Zeta Chi () is a fraternity located at

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Art ...

Baldwin City, Kansas Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States, about south of Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to Baker University, the state's oldest four-year university. History ...

. It is the oldest independent fraternity in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, and the fraternity of two of Baker University’s Rhodes Scholars.

History

Zeta Chi was founded on May 23, 1905 by 16 men who did not wish to join any of the previously existing fraternities at

. By 1915 it reported 79 living undergraduate and alumni members. Throughout the 20th Century the fraternity grew, eventually moving to its current headquarters on 903 Eighth Street, which was previously the house of the University President. During a 1911 visit to campus, President William Howard Taft stayed at the house belonging Professor William Markham which later became the Zeta Chi house. In the mid 2000s the fraternity struggled with small pledge classes and repeated academic probation. To help alleviate these problems, in 2007 Zeta Chi officially became a "dry" house (not allowing alcohol on its property).

Philanthropy

Originally, Zeta Chi was philanthropically affiliated with the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

, raising money for local chapters and spreading awareness of their activities. Most prominent among the member's activities is their annual Polyeuphany event, a benefit concert in which students and community members share their talents to raise money.

Notable alumni

* Warren Ortman Ault *

Jared J. Grantham Jared J. Grantham (1936–2017) was an American physician and nephrologist who was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the American Society of Nephrology'' and co-founder of the PKD Foundation. The Jared Grantham Kidney Institute at the Unive ...

Raymond Pruitt Raymond Donald Pruitt (February 6, 1912 - January 14, 1993) was an American physician specializing in cardiology who was the founding dean of the Mayo Medical School. An alumnus of Baker University, he received his medical degree from the Univer ...

References

Local fraternities and sororities Fraternities and sororities in the United States Student organizations established in 1905 1905 establishments in Kansas {{Fraternity and Sorority-stub