford College.[1] It also established a chapter at the University of Illinois in 1927.[1]

Demise

Chi Tau reported that internal dissension developed, and by 1929, the fraternity disintegrated without a national successor.[1][2] 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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] Another chapter, Delta at Wake Forest, continued into 1939 when it became a chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon.[7]

Symbols

Chi Tau motto was the same as the State of North Carolina, Esse Quam Videri.[1][a]

Chi Tau's badge was a hexagon, taller from top to bottom, with the Greek letters "ΧΤ", a torch, a single triangle, and three stars.[1] The fraternity's colors were white, crimson, and gold.[1][8] Its flowers were white, red, and yellow rose buds.[1][8]

For several years, the fraternity published a quarterly journal called the Ex Tee.[8] One reference notes another publication called The Hexagon.[9]

Chapters

Following are the chapters of Chi Tau, with inactive chapters indicated in italics.[1][2] Chapter closure dates reflect activity as a local organization, after the ending the national fraternity in 1929.

Chapter Charter date and range Institution Location Status Ref.
Alpha October 3, 1920 – 1933 Duke University Durham, North Carolina Inactive [3][4][7][b][c]
Beta May 1923 – 1928 North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering Raleigh, North Carolina Inactive [10][d]
Gamma 1923–1929 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina Inactive [8][11]
Delta 1923–1940 Wake Forest College Wake Forest, North Carolina Withdrew (ΣΦΕ) [7][3][e]
Epsilon 1924–1928 Presbyterian College of South Carolina Clinton, South Carolina Withdrew (ΒΚ) [9][12][f]
Zeta 1925–1939 University of California Berkeley, California Inactive [g]
Eta 1925–1929 Columbia University New York City, New York Inactive
Theta November 29, 1925 – 1929 Wofford College Spartanburg, South Carolina Inactive [13][h][i]
Iota 1927–1935 University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois Withdrew (ΦΣΚ) [6][14][j]

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.[k]

Notes

  1. ^ In English, "To be, rather than to seem."
  2. ^ Chapter formed at Trinity College, which became Duke University in 1924.
  3. ^ The Howler (yearbook) notes that the national fraternity disbanded one year after the Wake Forest College chapter, thus in 1924. Several dates in this reference are in opposition to Baird's' Manual. It seems reasonable to dismiss the earlier founding date here (claimed to be 1913, so thus at the time of publication this would have been at least six years before the creation of its former national!). But the yearbook goes on to state that this Wake Forest chapter, after a period of local, self-reliance (as a local named Chi Tau Delta), was positioning itself to merge into "one of the finer fraternal orders in the country for a charter." It is also reasonable to accept the installation date on this campus as factual.
  4. ^ Chapter formed from Lambda Sigma Delta, established in 1922. When the chapter went inactive, at least five Beta chapter members became members of one of the other fraternities on campus after 1928, with no specific successor organization.
  5. ^ Chapter formed from Alpha Gamma Sigma (local), established in 1920. It withdrew and became the NC Zeta chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
  6. ^ Became the Alpha Eta chapter of Beta Kappa in 1930; it eventually became Theta Chi's Beta Psi chapter.
  7. ^ Chapter formed from Alpha Beta Phi (local), established in 1921.
  8. ^ Chapter formed from Phi Delta Tau (local), established in 1925.
  9. ^ Chi Tau had two pages in the 1927 and 1928 yearbook, but was not in the 1929 edition. In the years immediately following 1928, seniors who had been members did not list Chi Tau or any other social fraternity under their senior portraits.
  10. ^ Chapter formed from Delta Pi Epsilon (local), established in 1925. The chapter withdrew and joined the Alpha Deuteron chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa.
  11. ^ This unaffiliated local is notorious for a 2005 hazing death on the Chico campus. See Chi Tau (local), accessed 8 Jun 2019.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Anson, Jack L.; Marchesani Jr., Robert F., eds. (1991). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. VIII–6. ISBN 978-0-9637159-0-6. OCLC 25278937.
  2. ^ a b c d Carroll Lurding; Fran Becque, eds. (October 26, 2025). "Inactive Men's Organizations: Chi Tau" (PDF). Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved January 8, 2026 – via University Library: Student Life and Culture Archives.
  3. ^ a b c The Howler (yearbook). vol. 20. Wake Forest: Wake Forest College, 1939. p. 125. via Internet Archive. Accessed 10 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b Cansler, Les. "Wake Forest Local Chi Tau Installed as North Carolina Zeta of Sigma Pi Epsilon". Sigma Phi Epsilon Journal: 168–171 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ 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 1928 book listed many pledges. Accessed 13 June 2019.
  6. ^ a b Thomas E. Recker, ed. (Summer 1994). "Medallion of Merit: Lawrence Jensen (noting Chi Tau)". The Signet, A Magazine for Members of Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity. LXXXV (3): 6.
  7. ^ a b c The Howler (yearbook). vol. 21. Wake Forest: Wake Forest College, 1940. p. 136. via Internet Archive. Accessed 18 August 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Yackety Yack (yearbook). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina. 1926. p. 305 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b The 1928 PAC-Sac, Presbyterian College's yearbook, lists the Epsilon chapter of the fraternity, its installation date, and magazine name.
  10. ^ Raleigh'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.
  11. ^ Yackety 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Bohemian (yearbook). vol. 20. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Wofford College, 1927. p. 233. via Internet Archive. Accessed 11 Jun 2019.
  14. ^ 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 1932 and 1933 editions. Chi Tau was not listed in the 1934 book.
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