Contact the recruitment chairman, Ronnie Hall for activities and schedules:
hall6089 at sbcglobal dot net

Why Join Theta Chi Fraternity at Stephen F. Austin? 

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Theta Chi Fraternity. Becoming a member and contributing your time and talents to our brotherhood may be the best decision you make while in college, and we applaud your efforts to make the most informed decision.

Since its founding in 1856 at Norwich University, Theta Chi has grown to more than 219 chapters and colonies across the United States and Canada; and has initiated more than 160,000 brothers. This section of our website is dedicated to helping men like yourself learn more about our values, members, and programs. You will also find information you may not have thought about when considering which fraternity is right for you, and you will want quality information to make an educated decision.

Becoming a member of Theta Chi is more than just becoming part of a club. It provides you with the opportunity to be involved with an international brotherhood spanning over 150 years, to refine your personal and social skills, to develop a sense of belonging and fellowship in a college environment, and to jump-start your success after college. It also encourages you to broaden your college experiences through leadership programming, intramural events, academic support, inter-Greek events, regional conferences, and international conventions.

The journey towards full membership in Theta Chi may have already begun for you, and we hope that Theta Chi ends up being the right fraternity for you.

Benefits of Joining

Becoming a member of Theta Chi has many benefits. You are not joining just another campus organization; rather you are becoming part of a brotherhood that has spanned nearly 150 years. Generations of men before you joined Theta Chi as undergraduates and went on to rise to the top of their profession. Some of our famous alumni include Steven Spielberg, Harry Reasoner of 60 Minutes, and Lee Iacocca.

As a member of Theta Chi you will be challenged to make yourself the best citizen you can possibly be. Each year, Theta Chi will host many conferences, including Mid-Year Leadership Challenges and the Deranian Presidents Conference. Each summer brings The School of Fraternity Practices or Chapter Leadership Conference (depending on the year). Theta Chi will offer you opportunities to develop your leadership, become more involved, and provide you valuable skills for today's marketplace.

As a part of an International Fraternity, you will have a number of other resources to help you along the way. Theta Chi provides many publications, including The Rattle. Alumni who serve as Regional Counselors will be available to assist you in many different areas, and a Leadership and Education Consultant will visit your chapter and work with you on improving your chapter operations.

We at Theta Chi are dedicated to improving student life by challenging our members to meet our stated objectives and to live by the words they say when they recite The Creed of Theta Chi. It is the goal of every member to be "Better Because of Theta Chi."

Legacies

Our special link between the past, present and future.
A legacy is a son, brother, grandson, or step-son of a member. Legacies bring a rich heritage and an understanding of Fraternity values to a chapter. Membership, however, is by mutual selection between a chapter and the individual. It is important to encourage a legacy to choose a Fraternity that suits his needs, and to allow the chapter to select its own members.

Some points to consider:
Theta Chi recognizes that legacies are important to our Fraternity because they bring loyalty, strength, pride and support to our chapters.
A legacy is a son, brother, grandson or step-son of a Theta Chi who is an initiated member in good standing with Theta Chi Fraternity.
It is the responsibility of the legacy’s Theta Chi relatives and friends to notify a chapter that he will be participating in recruitment.
Chapters are not required to offer a bid to a legacy.
A Theta Chi legacy should be qualified potential member in his own right - based on his grades, on and off campus activities, accomplishments and overall compatibility with the chapter.
The Fraternity expects all undergraduate chapters to give serious consideration to each legacy out of courtesy to the Theta Chi member to whom he is related.
A legacy should have the opportunity to meet each chapter member at least once.
If a chapter decides not to invite a legacy to join, the president or an advisor of the chapter must contact the Theta Chi relative of the legacy to inform him of the chapter's decision.
Theta Chi members must have realistic expectations for our legacies. We must remember that some legacies may wish to join another Fraternity or remain unaffiliated.

"Ennobled By High & Sacred Purpose"

These are familiar words from the Creed of Theta Chi Fraternity, but what is that "purpose" for which Freeman and Chase founded Theta Chi in 1856?  Of course, the main purpose of Theta Chi is revealed in our motto: "An Assisting Hand."  The Fraternity exists so that the members can help one another and so that the Fraternity itself can help all of its members.  In Theta Chi's original Constitution, Freeman and Chase described three objectives of their new society as ways in which "An Assisting Hand" is to be extended. These are mirrored in the objectives of the Grand Chapter, the Foundation Chapter, The Norwich Housing Corporation, and our International Headquarters staff.

"To bind By Closer Bonds..."
The first purpose of the Fraternity as stated by the founders is "to bind by closer bonds the members to each other."  The Creed restates this as "Inspires True Friendship."  The Grand Chapter seeks to assist our undergraduate and alumnus members in creating new friendships and fostering existing ones.  One of the ways we accomplish this is by providing our undergraduate brothers with the resources and training they need to recruit new members.  Last year, Theta Chi saw a 15% increase in the number of new members recruited - our greatest single year increase in decades.  In the future, you will see more opportunities for alumnus members to reconnect with old friends and create new friendships as well.

"The advancement of measures at the institutions at which is is established which shall be of importance to its members..."
This second objective, cited Freeman and Chase, was to foster loyalty to Alma Mater.  Indeed, our Creed today speaks of the "primacy of Alma Mater."  The Grand Chapter and International Headquarters staff have renewed efforts to assist our undergraduate members in improving their academic records.  Undergraduate brothers are also being encouraged to participate more fully in campus activities and leadership opportunities. Our Foundation Chapter seeks to assist deserving members with academic scholarships.  The Norwich Housing Corporation assists chapters with improving their living and study environments.

"The mutual benefit and improvement of all its members"
The third purpose Freeman and Chase articulated for their new society was "the mutual benefit and improvement of all its members. " Theta Chi was established to help its members become better men. Our national organization conducts many outstanding leadership events each year such as the Chapter Leadership Conference, the School of Fraternity practices, the Deranian Presidents Conference, and a dozen Mid-Year Leadership Challenges which are held on various campuses around the country.  Our members do become better leaders and better citizens because of their membership in Theta Chi.

Brothers as readers of The Rattle, I know that you have a deep interest in our Fraternity.  I ask for your Assisting Hand in continuing to make the dreams of our founders a reality; whether it is by financially supporting our Foundation Chapter, by serving on your chapters Alumni Corporation or Advisory Board, or by volunteering as a Regional Counselor.  Working together we can help the men of our Fraternity to become Better Friends, Better Students and Better Men.

2008 Letter from Douglas M. Allen National President (Delta Beta/University of Georgia '90) published in The Rattle

Join a Fraternity

The North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) has built this website as a resource for men who are interested in joining a fraternity.

The above article talks about "The Total College Experience."
The following note talks a little about "The Total Alumni Experience."

The View from the Other Side of Graduation
Who is going to stand up for you at your wedding; Your biology lab partner or your student government representative, maybe, your Fraternity Brother, definitely.  Who can you call to find our which companies are hiring in your field when you graduate, your Alumni Brothers already working in the industry.

When meeting Alumnus members of other Theta Chi Chapters, or even other Greek Letter Organizations you will quickly have a context, a shared experience, to build a new friendship upon. These benefits alone could last the rest of your life.

Besides, your wife will let you go back to campus for homecoming or an alumni weekend to see your old fraternity brothers, meet the new undergraduate members and hang out at the Chapter House or tailgate party.  But lets face it, 10 years from now you can't go back to your Campus Residence Hall to see who is living in your old Dorm Room, because that's just creepy.

You may stand tall on campus now, but I assure you, that you will never stand so tall as you do on the shoulders of the thousands of Epsilon Tau Brothers that came before you.  And you might just miss the view from the top.

Traditional Epsilon Tau-isms from the last several decades

Do You Know The Power of 2%?
Since the founding of the American College fraternity movement in 1776, fraternities have grown to symbolize leadership, independence, scholastic achievement, and service to their various campuses and communities. Fraternity men represent a very small percentage, only 2% of the male population in the United States. However, this 2% is a very powerful group of individuals! Fraternity men have gone on to hold many of the top positions in our nation, from the business world to the political arena.

• Approximately 80% of the top executives of Fortune 500 companies are fraternity men.

• The majority (71 %) of those listed in Who's Who in America are fraternity men.

• 76% of current United States Senators and Congressman are fraternity men.

• 40% of the 47 Supreme Court Justices since 1910 have been fraternity men.

• 100 of the 158 cabinet members since 1900 have been fraternity men.

• All but two United States Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men.

Each year, thousands of young men enter the working world with the competitive advantage of the Fraternity experience and alumni contacts. The opportunities are endless and the benefits speak for themselves.

For more information on joining Theta Chi Fraternity, please contact the Recruitment/Rush Chairman on the Facebook page.