Sigma Theta Epsilon

Sigma Theta Epsilon () was an American interdenominational national Christian fraternal organization that operated from 1941 to . It had 47 chapters across the United States.

History

Predecessors

Methodist students at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota, formed a local a religious fraternity, Phi Lambda Phi, around 1924. They invited representatives from similar organizations at other colleges to meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska on February 6–7, 1925, to discuss forming a national fraternity. At that meeting, the delegates drew up articles of federation and elected national officers, establishing a national religious fraternity for Methodist men known as Phi Tau Theta.

On October 8, 1936, Methodist students at Indiana University established Sigma Epsilon Theta. Edwin Green, a student pastor at the Wesley Foundation was its first president. Other founding members included Edward Dodd, Montford Mead, F. Jay Nimitz, and Robert E. Schalliol. Sigma Epsilon Theta became a regional fraternity with three chapters.

Formation

In 1939, Phi Tau Theta approached Sigma Epsilon Theta about merging. On November 30, 1941, at a meeting in Cedar Falls, Iowa held during Thanksgiving break 1941, the two fraternities merged into Delta Sigma Theta. It had the common mission as a fraternity for Methodist men. However, a national sorority with prior usage of the Delta Sigma Theta name, threatened suit against the new fraternity. The fraternity's members selected the new name, Sigma Theta Epsilon, during Easter break 1949.

The purpose of Sigma Theta Epsilon was four-fold:

# "To extend our service projects through programs of action to meet unfilled human needs.
# To attempt with the guidance of God to live Christian lives of faith and service.
# To provide social activities through service and Brotherhood.
# To provide a background for understanding ourselves, our faith, and our world."

Its officers include president, vice president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, chaplain, historian, and alumni secretary.

After a period of expansion, the many chapters became inactive, leading to the 1968 national conclave to appoint a committee to review the fraternity's mission. The committee suggested changing the emphasis on Methodist men to Christian men. However, this change increased the loss of members because of less support from campus the Wesley Foundations. In 1972, the fraternity changed purpose to be religious, service, and social; however, this was reversed in 1975.

In 1975, ''Alpha Gamma'' at West Virginia Wesleyan College and the ''Epsilon'' at Ohio Northern University were the only active chapters. The addition of a chapter at Mount Union College in April 1980 stimulated optimism for the fraternity. However, by 1988 ''Delta chapter'' nearly closed and ''Alpha Gamma's'' membership was declining. That year, ''Beta Alpha chapter'' formed in Oklahoma City University. The ''Beta Alpha'' 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''.

In March 1993, the ''Beta Beta chapter'' at Miami University of Ohio was formed. In the fall of 1993, ''Delta chapter'' at University of Mount Union was reviving from nearly closing and initiated its first pledge class in almost five years. In 1998, the ''Beta Gamma chapter'' was installed at the University of Cincinnati. The ''Beta Delta chapter'' was formed in 1999 at Our Lady of the Lake University. ''Beta Epsilon chapter'' from Bradley University was chartered in 2000. This was followed by ''Beta Zeta chapter'' at Oklahoma City University in 2002 and ''Beta Eta chapter'' at West Virginia University and ''Beta Theta'' at Ohio University in 2003. The addition of the ''Beta Kappa chapter'' in 2006 brought the number of active chapters to eleven, the highest number seen since the 1960s.

However, growth ceased, and in 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 Greek letters Sigma Theta Epsilon were selected to represent the Greek words , meaning "Fellow Workers with God". This is taken from I Corinthians 3:9 and was also the group's motto. The fraternity's insignia included badge, pledge pin, recognition pin, and alumni key. The fraternity's colors were purple, old gold, and white. Its flag consisted of vertical stripes of purple, white, and gold with the Greek letters and the fraternity's crest in the middle stripe.

Chapters

Chapters of Sigma Theta Epsilon included the following, with inactive chapters and institutions noted in ''italics''. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
A state naming system was adopted briefly when there were few chapters still active.

References

{{Christian fraternity

Christian fraternities and sororities in the United States
Student organizations established in 1925
1925 establishments in Nebraska
2022 disestablishments in Nebraska
Defunct fraternities and sororities