Tau Beta Pi Information Book - The Association

The Tau Beta Pi Association, engineering honor society, was founded at Lehigh University in 1885 by Dr. Edward Higginson Williams Jr., "to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as undergraduates in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges. "Preamble to the Constitution.

An honor society is an association of primarily collegiate members and chapters whose purposes are to encourage and recognize superior scholarship and/or leadership achievement either in broad fields of education or in departmental fields at either undergraduate or graduate levels. The honor society has followed the expansion and specialization of higher education in America. When Phi Beta Kappa was organized in 1776, no thought was given to its proper "field," since all colleges then in existence were for the training of men for "the service of the church and the state." With the expansion of education into new fields, a choice had to be made, and the society elected to operate in the field of the liberal arts and sciences. Although this was not finally voted until 1898, the trend was evident years earlier, and 1885 saw the establishment of Tau Beta Pi.

Founder Edward H. Williams, Jr., was born at Proctorsville, Vermont, on September 30, 1849; he died at Woodstock, Vermont, on November 2, 1933. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, he was head of the mining department of Lehigh University when he determined to offer technical men as good a chance of recognition for superior scholarship in their field as that afforded by the other society in the liberal arts and sciences.

Working alone he conceived an organization, gave it a name, designed its governmental structure, drew up its constitution, prepared its badge and certificate, established its membership requirements, and planned all the necessary details for its operation including the granting of chapters and the holding of conventions.

Thus, with only a paper organization, he offered membership to qualified graduates of Lehigh and received their acceptances and enthusiastic endorsement. Late in the spring of 1885 he invited the valedictorian of the senior class, Irving Andrew Heikes, to membership and he accepted, becoming the first student member of Tau Beta Pi; but there was no time to initiate the rest of the eligible men from the class of 1885.

Mr. Heikes returned for graduate work, however, and in the fall of 1885, he, Dr. Williams, and two alumni who had earlier accepted membership, initiated the eligible men from the class of 1886 and organized the chapter.

Edward H. Williams, Jr., A.B., A.C., E.M., Sc.D., LL.D.  (1849-1933) Founder of The Tau Beta Pi Association

The parent chapter, Alpha of Pennsylvania, existed alone until 1892 when Alpha of Michigan was founded at Michigan State University.

A detailed account of the founding and early history of Tau Beta Pi was written by Edwin S. Stackhouse, Pennsylvania Alpha '86, after years of painstaking research work (THE BENT, April 1941). Records of essential dates were lost, but Mr. Stackhouse deduced that June 15, 1885, was the day on which the first undergraduate student was initiated. Subsequent evidence, in the form of Mr. Heikes' original invitation to membership, discovered in 1943, confirmed this date. Since the founding of the Michigan Alpha chapter, Tau Beta Pi has grown steadily; there are now collegiate chapters at 234 institutions, chartered alumnus chapters in 59 cities, and a total initiated membership of 500,876.

The Association was incorporated under the laws of Tennessee on December 1, 1947. The official name of the society is The Tau Beta Pi Association, Incorporated. It is a not-for-profit, educational organization with no stock-issuing power. Its assets are held in its corporate name or in trust. The Association is classified under Section 501(c)(3) (not private) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, and gifts and bequests to it are tax deductible.

Tau Beta Pi is a founding member of the Association of College Honor Societies, an association member of the American Society for Engineering Education, an associate member of the American Association of Engineering Societies, and an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The official badge of the Association is a watch key in the form of the bent of a trestle, engraved on the reverse side with the member's name, chapter, and class. The colors of the Association are seal brown and white. The official quarterly magazine is THE BENT of Tau Beta Pi. The name of the Association, its badge, and the title of its magazine are registered in the United States Patent Office. The creed of Tau Beta Pi, adopted in 1991, is Integrity and Excellence in Engineering.

The word key describes the insignia of many organizations. It comes from the fact that it was first designed, in the late eighteenth century, to include a pocket watch winding feature, hence key. The bottom stem, added to the basic insignia, had a tapered square hole fitting the common sizes of watch-winding shafts. The top stem and ring were added so that the key could be worn as a pendant from a chain, rather than as a pin or badge, thus easily used to wind watches. When the "stem-winder" watch was introduced in the late nineteenth century, it replaced the key-winder. But the insignia key remained, although with a vestigial hole now round for manufacturing ease and economy.

The Headquarters of Tau Beta Pi are located on the campus of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, and have been there since R. C. Matthews went to the University as a young instructor in 1907. R. C. Matthews served as Tau Beta Pi's Secretary from 1905 to 1912 and as Secretary-Treasurer from 1912 until his retirement in 1947. Before he assumed office in 1905 the headquarters offices had been moved to wherever the offices of the Secretary were located. Professor Matthews' long service to Tau Beta Pi and the University of Tennessee has made the university the permanent headquarters of the Association. In 1963, the headquarters staff moved into a suite of offices designed specifically for Tau Beta Pi in the then-new Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building.

Merger with Sigma Tau

On January 1, 1974, the Sigma Tau Fraternity merged into The Tau Beta Pi Association. The action was taken by the collegiate chapters of the two organizations following lengthy study and recommendation by their Councils. Sigma Tau was founded in 1904 at the University of Nebraska as an engineering honor society. At the time of merger, it had 34 collegiate chapters and a total initiated membership of 45,000. The basis of merger was the conviction that a single, strong honor society would better serve the engineering profession.

The resulting organization is Tau Beta Pi, unchanged in name, purpose, governance, operating procedures, and membership requirements (except for the automatic Tau Beta Pi membership eligibility of all Sigma Tau members).

The 22 Sigma Tau chapters at institutions formerly without Tau Beta Pi chapters began functioning under Tau Beta Pi rules on January 1, 1974, and were converted to chapters of the Association in formal ceremonies on the dates shown in the roster of chartered collegiate chapters following. The 12 Sigma Tau chapters co-existing on campuses with Tau Beta Pi were merged into the Association, by initiation of their active members in early 1974. The Headquarters office of Sigma Tau in Lincoln, Nebraska, was closed on June 30, 1974, and its records were transferred to the Headquarters of Tau Beta Pi in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Under terms of the merger plan, the financial assets of the Sigma Tau fraternity were used in meeting the costs of converting and merging its chapters, of giving its initiated active members all the insignia and materials regularly going to new members of Tau Beta Pi, and of extending all paid Sigma Tau magazine (The Pyramid) subscriptions to subscriptions to Tau Beta Pi's magazine (THE BENT). The Sigma Tau Foundation, Inc., was dissolved and its assets were transferred directly to Tau Beta Pi's Fellowship Fund. There, the invested sum will earn a return to assist in providing an annual Tau Beta Pi-Sigma Tau fellowship under the Association's regular graduate-study award program.

Under terms of the merger plan, all Sigma Tau alumni have been offered membership in Tau Beta Pi at the current national initiation-fee charge. Those who choose not to join the Association will have all Sigma Tau membership services (except for The Pyramid, which has been discontinued) available to them through the Tau Beta Pi Headquarters.

The last national officers of the Sigma Tau Fraternity were: President G. W. Forman, Vice President H. H. Bartel, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer J. P. Colbert, and Councillors C. W. Leihy, R. P. Moser, R. E. Peterson, and J. W. Straight.

CHAPTERS AND DISTRICTS

Chartered Collegiate Chapters (Chapters listed by state with links to homepages)

No.	Chapter	Establishment Date	Institution	City
1	Pennsylvania Alpha	June 15, 1885	Lehigh University	Bethlehem, Pa.
2	Michigan Alpha	November 5, 1892	Michigan State University	East Lansing, Mich.
3	Indiana Alpha	April 10, 1893	Purdue University	West Lafayette, Ind.
4	New Jersey Alpha	March 27, 1896	Stevens Institute of Technology	Hoboken, N.J.
5	Illinois Alpha	June 2, 1897	University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign	Urbana- Champaign, Ill.
6	Wisconsin Alpha	May 5, 1899	University of Wisconsin­Madison	Madison , Wis.
7	Ohio Alpha	May 19, 1900	Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland, Ohio
8	Kentucky Alpha	April 5, 1902	University of Kentucky	Lexington, Ky.
9	New York Alpha	April 11, 1902	Columbia University	New York, N.Y.
10	Missouri Alpha	November 15, 1902	University of Missouri­Columbia & ­Kansas City	Columbia & Kansas City, Mo.
11	Michigan Beta	August 6, 1904	Michigan Technological University	Houghton, Mich.
12	Colorado Alpha	May 5, 1905	Colorado School of Mines	Golden, Colo.
13	Colorado Beta	June 8, 1905	University of Colorado at Boulder (Iota)*	Boulder, Colo.
14	Illinois Beta	April 6, 1906	Illinois Institute of Technology	Chicago, Ill.
15	New York Beta	May 16, 1906	Syracuse University	Syracuse, N.Y
16	Michigan Gamma	June 14, 1906	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, Mich.
17	Missouri Beta	December 21, 1906	University of Missouri­Rolla	Rolla, Mo.
18	California Alpha	April 10, 1907	University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley , Calif.
19	Iowa Alpha	December 20, 1907	Iowa State University	Ames, Iowa
20	New York Gamma	June 12, 1908	Rensselaer Poly. Institute	Troy, N.Y.
21	Iowa Beta	March 30, 1909	University of Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa
22	Minnesota Alpha	June 9, 1909	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minneapolis, Minn.
23	New York Delta	January 17, 1910	Cornell University	Ithaca, N.Y.
24	Massachusetts Alpha	May 14, 1910	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	Worcester, Mass.
25	Maine Alpha	March 11, 1911	University of Maine	Orono, Me.
26	Pennsylvania Beta	May 4, 1912	Pennsylvania State University (Kappa)*	University Park, Pa.
27	Washington Alpha	June 4, l9l2	University of Washington	Seattle, Wash.
28	Arkansas Alpha	December 14, 1914	University of Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.
29	Kansas Alpha	December 17, 1914	University of Kansas (Lambda)*	Lawrence, Kan.
30	Ohio Beta	November 26, 1915	University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio
31	Pennsylvania Gamma	February 19, 1916	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, Pa.
32	Texas Alpha	June 10, 1916	University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Tex.
33	Ohio Gamma	February 12, 1921	Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio
34	Maryland Alpha	April 9, 1921	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, Md.
35	Pennsylvania Delta	April 11, 1921	University of Pennsylvania (Gamma)*	Philadelphia, Pa.
36	Pennsylvania Epsilon	May 7, 1921	Lafayette College	Easton, Pa.
37	Virginia Alpha	May 28, 1921	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, Va.
38	Alabama Alpha	May 30, 1921	Auburn University	Auburn, Ala.
39	California Beta	June 11, 1921	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, Calif.
40	West Virginia Alpha	June 3, 1922	West Virginia University	Morgantown, W. Va.
41	Missouri Gamma	June 5, 1922	Washington University	St. Louis, Mo.
42	Massachusetts Beta	June 5, 1922	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, Mass.
43	Washington Beta	March 17, 1923	Washington State University (Eta)*	Pullman, Wash.
44	Massachusetts Gamma	June 6, 1923	Harvard University  (Inactive 1936)	Cambridge, Mass.
45	Connecticut Alpha	December 15, 1923	Yale University	New Haven, Conn.
46	Oregon Alpha	March 29, 1924	Oregon State University (Zeta)*	Corvallis,  Ore.
47	Georgia Alpha	February 6, 1925	Georgia Institute of Technology	Atlanta, Ga.
48	North Carolina Alpha	October 10, 1925	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, N. C.
49	Oklahoma Alpha	April 3, 1926	University of Oklahoma  (Mu)*	Norman, Okla.
50	Montana Alpha	April 15, 1926	Montana State University	Bozeman, Mont.
51	Alabama Beta	November 20, 1926	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
52	Arizona Alpha	November 24, 1926	University of Arizona	Tucson, Ariz.
53	Massachusetts Delta	December 16, 1927	Tufts University	Medford, Mass.
54	South Carolina Alpha	November 23, 1928	Clemson University	Clemson, S.C.
55	North Carolina Beta	November 24, 1928	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Inactive 1938)	Chapel Hill, N.C.
56	Indiana Beta	December 8, 1928	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	Terre Haute, Ind.
57	Mississippi Alpha	December 15, 1928	Mississippi State University	State College, Miss.
58	Tennessee Alpha	November 15, 1929	University of Tennessee, Knoxville	Knoxville , Tenn.
59	Maryland Beta	November 21, 1929	University of Maryland	College Park, Md.
60	Pennsylvania Zeta	November 24, 1930	Drexel University	Philadelphia, Pa.
61	New York Epsilon	December 4, 1931	New York University (Inactive 1974)	Bronx, N.Y.
62	New York Zeta	December 5, 1931	Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (Inactive 1974)	Brooklyn, N.Y.
63	Wisconsin Beta	December 3, 1932	Marquette University	Milwaukee, Wis.
64	Virginia Beta	November 24, 1933	Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State Univ.	Blacksburg, Va.
65	Delaware Alpha	November 25, 1933	University of Delaware	Newark, Del.
66	Utah Alpha	December 8, 1933	University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah
67	New Jersey Beta	December 14, 1934	Rutgers University	New Brunswick, N.J.
68	California Gamma	January 26, 1935	Stanford University	Stanford, Calif.
69	Louisiana Alpha	November 30, 1936	Louisiana State University	Baton Rouge, La.
70	Louisiana Beta	December 1, 1936	Tulane University of Louisiana	New Orleans, La.
71	Texas Beta	December 11, 1937	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, Tex.
72	New York Eta	November 30, 1940	City College of New York	New York, N.Y.
73	Texas Gamma	December 18, 1940	Rice University (Alpha Zeta)*	Houston, Tex.
74	Michigan Delta	January 20, 1941	University of Detroit Mercy	Detroit, Mich.
75	New Jersey Gamma	November 29, 1941	New Jersey Institute of Technology	Newark, N J.
76	New York Theta	December 4, 1941	Clarkson University	Potsdam, N.Y.
77	Illinois Gamma	December 6, 1941	Northwestern Univ. Technological Inst.	Evanston, Ill.
78	Massachusetts Epsilon	December 13, 1941	Northeastern University	Boston, Mass.
79	Tennessee Beta	December 7, 1946	Vanderbilt University	Nashville, Tenn.
80	California Delta	January 10, 1947	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, Calif.
81	New York Iota	January 11, 1947	Cooper Union	New York, N.Y.
82	Pennsylvania Eta	December 11, 1947	Bucknell University	Lewisburg, Pa.
83	New York Kappa	December 13, 1947	University of Rochester	Rochester, N.Y.
84	North Carolina Gamma	January 10, 1948	Duke University	Durham, N.C.
85	Texas Delta	October 11, 1948	Texas A&M University	College Station, Tex.
86	Connecticut Beta	January 8, 1949	University of Connecticut	Storrs, Conn.
87	North Dakota Alpha	January 14, 1950	North Dakota State University	Fargo, N.D.
88	New Hampshire Alpha	December 9, 1950	University of New Hampshire	Durham, N.H.
89	Louisiana Gamma	February 17, 1951	Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, La.
90	Michigan Epsilon	March 10, 1951	Wayne State University	Detroit, Mich.
91	California Epsilon	March 29, 1952	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, Calif.
92	New York Lambda	April 19, 1952	Pratt Institute (Inactive 1993)	Brooklyn, N.Y.
93	Ohio Delta	February 21, 1953	Ohio University	Athens, Ohio
94	Ohio Epsilon	February 22, 1953	Cleveland State University	Cleveland, Ohio
95	Colorado Gamma	January 29, 1954	University of Denver (Inactive 1975)	Denver,  Colo.
96	Rhode Island Alpha	February 12, 1954	Brown University	Providence, R.I.
97	Rhode Island Beta	February 13, 1954	University of Rhode Island	Kingston, R.I.
98	Ohio Zeta	February 20, 1954	University of Toledo	Toledo, Ohio
99	Massachusetts Zeta	January 7, 1956	University of Massachusetts at Amherst	Amherst , MAss.
100	District of Columbia Alpha	March 10, 1956	Howard University	Washington, D.C.
101	California Zeta	April 21, 1956	Santa Clara University	Santa Clara, Calif.
102	South Carolina Beta	January 11, 1958	University of South Carolina	Columbia, S.C.
103	Vermont Alpha	December 20, 1958	University of Vermont	Burlington, Vt.
104	Ohio Eta	February 21, 1959	Air Force Institute of Technology	Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
105	Louisiana Delta	March 5, 1960	University of Southwestern Louisiana	Lafayette, La.
106	Indiana Gamma	December 10, 1960	University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, Ind.
107	Florida Alpha	January 14, 1961	University of Florida (Upsilon)*	Gainesville, Fla.
108	Pennsylvania Theta	February 11, 1961	Villanova University	Villanova, Pa.
109	Ohio Theta	March 11, 1961	University of Dayton	Dayton, Ohio
110	Texas Epsilon	February 10, 1962	University of Houston	Houston, Tex.
111	District of Columbia Beta	March 31, 1962	Catholic University of America	Washington, D.C.
112	District of Columbia Gamma	February 16, 1963	George Washington University (Xi)*	Washington, D.C.
113	Arizona Beta	March 9, 1963	Arizona State University	Tempe, Ariz.
114	Indiana Delta	March 23, 1963	Valparaiso University	Valparaiso, Ind.
115	Illinois Delta	January 18, 1964	Bradley University (Alpha Iota)*	Peoria, Ill.
116	Florida Beta	January 25, 1964	University of Miami	Coral Gables, Fla.
117	California Eta	March 14, 1964	San Jose State University	San Jose, Calif.
118	Utah Beta	April 4, 1964	Brigham Young University	Provo, Utah
119	New York Mu	April 11, 1964	Union College	Schenectady, N.Y.
120	California Theta	January 30, 1965	California State University, Long Beach	Long Beach , Calif.
121	Vermont Beta	March 13, 1965	Norwich University	Northfield, Vt.
122	Kansas Beta	March 21, 1965	Wichita State University	Wichita, Kan.
123	Washington Gamma	February 12, 1966	Seattle University	Seattle, Wash.
124	California Iota	February 18, 1967	California State University, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, Calif.
125	New York Nu	March 11, 1967	State University of New York at Buffalo	Buffalo, N.Y.
126	New York Xi	March 18, 1967	Manhattan College	Bronx, N.Y.
127	Tennessee Gamma	February 3, 1968	Tennessee Technological University	Cookeville, Tenn.
128	California Kappa	February 17, 1968	California State University, Northridge	Northridge, Calif.
129	Texas Zeta	March 16, 1968	Lamar University	Beaumont, Tex.
130	Pennsylvania Iota	March 30, 1968	Widener University	Chester, Pa.
131	Puerto Rico Alpha	March 8, 1969	University of Puerto Rico	Mayaguez, P.R.
132	Mississippi Beta	March 15, 1969	University of Mississippi	University, Miss.
133	Texas Eta	March 22, 1969	University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington, Tex.
134	Texas Theta	March 29, 1969	University of Texas at El Paso	El Paso, Tex.
135	California Lambda	May 3, 1969	University of California, Davis	Davis, Calif.
136	New York Omicron	April 26, 1970	State University of New York at Stony Brook	Stony Brook, N.Y.
137	New York Pi	January 23, 1971	Rochester Institute of Technology	Rochester, N.Y.
138	Oklahoma Beta	February 13, 1971	University of Tulsa	Tulsa, Okla.
139	Michigan Zeta	May 8, 1971	Kettering University	Flint, Mich.
140	West Virginia Beta	January 29, 1972	West Virginia University Institute of Technology	Montgomery, W.V.
141	California Mu	February 13, 1972	California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo	San Luis Obispo, Calif.
142	California Nu	February 13, 1972	California State Polytechnic University, Pomona	Pomona , Calif.
143	New Jersey Delta	April 23, 1972	Princeton University	Princeton, N.J.
144	California Xi	March 4, 1973	San Diego State University	San Diego, Calif.
145	Wisconsin Gamma	March 17, 1973	University of Wisconsin­ Milwaukee	Milwaukee, Wis.
146	Ohio Iota	March 31, 1973	Ohio Northern University	Ada, Ohio
147	Nebraska Alpha	January 26, 1974	University of Nebraska­Lincoln (Alpha)**	Lincoln, Neb.
148	Kansas Gamma	January 27, 1974	Kansas State University (Epsilon)*	Manhattan, Kan.
149	Florida Gamma	February 16, 1974	University of South Florida	Tampa, Fla.
150	California Omicron	March 9, 1974	Loyola Marymount University	Los Angeles, Calif.
151	California Pi	March 10, 1974	Northrop University (Inactive 1991)	Inglewood,  Calif.
152	Pennsylvania Kappa	March 20, 1974	Swarthmore College (Nu)**	Swarthmore, Pa.
153	Pennsylvania Lambda	March 21, 1974	University of Pittsburgh (Psi)**	Pittsburgh, Pa.
154	Kentucky Beta	March 24, 1974	University of Louisville (Omicron)**	Louisville, Ky.
155	Tennessee Delta	March 30, 1974	Christian Brothers University (Alpha Mu)**	Memphis, Tenn.
156	Texas Iota	April 2, 1974	Southern Methodist University (Alpha Beta)**	Dallas, Tex.
157	Texas Kappa	April 3, 1974	Prairie View A&M University Prairie View (Alpha Lambda)**	Prairie View, Tex.
158	Texas Lambda	April 4, 1974	Texas A&M University - Kingsville   (Alpha Eta)**	Kingsville, Tex.
159	New Mexico Alpha	April 5, 1974	New Mexico State University (Alpha Gamma)**	Las Cruces, N.M.
160	New Mexico Beta	April 6, 1974	University of New Mexico (Chi)**	Albuquerque, N.M.
161	Oklahoma Gamma	April 7, 1974	Oklahoma State University (Sigma)**	Stillwater, Okla.
162	Wyoming Alpha	April 19, 1974	University of Wyoming (Omega)**	Laramie, Wyo.
163	Colorado Delta	April 20, 1974	Colorado State University (Alpha Alpha)**	Ft. Collins, Colo.
164	South Dakota Alpha	April 22, 1974	South Dakota School of Mines & Tech. (Tau)**	Rapid City, S.D.
165	South Dakota Beta	April 23, 1974	South Dakota State University (Delta)**	Brookings, S.D.
166	North Dakota Beta	April 24, 1974	University of North Dakota (Pi)**	Grand Forks, N.D.
167	Idaho Alpha	May 2, 1974	University of Idaho (Rho)**	Moscow, Idaho
168	California Rho	May 9, 1974	California State University, Fresno (Alpha Kappa)**	Fresno, Calif.
169	Nevada Alpha	May10, 1974	University of Nevada­Reno (Alpha Epsilon)**	Reno, Nev.
170	Utah Gamma	May 11, 1974	Utah State University (Alpha Delta)**	Logan, Utah
171	Ohio Kappa	May 21, 1974	University of Akron (Phi)**	Akron, Ohio
172	Ohio Lambda	May 22, 1974	Youngstown State University (Alpha Theta)**	Youngstown, Ohio
173	New York Rho	May 26, 1974	Polytechnic University	Brooklyn, N.Y.
174	Indiana Epsilon	February 22, 1975	Tri-State University	Angola, Ind.
175	Alaska Alpha	April 5, 1975	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks, Alas.
176	Massachusetts Eta	April 19, 1975	Boston University	Boston, Mass.
177	Illinois Epsilon	April 3, 1976	Southern Illinois University at Carbondale	Carbondale, ILL.
178	Alabama Gamma	March 27, 1977	University of Alabama at Birmingham	Birmingham, Ala.
179	Tennessee Epsilon	April 2, 1977	University of Memphis	Memphis, Tenn.
180	Florida Delta	December 3, 1977	University of Central Florida	Orlando, Fla.
181	Michigan Eta	February 11, 1978	Lawrence Technological University	Southfield, Mich.
182	Michigan Theta	February 17, 1979	Oakland University	Rochester, Mich.
183	Virginia Gamma	March 17, 1979	Old Dominion University	Norfolk, Va.
184	North Carolina Delta	March 23, 1979	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, N.C.
185	Alabama Delta	January 26, 1980	University of Alabama in Huntsville	Huntsville, Ala.
186	California Sigma	January 24, 1981	University of California, Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, Calif.
187	Arizona Gamma	March 7, 1981	Northern Arizona University	Flagstaff, Ariz.
188	South Carolina Gamma	March 28, 1981	The Citadel	Charleston, S.C.
189	Michigan Iota	January 16, 1982	University of Michigan­Dearborn	Dearborn, Mich.
190	California Tau	April 3, 1982	University of California, Irvine	Irvine, Calif.
191	Maryland Gamma	January 13, 1984	United States Naval Academy	Annapolis, Md.
192	Illinois Zeta	January 28, 1984	University of Illinois at Chicago	Chicago, Ill.
193	California Upsilon	February 18, 1984	California State University, Sacramento	Sacramento, Calif.
194	Montana Beta	March 24, 1984	Montana Tech of the University of Montana	Butte, Mont.
195	Florida Epsilon	February 9, 1985	Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Fla.
196	New Mexico Gamma	March 2, 1985	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	Socorro, N.M.
197	Massachusetts Theta	March 9, 1985	University of Massachusetts Lowell	Lowell, Mass.
198	Colorado Epsilon	November 23, 1985	University of Colorado at Denver	Denver, Colo.
199	North Carolina Epsilon	February 18, 1986	North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State Univ.	Greensboro, N.C.
200	Florida Zeta	March 1, 1986	Florida Institute of Technology	Melbourne, Fla.
201	California Phi	March 5, 1988	University of the Pacific	Stockton, Calif.
202	Michigan Kappa	March 18, 1989	Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo, Mich.
203	Tennessee Zeta	January 6, 1990	University of Tennessee at Chattanooga	Chattanooga, Tenn.
204	Alabama Epsilon	February 3, 1990	University of South Alabama	Mobile, Ala.
205	Wisconsin Delta	March 10, 1990	Milwaukee School of Engineering	Milwaukee, Wis.
206	Ohio Mu	May 5, 1990	Wright State University	Dayton, Ohio
207	New York Sigma	February 2, 1991	Alfred University	Alfred, N.Y.
208	Virginia Delta	February 9, 1991	Virginia Military Institute	Lexington, Va.
209	Connecticut Gamma	March 9, 1991	University of Hartford	West Hartford, Conn.
210	New York Tau	March 16, 1991	State University of New York at Binghamton	Binghamton, N.Y.
211	Wisconsin Epsilon	February 1, 1992	University of Wisconsin-Platteville	Platteville, Wis.
212	Florida Eta	February 29, 1992	Florida A&M University/Florida State University	Tallahassee
213	Massachusetts Iota	March 21, 1992	Western New England College	Springfield, Mass.
214	California Chi	March 28, 1992	California State University, Fullerton	Fullerton, Cal.
215	Oregon Beta	February 13, 1993	Portland State University	Portland, Or.
216	Louisiana Epsilon	March 13, 1993	University of New Orleans	New Orleans, La.
217	Maryland Delta	December 11, 1993	University of Maryland Baltimore County	Baltimore, Md.
218	California Psi	February 5, 1994	University of California, San Diego	San Diego, Calif.
219	Florida Theta	March 12, 1994	Florida International University	Miami, Fla.
220	Nevada Beta	February 4, 1995	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nev.
221	Georgia Beta	February 11, 1995	Mercer University	Macon, Ga.
222	Washington Delta	February 25, 1995	Gonzaga University	Spokane, Wash.
223	Minnesota Beta	February 3, 1996	University of Minnesota, Duluth	Duluth, Minn.
224	California Omega	February 10, 1996	Harvey Mudd College	Claremont, Calif.
225	California Alpha Alpha	March 2, 1996	California State University, Chico	Chico , Calif.
226	Colorado Zeta	March 8, 1997	United States Air Force Academy	Colorado Springs, Colo.
227	Maryland Epsilon	March 7, 1998	Morgan State University	Baltimore, Md.
228	Ohio Nu	March 3, 2001	Cedarville University	Cedarville, OH
229	Missouri Delta	January 26, 2002	University of Missouri-Kansas City	Kansas City, MO
230	Oregon Gamma	February 9, 2002	University of Portland	Portland, OR
231	New Hampshire Beta	February 23, 2002	Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH
232	Texas Mu	March 3, 2002	University of Texas at San Antonio	San Antonio, TX
233	Virginia Epsilon	March 1, 2003	Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond, VA
234	Idaho Beta	January 17, 2004	Idaho State University	Pocatello, ID
235	Michigan Lambda	March 27, 2004	Grand Valley State University	Grand Rapids, MI
236	California Alpha Beta	February 12, 2005	University of California, Riverside	Riverside, CA
237	New Jersey Epsilon	January 28, 2006	Rowan University	Glassboro, NJ

*Name of the Sigma Tau chapter merged with the Tau Beta Pi chapter in 1974.
**Name of the Sigma Tau chapter converted to the TBP chapter on the establishment date shown.
New York Gamma became inactive in 1916 when a changed institute policy refused access to students' grades and thus made identification of the high-standing juniors and seniors impossible. Another change in policy permitted reinstatement of the chapter in 1936.
The Massachusetts Gamma Chapter charter was withdrawn in 1936 when undergraduate engineering instruction at Harvard University was no longer offered. North Carolina Beta's charter was withdrawn in 1938 when all undergraduate engineering curricula were transferred from the University of North Carolina to North Carolina State University where a chapter was already in existence. The New York Epsilon and New York Zeta Chapters were merged into the New York Rho Chapter on May 26, 1974, after their original harboring institutions, the School of Engineering and Science of New York University and the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, were merged into the Polytechnic Institute of New York. The Colorado Gamma Chapter surrendered its charter on May 30, 1975, when the University of Denver ceased offering engineering education. The California Pi Chapter returned its charter on December 31, 1991, when Northrop University closed its doors. New York Lambda's charter was withdrawn in 1993 when Pratt Institute ceased offering engineering education.

Collegiate Chapter Organization

Collegiate chapters are administered by a corps of officers including a president, vice president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, and cataloger, all of whom must be active members of the chapter, although not necessarily undergraduates. An Advisory Board consisting of the president, vice president, and corresponding secretary of the chapter and four alumnus members of the Association (usually faculty) selected by the student members acts in a judiciary capacity at the local level. The president is usually a chapter's delegate to the Convention, the Association's governing body which meets annually. Collegiate chapters draw up their bylaws which set out, in further detail than is covered by the national Constitution and Bylaws, operating procedures followed by the local group.

Requirements for New Collegiate Chapters

Charters for new collegiate chapters are granted only by a three-fourths favorable vote of the Convention. Recommended minimum qualifications of petitioning groups and their institutions, as set forth in Tau Beta Pi's Bylaws, are as follows:

That the institution grant 40 or more engineering bachelor's degrees a year. That three engineering curricula be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, unless the institution offers a "unified" curriculum or unless all curricula are accredited. That the petitioning group have been organized and operating as a local society along Tau Beta Pi lines for two years. That at least three members of the faculty be members of Tau Beta Pi. That a majority of the engineering faculty be members of their respective national technical societies.

Chartered Alumnus Chapters

Ames, Iowa
Baltimore, Maryland
Bluegrass (Lexington-Frankfort, Ky.)
Buffalo, New York
Central Alabama (Birmingham)
Central Connecticut (Hartford)
Central Florida (Orlando)
Central Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
Central Michigan (Lansing) Chicago, Illinois
Cincinnati, Ohio
Columbia River Basin (Richland, Wash.)
Columbus, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Daytona Beach, Florida
Front Range, Colorado/Wyoming (Denver)
Detroit, Michigan
El Paso, Texas
Flint, Michigan
Gainesville, Florida
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Great Smoky Mountains (Knoxville-Oak Ridge, Tenn.)
Greater Gulf Coast (Mobile, Ala.)
Hampton Roads, Virginia
Houston, Texas
Kanawha Valley (Charleston, W.Va.)
Lehigh Valley (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Long Island (N.Y.) Suburban
Louisville, Kentucky
Miami, Florida
Midlands (Columbia, S.C.)
Mid-South (Memphis, Tenn.)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Minnesota (Minneapolis)
Newark, New Jersey
New York, New York
Ohio's North Coast, Cleveland
Phoenix, Arizona
Piedmont (Clemson, S.C.)
Portland, Oregon
Puerto Rico
Puget Sound, Washington
Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham- Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Richmond, Virginia
Rochester, New York
Rolla, Missouri
Sacramento, California
St. Louis, Missouri
Salt Lake City, Utah
San Francisco Bay Area, California
San Francisco Peninsula, California
Schenectady, New York
Southern California
Southern Tier, New York
Sun City, Arizona
Tampa Bay, Florida
Washington, D.C.
West Palm Beach, Florida
Wilmington, Delaware

Alumnus Chapter Organization and Establishment

Alumnus chapters are composed of alumnus members who join together to advance the causes of the engineering profession, to be of service to local members of the Association and to the membership of neighboring collegiate chapters, and to advance the principles and ideals of Tau Beta Pi. The chapters are self-governing as far as does not conflict with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association. They are known by the name of the city or area in which they are located. Each alumnus chapter is entitled to be represented by one or more delegates at the annual Convention, and, if represented, is entitled to one vote in the Convention. New alumnus chapters may be chartered by the Executive Council when written application is made by at least ten members of the Association. A total of 59 charters have been granted.

Districts

Schemes for organizing Tau Beta Pi's chapters by districts had been suggested for many years before a specific plan was presented to the 1975 Convention. The plan was approved for a three-year trial and, following its success on an experimental basis, was formally adopted by the 1978 Convention. The need for districting was evident as the number of chapters increased and it became impossible for a few national officers to pay regular chapter visits. District Directors, located close to their relatively small number of chapters, now supply the frequent personal relationship that is a necessary ingredient for the health of the chapters.

Under the plan the Executive Council created 15 geographical districts and assigned each collegiate and alumnus chapter to the appropriate one. District 16 was established in 1999. Activities under the leadership of the District Directors have included visits to chapters, District conferences for chapter representatives, publication of District newsletters, and meetings of District delegates at the annual Convention. The focus of District programming is to strengthen the collegiate chapters and to enlist the interest and aid of alumnus members in their work. Training student officers in chapter management and overcoming the effects of discontinuity in chapter membership arising from rapid student turnover are examples of specific programming.

With adoption of the District Program, the former offices of Director of Alumni Affairs and Director of Chapter Development were eliminated, and their duties were transferred to the District Directors or the Headquarters staff. District Map (clickable version)