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Sigma Theta Epsilon

Sigma Theta Epsilon
ΣΘΕ
FoundedApril 7, 1925; 99 years ago (April 7, 1925)
TypeChristian
AffiliationIndependent
StatusDefunct
Defunct dateNovember 19, 2022
ScopeNational
MottoΣυνεργοι Θεου Εσμεν
("Fellow Workers with God")
Colors  Purple,   Old Gold, and   White
Chapters47
Verse"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." --1 Corinthians 3:9
Headquarters, Ohio
United States

Sigma Theta Epsilon (ΣΘΕ) was an American interdenominational national Christian fraternal organization that operated from 1925 to 2022. It had 47 chapters across the United States.

History

Predecessor groups

A group of Methodist men in the Wesley Foundation at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota, had been carrying on a program as a religious fraternity, which they called Phi Lambda Phi, for some time when it occurred to them that perhaps the men in other Wesley Foundations had similar groups which could be mutually helpful if they should form a union.

The idea was brought up at the student council retreat at Ames, Iowa, in 1924 and 1925. They sent an invitation to all Wesley Foundation units asking those interested to send representatives to an organizational meeting. This meeting was held at Lincoln, Nebraska on February 6–7, 1925. The delegates drew up articles of federation and elected National Officers, thus a National Religious Fraternity for Methodist Men became known as Phi Tau Theta (meaning "Friends of God").

On October 8, 1936, another group of Christian men met and started a fraternity. The meeting was held at Indiana University, where Sigma Epsilon Theta was formed.

Formation

On October 8, 1936, another group of Christian men met and started a fraternity. The meeting was held at Indiana University, and there, Sigma Epsilon Theta was formed. In 1939, a delegation from Phi Tau Theta approached the national officers of Sigma Epsilon Theta and proposed a merger of the two national fraternities. Stemming from this introduction, during Thanksgiving break, in 1941, Delta Sigma Theta was formed. The transition from two fraternities to one was smooth, largely due to careful preparation by the officers. However, when all seemed to be going well, Delta Sigma Theta, a national sorority with prior usage of that name, threatened suit against the new fraternity for the use of their name. A new name, Sigma Theta Epsilon, was selected during Easter break 1949.

After a period of expansion, the inactivity of the chapters (high in number – low in spirit) persuaded the national conclave of 1968 to appoint a committee to examine the philosophy of the fraternity. The committee suggested that the fraternity change from its original emphasis as a National Religious Fraternity for Methodist Men. This change saw a decrease in enrollment due to lessened support by the Wesley Foundation. The national cabinet meeting of 1972 realized that Sigma Theta Epsilon had evolved into a National Christian Service Fraternity, and thus adopted purposes centered on three main areas: religious, service, and social. These purposes were revised at the conclave of 1975 into the four Purposes of Sigma Theta Epsilon.

Still, chapters were lost to dormancy. A low point was reached in 1975 when only two active units remained: the Alpha Gamma chapter at West Virginia Wesleyan College and the newly formed Epsilon chapter at Ohio Northern University. The following years almost saw the dissolving of Sigma Theta Epsilon as a National Fraternity. The addition of a new Delta chapter, the second of that name, at Mount Union College in April 1980 stimulated new optimism and growth for the fraternity.

In 1988 Sigma Theta Epsilon struggled again through some growing pains. Delta chapter had all but disappeared while Alpha Gamma chapter's numbers began to fall. But 1988 also saw the start of the Beta Alpha chapter in Oklahoma City. This new chapter grew rapidly and soon vied with the Epsilon chapter as the fraternity's largest. Beta Alpha's designation marked what was hoped to be a rebirth for the fraternity, and all chapters from this point on would be named in succession following Beta Alpha. Whereas previously the fraternity had used a standard naming system of Greek alphabetical succession, at some point it began to use a state model, naming a new chapter "Alpha chapter of Texas" for example, that had been formed in 1999.

This excitement carried into Spring 1993 when the Beta Beta chapter at Miami University of Ohio was formed. An excited group of men gathered together and quickly grew to be as solid as any chapter. In the fall of 1993, Delta chapter at Mt. Union put together its first pledge class in almost five years. Led by an alumnus of the Epsilon chapter, who had been teaching at Mount Union College, these men revived the Delta chapter just weeks before the National Fraternity was to absorb their charter and assets.

The fraternity didn't see National Growth again until 1998, when on January 31, the Beta Gamma chapter was initiated at the University of Cincinnati. Thus began a substantial period of National Growth that continues today. Spring Conclave 1999 saw the formal initiation of a group of men from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas as Beta Delta chapter. This group of men would mark themselves as one of the most active chapters in the Nation.

At the 2000 Spring Conclave, a group of men from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois pledged as a temporary club. These same men were formally initiated as the Beta Epsilon chapter at The English Chapel at Ohio Northern University during the East Regional Fall Gathering on October 21, 2000.

At the West Regional Fall Gathering at Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a group of men from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma were formally initiated as the Beta Zeta chapter on October 26, 2002. Their road to establishing a chapter was a rocky one, to say the least, but their persistence prevailed.

On April 5, 2003, the Beta Eta chapter at West Virginia University was formally initiated at Spring Conclave in St. Louis, Missouri. The addition of the Beta Kappa chapter brought the number of chapters nationally to eleven. This was the highest number seen since the 1960s. However, growth ceased, and in August 2022 there was only one active chapter, Our Lady of the Lake University.

On November 19, 2022, Sigma Theta Epsilon officially closed. There are no remaining active chapters and all fraternal operations have ceased.

Symbols

The name "Sigma Theta Epsilon" finds its roots in the Greek words, "Sunergoi Theou Esman", meaning "Fellow Workers with God". This is taken from I Corinthians 3:9 and was also the group's motto. Its colors were purple, old gold, and white.

Chapters

Chapters of Sigma Theta Epsilon included the following. Several chapter names were re-assigned, and some campuses hosted chapters with new names, after recolonization. A state naming system was adopted briefly when there were few chapters still active. Inactive chapters and institutions are noted in italics.[1]

Chapter Charter date and range Institution City Status References
Alpha April 27, 1925 – 1967 Iowa State University Ames, Iowa Inactive
Beta 1925–1965 University of Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska Inactive
Gamma 1925–1960 University of South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota Inactive
Delta 1925–1951 University of Minnesota Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota Inactive [a]
Epsilon (see Iota 2) 1927–1941 University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Inactive
Zeta 1928–1931 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Inactive
Eta 1929–1962;
1966–1971 		University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa Inactive
Theta (see Beta Theta) 1931–1943;
1945–1972 		Ohio University Athens, Ohio Inactive
Iota 1931–1934 University of Wyoming Laramie, Wyoming Inactive
Kappa 1934–1968 Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Inactive
Lambda 1936–1943;
1952–1965 		Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Inactive
Mu (see Beta Eta) 1938–1970 West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia Inactive
Nu 1939–1971 Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma Inactive
Xi 1936–1957 Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana Inactive
Omicron (see Beta Beta) 1937–1962 Miami University Oxford, Ohio Inactive
Pi 1937–1942;
1952–1958;
1960–1962 		Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio Inactive
Rho 1948–1959 Fort Hays State University Hays, Kansas Inactive
Sigma 1948–1971 Kent State University Kent, Ohio Inactive
Tau 1949–1968 University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Inactive
Upsilon 1950–1953 University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, Nebraska Inactive
Phi 1950–1953 University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Inactive
Epsilon (2) (see Beta Alpha) 1950–1954 Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Inactive
Zeta (2) 1952–1954 University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point Stevens Point, Wisconsin Inactive
Chi 1952–1953;
1960–1968 		Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, Kansas Inactive
Iota (2) (see Epsilon) 1954–1960 University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Inactive
Psi 1955–1957 Southwestern Oklahoma State University Weatherford, Oklahoma Inactive
Omega Memorial
Alpha Alpha 1956–1962 Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan Inactive
Alpha Beta 1956–1974 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan Inactive
Alpha Gamma 1957–2012 West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, West Virginia Inactive
Alpha Delta 1958–1965;
1967–1970 		Pennsylvania State University State College, Pennsylvania Inactive
Alpha Epsilon 1960–1969 American University Washington, D.C. Inactive
Alpha Zeta 1961–1963;
1966–1971 		Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, Michigan Inactive
Gamma (2) 1967–1971 Mansfield University of Pennsylvania Mansfield, Pennsylvania Inactive
Beta (2) 1974–1975 Lane College Jackson, Tennessee Inactive
Alpha chapter of Ohio 1975–2021 Ohio Northern University Ada, Ohio Inactive
Eta (2) 1976–1977 Northern Illinois University DeKalb, Illinois Inactive
Delta (2) 1969–1975;
1980–1987;
1994-2011 		University of Mount Union Alliance, Ohio Inactive [b]
Beta Alpha (see Epsilon 2) 1988–2003 Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Inactive
Beta Beta (see Omicron) 1993–2008 Miami University Oxford, Ohio Inactive
Beta Gamma 1998–2011 University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Inactive
Alpha chapter of Texas 1999–2022 Our Lady of the Lake University San Antonio, Texas Inactive [c][d][1]
Beta Epsilon 2000–2012 Bradley University Peoria, Illinois Inactive
Beta Zeta 2002–2015 Northeastern State University Tahlequah, Oklahoma Inactive
Beta Eta (see Mu) 2002–2011 West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia Inactive
Beta Theta (see Theta) 2003–2006;
2009-2010 		Ohio University Athens, Ohio Inactive
Beta Iota 2004–2006 Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, Illinois Inactive
Beta Kappa 2006–2007 Missouri Valley College Marshall, Missouri Inactive
  1. ^ This was originally a chapter of Phi Tau Theta. Once dormant, its name appears to have been re-used for the later Mount Union College chapter.
  2. ^ Mount Union College was renamed as the University of Mount Union in 2010.
  3. ^ It appears this chapter may have originally been named the Beta Delta chapter, but was renamed for simplicity.
  4. ^ This appears to have been the last chapter to close, ceasing operations on November 19, 2022.

References

  1. ^ a b 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 1 March 2022. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.
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