| Alpha Lambda Tau | |
| Letters: | Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΑΛΤ |
| Crest: | AlphaLambdaTauCOA.jpg |
| Alt: | The Coat of Arms of Alpha Lambda Tau |
| Birthplace: | Oglethorpe University |
| Former Affiliation: | NIC |
| Type: | Social |
| Status: | Defunct |
| Defunct Date: | Fall 1946 |
| Scope: | National |
| Colors: | Old gold and Black |
| Flower: | American Beauty Rose |
| Chapters: | 23 |
| Publication: | Alpha Lambda Tau and The Rose Leaf |
| Country: | United States |
Alpha Lambda Tau (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΑΛΤ) was a men's college fraternity founded in 1916 at Oglethorpe University. For its first decade Alpha Lambda Tau permitted expansion only within the southern states. At the start of its fourth decade, in, the national organization of Alpha Lambda Tau dissolved; the majority of its chapters affiliated with Tau Kappa Epsilon.
Alpha Lambda Tau was founded at Oglethorpe University, of Brookhaven, Georgia (a northeastern suburb of Atlanta) on .[1] The organization at Oglethorpe became Alpha chapter on .[1] Being of southern origin, it was originally decided that the fraternity would not expand north of the Mason–Dixon line. By, the anti-northern expansion policy was met with disapproval at the fraternity's national convention. The policy was dropped in, and a charter was issued to a new chapter at the University of Illinois.[2]
Alpha Lambda Tau became a junior member of the NIC in .
In, the national organization of Alpha Lambda Tau dissolved. Five of the eight chapters that were active in merged with Tau Kappa Epsilon. Several chapters went to other national fraternities.[3] However, there was no official merger between Alpha Lambda Tau and another organization.
These were the chapters of Alpha Lambda Tau. Those active at the time of the merger are noted in bold, those inactive are noted in italics. Where chapters affiliated with Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΚΕ their status is noted as "Merged"; where they joined other fraternities they are listed as "Withdrawn".[4] [5]
| Chapter | Institution | Location | Dates | Status | Notes | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Oglethorpe University | Brookhaven, GA | – | Dormant | |||
| Beta | Auburn University | Auburn, AL | – | Merged | Became the Beta-Lambda chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΚΕ. | ||
| Gamma | Mercer University | Macon, GA | – | Withdrew | Revived the Eta chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΣΝ. | [6] | |
| Delta | Louisiana Tech University | Ruston, LA | – | Merged | Became the Beta-Zeta chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΚΕ in April 1947. | [7] | |
| Epsilon | University of North Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC | – | Dormant | |||
| Zeta | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | – | Merged | Became the Beta-Beta chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΚΕ in . | [8] | |
| Eta | Samford University | Homewood, AL | – | Dormant | [9] | ||
| Theta | University of Georgia | Athens, GA | – | Dormant | |||
| Iota | Presbyterian College | Clinton, SC | – | Withdrew | Became the Zeta-Theta chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΣΝ in . | ||
| Kappa | Wofford College | Spartanburg, SC | – | Dormant | [10] | ||
| Lambda | University of Illinois | Champaign, IL | – | Dormant | |||
| Mu | University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | – | Dormant | |||
| Nu | Lyon College | Batesville, AR | – | Dormant | [11] | ||
| Xi | University of Chattanooga | Chattanooga, TN | – | Withdrew | Became the Delta Epsilon chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΠΚΑ in . | [12] [13] | |
| Omicron | Transylvania University | Lexington, KY | – | Withdrew | Became the Beta Mu chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΔΣΦ in . | [14] | |
| Pi | University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | – | Dormant | |||
| Rho | Culver–Stockton College | Canton, MO | – | Dormant | |||
| Sigma | University of Kentucky | Lexington, KY | – | Dormant | [15] | ||
| Tau | University of Maryland | College Park, MD | – | Merged | Became the Beta-Delta chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΚΕ in . | [16] | |
| Upsilon | Michigan State | East Lansing, MI | –193x ? | Dormant | |||
| Phi | Missouri Mines | Rolla, MO | – | Dormant | [17] | ||
| Chi ? | Western Colorado University | Gunnison, CO | – | Dormant | |||
| Psi | Trine University (Tri-State) | Angola, IN | – | Merged | Became the Beta-Epsilon chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΚΕ. Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΚΕ charter revoked. Later became Theta-Xi chapter of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΚΣ . | [18] |
Alumni chapters existed as of in Chicago, Birmingham and Atlanta.[18]