Rest In Peace Phi Chapter

Phi Chapter of Theta Tau was a distinguished engineering organization committed to fostering excellence, leadership, and service within the engineering community. Founded in the 1920s, our chapter maintained a proud tradition of brotherhood and engineering excellence for over a century.

The active house was committed to academic professionalism and was engineering focused, but allowed SOME non-engineers to join. The actives now align with Phi Kappa Tau, but the light of Torque shines on.

Theta Tau History

Founded at the University of Minnesota in 1904, Theta Tau was the oldest and largest professional fraternity for engineers. Over 40,000 had been initiated over the years. With emphasis on quality and a strong fraternal bond, the Fraternity had chapters only at ABET-accredited schools and limited the number of student members in any one chapter.

Theta Tau was founded as the "Society of Hammer and Tongs," on October 15, 1904, by Erich J. Schrader, Elwin L. Vinal, William M. Lewis, and Isaac B. Hanks, mining engineering students at the University of Minnesota. They agreed that character qualifications should have top priority in membership selection.

The Fraternity fulfilled the dream of its principal Founder, Erich Schrader, that there be established in engineering a fraternity similar to those already existing in law, medicine, and dentistry. Founder Schrader served as its first Grand Regent until 1919, and then for 35 years as Grand Scribe. At its Founders' Golden Anniversary Convention (1954), Theta Tau established the position of Counselor to be held only by him. His unselfish service continued until his death in 1962, at the age of 81. The other Founders also maintained their interest in the Fraternity throughout their lives. The last, Brother Vinal, passed away in 1971.

In 1911, representatives of the three chapters and the alumni association met at the University of Minnesota for the first national Convention, the name was changed to Theta Tau, a revised Ritual approved, and the present badge adopted. Perhaps most important for its future expansion, it was decided that Theta Tau would include all branches of engineering.

In the next two years, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta Chapters were installed. The Second Convention was held in Houghton, Michigan, in 1913. That Convention designated The Gear of Theta Tau as the national Fraternity's magazine.

The Third Convention (1915) and the Fourth (1919) were held in Cleveland, Ohio. Meanwhile, Theta, Iota, and Kappa Chapters were installed. Fraternity was becoming well established. Rapid growth continued, with many more chapters being installed. Since then, there have been over 28,000 members initiated and over fifty chapters installed as the Fraternity celebrated its 90th Anniversary.

The Purpose of Theta Tau Fraternity

The purpose of Theta Tau was to develop and maintain a high standard of professional interest among its members and to unite them in a strong bond of fraternal fellowship. In addition to the desirable attributes of a general fraternity, it offered a common bond: an interest in and pursuance of engineering in its various branches. Founded in 1904, it was the largest professional engineering fraternity in the nation, and encompassed all disciplines of engineering.

Open Motto of Theta Tau Fraternity

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do so with thy might..." - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Our History

Phi Chapter was founded at Purdue University on April 21, 1928, and enjoyed years of great history, building a strong legacy of engineering excellence, brotherhood, and tradition. Throughout the decades, our chapter was a cornerstone of the engineering community, supporting academic achievement, professional development, and community service.

Since its founding in 1928, Phi Chapter initiated approximately 1,170 members into our brotherhood and called 416 N. Chauncey Ave, West Lafayette, IN home.

The New House

This was an exciting time in the long history of Phi Chapter of Theta Tau Fraternity when the inaugural class of men moved into the new $2.2 million house. The house, completed in Spring 2002, was a direct result of the blood, sweat, and tears of the active members and alumni for twenty years. We were all very appreciative of their hard work and the inaugural class couldn't have been more excited.

Click on the pictures link for pictures of our old house, demolition pictures, house construction pictures, and other memories from that time.

Standing for Our Principles

The Chapter of the fraternity was founded in the 1920s and had years of great history. However, the National Organization was infected with the woke mind virus when they demanded that Phi Chapter allow women to live in the house and used Title IX as an excuse to force this change upon us. This demand fundamentally violated our chapter's core principles and traditions that had been upheld for nearly a century.

The national organization's attack on Phi Chapter began immediately and escalated rapidly. They issued ultimatums, threatened sanctions, and attempted to strong-arm the Actives into compliance with their woke agenda. When Phi Chapter refused to abandon its principles, the national organization launched a campaign of intimidation and isolation, cutting off communication channels and attempting to control the narrative.

In their immediate response to Phi Chapter's resistance, the national organization implemented a series of punitive measures designed to break the Actives' resolve. They worked to suspend chapter privileges, withheld resources, and attempted to create division within the house. The national organization's leadership showed their true colors by prioritizing their political agenda over the well-being of a chapter that had been a cornerstone of the organization for nearly a century.

In a display of true bravery and commitment to our values, the Actives of Phi Chapter held true to the "Better dead than co-ed" mantra. Rather than compromise our principles and traditions, we made the courageous decision to leave the national organization and maintain our independence.

The national organization's hostile actions did not stop there. In an attempt to further isolate and control the Actives, they tried to convince them not to communicate with the alumni and systematically isolated them from the Alumni Board. This was a calculated effort to sever the vital connection between the Actives and the alumni who had supported and guided the chapter for decades.

Despite Phi Chapter's years of service as a flagship Chapter and member of the national organization, the national organization took the unprecedented step of revoking our charter without a national vote. This hostile action demonstrated their disregard for due process and their willingness to discard a chapter that had been a cornerstone of the organization for nearly a century.

This decision to stand firm in our convictions demonstrated the strength of character and commitment to tradition that defined Phi Chapter throughout its history. The bravery of the Actives to hold true to our founding principles and leave the national organization when faced with this ultimatum exemplified the integrity and resolve that sustained our brotherhood for over a century. The actives now align with Phi Kappa Tau, but the light of Torque shines on.

For more information on how 416 N. Chauncey became yet another victim of the Woke Mind Virus, please email purduephitau@gmail.com.

Our Values

• Academic Excellence
• Professional Development
• Community Service
• Leadership Development
• Lifelong Learning

Work

As you might have figured from the above description of Theta Tau, we were all engineers, or at least were at one point in time. Engineering was a very time consuming and demanding major. However, having a house full of fellow engineers had many advantages. It was pretty much safe to assume whatever the class, someone in the house had already taken it. That was great when you really needed to understand something that your Prof may have skipped.

Also, engineers at Purdue University had a fantastic CO-OP program to take advantage of. Brothers in our house took jobs with Rolls Royce, Proctor and Gamble, General Electric, General Motors, US Navy, DOW Chemical, HTNB Corp., Eli Lilly, 3M, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Raytheon, Frito Lay, AMD, Intel, the US Air Force, United Airlines and many, many more.

Fun

From the not so organized side of the coin, there were lots of things we did to keep entertained. Between our two houses (the old and the new house at 416 N Chauncey) we had an official sized sand volleyball court. That court saw its fair share of all night volleyball matches that everybody seemed to enjoy. It became official that every single window that faced the volleyball court was replaced with plexiglass after several years of lessons learned the hard way.

Sports

Falling under the more organized category, Phi Chapter of Theta Tau participated in just about all of the Intramural sports at Purdue University. In the past we always did very well in soccer. We also fielded very competitive football, softball, volleyball and basketball teams. Intramural sports also included smaller tournaments like bowling, tennis, track races and even horseshoe throwing. Hey, if ya got a skill, we used it!

Community

The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest was one of the most interesting activities that Theta Tau was responsible for. Phi Chapter of Theta Tau here at Purdue University held both the local and national Rube Contest. Teams from all over the States brought their crazy machines to compete with each other in trying to accomplish the most simple task. It was a lot of fun to watch these machines do their stuff.

Also, our house participated in many community activities. The Greek system here at Purdue University organized many philanthropies that donated the proceeds to local and national charities. Theta Tau usually held at least one blood drive during the semester. In later years, Phi Chapter also fielded the Torque Racing Team and launched the beloved Corgi Race with Cheddar, raising about $22,000 for charity across three years before the 2020 season’s cancellation.

Phi Chapter of Theta Tau alumni are welcome and encouraged to return to the house. Please come and share stories. Many of the Actives were also Theta Tau refugees and loved hearing the old things. Despite the new letters on the house, the house still belongs to all members of the brotherhood.

Living Traditions

Many of the house traditions lived on, preserving the legacy and spirit of Phi Chapter. The room names that were passed down through generations continued to be used, connecting the Actives with the brothers of the past.

Some of the legendary room names that echoed through the halls included "The Annex", "The Void", and "The Pillow Lounge" to name a few. These names carried with them decades of stories, memories, and the traditions that defined Phi Chapter since the 1920s.

The actives now align with Phi Kappa Tau, but the light of Torque shines on.

We invite all alumni to visit and share their experiences, stories, and memories. Your connection to the house and its history is invaluable, and the Actives were eager to learn from those who came before and helped build the foundation of what Phi Chapter stood for.