Theta Chi Fraternity has a distinguished history both nationally and here at Presbyterian College. The Fraternity was founded at Norwich University in Vermont by Frederick Norton Freeman and Arthur Chase, gentlemen and scholars of the highest caliber. The first meeting took place on April 10, 1856 at 9 o’clock in the evening in Mr. Freeman’s room in the Old South Barracks.
Unfortunately, only ten years later, this historic building was destroyed by a terrible fire. For the next fifty years Theta Chi did not expand from Alpha Chapter at Norwich, and at one point in 1880’s, known as the Great Scare, the Fraternity was reduced to only one active member.
Things changed at the dawn of the twentieth century, as Beta Chapter was installed at MIT in 1902. From there, new Chapters of Theta Chi would spring up across the United States and greatly increase the Fraternity’s numbers. The ranks swelled even more in 1942 with the absorption of Beta Kappa, a waning national fraternity. Theta Chi became an International Fraternity in 1965 with the installment of Zeta Gamma Chapter at the University of Alberta in Canada.
As it stands today, chapters of Theta Chi have been established at over 200 colleges and universities and, since 1856, have initiated over 140,000 members.
*Information taken from The Manual of Theta Chi
Beta Psi Chapter was incorporated on December 5, 1942, with twenty one charter members. The fraternity house, located on the horseshoe near Bailey Memorial Stadium, was built in 1972.
Distinguished alumni of Beta Psi Chapter include, among others, Randy Randall, the current mayor of Clinton, and Jim McEachern, a former National President of Theta Chi. A new page in Beta Psi’s history is written each year after rush when new faces join the ranks of the Chapter and the Fraternity as a whole.