National History

Founded at the University of Minnesota on October 15, 1904, Theta Tau is the largest (as well as the oldest) professional fraternity in the field of engineering. Over 28,000 have been initiated over the years. With emphasis on quality and a strong fraternal bond, the Fraternity has chapters only at ABET accredited schools, and limits to fifty the number of student members in any one of its chapters across the nation.

Theta Tau follows carefully a program in the selection and development of its members that stresses the importance of high professional ethics and exemplary practices. Within each chapter, the Fraternity stimulates professional activity and social compatibility; provides a framework for group participation in campus, community, engineering, and fraternity affairs; and promotes lasting friendships - a lifetime of brotherhood in an engineering environment.

The Fraternity presents awards for outstanding personal and chapter achievements. Through visitation from national officers and other alumni, the stability of each chapter can be maintained. Guidance and publications are provided by the Central Office to help manage the chapter in a professional manner. Financial assistance is available through loans for chapter housing and loans for senior students.

For more information, click on this link: http://www.thetatau.org/?page=history

Our Kappa Chapter

The Kappa Chapter of Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity was initially installed on March 25, 1916. Founded by George Gieb, a graduate student in Civil Engineering, the chapter attracted many bright members during its initial 23 years of existence, initiating 455 members in total. Some notable members during this period of Kappa’s existence include Charles Luckman (1931), a Hall of Fame Laureate, and Harry Darby (1917), who played an instrumental role in convincing Eisenhower to run for President. Due to unknown reasons the chapter dissolved 1939 for several decades.

In 2005 Steven Choi, a member of the Zeta Chapter, transferred to the University of Illinois and decided to start the de-activated Kappa Chapter back up. After filling out all the necessary paperwork, the colony began to slowly grow. With the guidance from Steven, the colony leaders (Sean Safavinejad, Gautam Amin, Bertrand Tay, Joe Cocco, Ankeet Patel, and Ui Aik Cheah) succeeded in laying the foundation for the Fraternity on campus. During this time, the colony also received a lot of help from Peter Ho, Chen Xu, Calvin Gudeman, Sravan Mettupalli, Kai Amundsen, and Amy Chow. After initiating 5 members in February 2007, the colony began seriously preparing to obtain Chapter status, as the colony charter was set to expire the following year. During the fall 2007 semester, the fraternity more than doubled in membership -- 26 were initiated -- and all the necessary paperwork was filed to petition for Chapter status. On February 9, 2008, the Kappa Colony was reactivated as a Chapter of Theta Tau.

Currently, Kappa has 54 active members and is continuing to grow. Each semester, the Kappa Chapter hosts professional, philanthropic, and social events on the University of Illinois campus. Members of Kappa attend leadership conferences and the University of Illinois Engineering Open House. They also volunteer on campus through various engineering programs and events. Members also enjoy taking part in social events including dinners, camping, and pick-up sports. The involvement and dedication of many members has allowed Kappa to mature with tremendous speed over the past few years, and it will continue to grow in the future.

Central Regional Chapters

University of Illinois (Kappa)
Northwestern University (Epsilon)
Purdue University (Phi)
University of Iowa (Omicron)
University of Wisconsin - Madison (Xi)
University of Minnesota - Minneapolis (Alpha)
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (Sigma Beta)
University of Wisconsin - Platteville (Nu Beta)
Michigan Technological University (Beta)

Through national conferences and conventions, there is an annual opportunity to associate with fraternity brothers (students and alumni) from chapters across the nation.