Theta Alpha

{{Infobox fraternity

| crest = The_crest_of_Theta_Alpha_fraternity.png

| image_size = 190

| founded = {{date and age|February 22, 1909}}

| birthplace = Syracuse University

| type = Social

| affiliation = Independent

| emphasis = Freemasonry

| scope = National

| chapters = 5

| lifetime = 585

| city = Syracuse

| state = New York

| country = United States

| status = Merged

| successor = Delta Sigma Lambda

}}

Theta Alpha was an American social fraternity based on the principles of the Order of DeMolay, a Masonic organization for boys. It was founded in 1909 and merged into Delta Sigma Lambda in 1933.

History

Theta Alpha was founded on February 22, 1909 at Syracuse University.{{cite web |editor2=Carroll Lurding |title=Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive) |url=https://uofi.app.box.com/v/inactive-glos-mens |access-date=28 November 2021 |website=Student Life and Culture Archives |publisher=University of Illinois Archives |language=English |editor1=William Raimond Baird |location=University of Illinois}} The main archive URL is [https://www.library.illinois.edu/slc/welcome/fraternity-sorority-almanac/ The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage].Anson, Jack L. and Marchesani Jr. Robert F., eds. Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 20th edition. Indianapolis: Baird's Manual Foundation, 1991. p. VIII-25. ISBN 0-9637159-0-9 It expanded to Cornell University in 1915 and the University of Illinois in 1922. In 1925, it added two more chapters at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley.

By 1930, Theta Alpha had initiated 535 members and had four active chapters.Shepardson, Francis Wayland, ed. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b3119647?urlappend=%3Bseq=645%3Bownerid=9007199274521349-691 Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 12th edition]. Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press/George Banta Publishing Company, 1930. pp. 613. via Hathi Trust. Its chapters at Syracuse, Cornell, and Illinois had chapter houses.

The reduction of student enrollment and tightened budgets during the depths of the Great Depression hit all fraternities hard. By 1933, three of the fraternity's five chapters were inactive. In September 1933, Theta Alpha merged into Delta Sigma Lambda, a national fraternity formed of members of the Order of DeMolay. At the time of the merger, Theta Alpha had initiated 585 members.

In 1937 when Delta Sigma Lambda went defunct, the former Alpha chapter of Theta Alpha reverted to a local fraternity called Pi Alpha Chi. In 1947 it again took the name Theta Alpha, operating under than name until 1963 when it became a chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon.

Symbols

Theta Alpha fraternity published a periodical called Theta Alpha.

Chapters

Following is a list of Theta Alpha chapters, with inactive chapters in italics.

class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Chartered date and range

!Institution

!Location

!Status

!Reference

Alpha

|February 22, 1909 – 1933

|Syracuse University

|Syracuse, New York

|Merged ({{Lang|grc|ΔΣΛ}})

|{{Efn|Chapter became a chapter of Delta Sigma Lambda with the national merger of the two fraternities. When Delta Sigma Lambda failed, the chapter reverted to local status, naming itself Pi Alpha Chi. In 1947, it again took the name Theta Alpha, and in 1963 became Iota-Zeta chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon.}}

Beta

|1915–1933

|Cornell University

|Ithaca, New York

|Merged ({{Lang|grc|ΔΣΛ}})

|{{Efn|Chapter formed from Omicron Sigma Omicron (local). In 1933. it became the Lambda chapter of Delta Sigma Lambda. When its new fraternity went defunct in 1937, the chapter withdrew and became a local fraternity called Theta Alpha.}}

Gamma

|1922–1933

|University of Illinois

|Urbana, Illinois

|Inactive

|{{Efn|Chapter formed from Al Ikhwan (local), established in 1919.}}

Delta

|1925–1933

|University of Southern California

|Los Angeles, California

|Inactive

Epsilon