Rechartering Alpha @ UM

Theta Tau will be hosting a virtual information session on September 18th at 7:30PM CST. If you are an engineering student at the University of Minnesota, please join us to learn more about our fraternity, it’s history, and what you can do to help!

Join us on Google Meet at 7:30(CST) using this link!

Theta Tau Returns to UM!

After a short absence, the Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity is interested in returning to the University of Minnesota.

ABOUT THETA TAU

Theta Tau was founded at the University of Minnesota on October 15, 1904.

In the 119 years since that day, the Fraternity has grown into the largest and foremost fraternity for engineers with chapters on 90 campuses, more than 40,000 total initiates and more than 5,500 student members across the United States. We have been a gender-inclusive (co-ed) organization since 1977.

Theta Tau offers what we call the balanced program of service, profession and brotherhood. We balance our professional development mission with the inherently social aspects of fraternity, all while striving to be of service to our campus, community and profession.

The Alpha Chapter (our home chapter) operated continuously from our founding in 1904 until the mid 1990’s. The chapter closed briefly before rechartering in 2005. The chapter ultimately closed again in the wake of the pandemic in 2022.

We are excited to return to UM to resume our place on campus and, more importantly, return the Alpha Chapter to its rightful place within our brotherhood!

Rechartering Process

So what does it mean to recharter a fraternity? Chartering is the process of obtaining recognition for your new organization from a national fraternity. Because there has, historically, been a chapter of Theta Tau at UM, this is a rechartering. The process will take around a year.

The group will start as an interest group (IG). The IG will go through the initial steps of obtaining recognition from the university, electing officers, and establishing bylaws. Once this has been done and the IG is of the requisite size (around 20 members minimum) then the IG will petition the National Fraternity for a Candidate Chapter Certificate. All of this is done with active support and involvement from a Candidate Chapter Director.

A certificate is a physical document that formally recognizes the group as a Candidate Chapter (chapter-in-training) of Theta Tau. A Candidate Chapter works under the supervision of a Candidate Chapter Director who will guide the learning process, both before and after chartering. Once the CC has cleared the relevant milestones, they will petition for a Charter – the physical document that denotes the group as a Chapter of Theta Tau.

The learning won’t stop at the Installation (chartering), however. New chapters continue to receive guidance from their Candidate Chapter Director as well as their Regional Director. Members of the Central Office (headquarters) staff will also be involved to offer advice and support.

There is no cost until you receive your Candidate Chapter Certificate. Just prior to the Certification (the formal event where your IG is certified as a Candidate Chapter) you will be invoiced for $34 per member (the pledging fee and the cost of your pledge pin). Once you are a CC, you will be responsible for $30 per person for dues, and $18.50 per person for insurance, each semester. Your group will also need to charge dues to pay for your local operating expenses. Once you are chartered as a chapter, dues go up to $90 per semester but insurance remains the same.

Student members, alumni, National Officers and staff will be hosting a virtual meeting on September 18th to recruit an initial interest group. Once that group is established, the goal is to have a group chartered within a year of their being certified, but this varies based on the group. There is no hard-and-fast rule – some groups take five years, some groups take eight months. At UM, we hope to have a Candidate Chapter certified by October of 2025.


Get in Touch

To learn more, reach out to the officers and staff leading this project:

Daniel Jensen (Theta Gamma ’01), Candidate Chapter Director

Jennifer Kreiman, Director of Chapter Services