Beta Sigma Tau () was an American social fraternity founded in 1948 in Chicago, Illinois. It was the first national fraternity that was interracial and interreligious. It formed eighteen chapters before merging with Pi Lambda Phi fraternity in 1960.
History Stanley Tolliver of Baldwin Wallace College was the founder of Beta Sigma Tau. In May 1948, he called a meeting of twelve intercultural fraternities during the National Conference of Intercultural Fraternities held at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. They drafted the constitution and structure of Beta Sigma Tau, new national intercultural fraternity. In November 1948, the groups met again and completed the organization of Beta Sigma Tau. Once consolicated, the new fraternity consisted of sixteen chapters from New York to California.
Beta Sigma Tau was the first national social college fraternity that was "open to all Races and Religions". According to its constitutional preamble, Beta Sigma Tau was founded "to level, not raise barriers among people", and was based "upon a brotherhood and democracy which transcends racial, national, and religious differences".
The fraternity expanded to additional campuses, expanding to at least eighteen chapters. However, Beta Sigma Tau merged into Pi Lambda Phi on November 1, 1960. At the time of the merger, two chapters reverted to local status and later joined other national fraternities. The chapter at Tri-State University was not able to participate in the merger because the university had lost its accreditation at the time.
Chapters Beta Sigma Tau included the following collegiate chapters.
Name Charter date and range Institution Location Status <noinclude> Baldwin-Wallace – November 1, 1960 Baldwin Wallace University Berea, Ohio Merged () SUNY, Buffalo –1960 University at Buffalo Buffalo, New York Inactive Ohio State – November 1, 1960 Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Merged () Ohio Wesleyan – November 1, 1960 Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, Ohio Merged () Roosevelt –1960 Roosevelt University Chicago, Illinois Inactive Santa Barbara –1953 University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara County, California Inactive Cal Berkeley –1954 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Inactive Lincoln (PA) –195x ? Lincoln University Oxford, Pennsylvania Inactive New Mexico Highlands –1952 New Mexico Highlands University Las Vegas, New Mexico Inactive Morgan State –195x ? Morgan State University Baltimore, Maryland Inactive Johns Hopkins UniversityLoyola College of Maryland Colorado – November 1, 1960 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado Merged () Southern California –1955 University of Southern California Los Angeles, California Inactive Columbia – November 1, 1960 Columbia University New York City, New York Merged () Tri-State –1960 Tri-State University Angola, Indiana Withdrew (local) Johns Hopkins –1956 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland Inactive Hobart –1960 Hobart College Geneva, New York Withdrew (local) UCLA – November 1, 1960 University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Merged () Indiana Tech –1960 Indiana Institute of Technology Fort Wayne, Indiana Withdrew (local)
Legacy Beta Sigma Tau (local) was formed at the University of Toledos formed in 1996, influenced by the ideals of the original fraternity. This organization had no legal connection to Beta Sigma Tau national, nor to Pi Lambda Phi. By 2006, the Toledo group "swayed from its multicultural mission and folded as its founders and core leaders graduated."
Notable members
James Lawson – activist, professor, and key figure in the civil rights movement Stanley Tolliver – legal counsel for Martin Luther King Jr. and founder of Beta Sigma Tau Ezra F. Vogel – sociologist and professor of the social sciences at Harvard University
See also List of social fraternities
References