Theta Chi chapter Alpha Tau to host centennial celebration at Ohio University

Ohio University’s Alpha Tau chapter of the national fraternity Theta Chi is hosting a centennial celebration of its founding this May.

Scheduled to take place Thursday, May 22, through Monday, May 26, the celebration will include a golf outing, a tour and hike at The Ridges, local brewery visits and more. Anchoring it all is a Saturday cocktail reception, theater program and banquet at Baker Center, which will be attended by the international president of the fraternity and other dignitaries. Individuals may register for events at oxat.com.

Alpha Tau was founded in 1925 by George Starr Lasher, who also founded what’s now known as the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. The group is among the oldest continuous fraternal organizations on campus.

“The centennial is a big deal, and I feel a lot of pride being a part of it,” said Jacob Dorony (B.S.Ed. ’27), current president of Alpha Tau.

“Not every fraternity or every chapter gets to this point,” he added. “To be able to make it to 100 years just shows the kind of people we have and continue to bring in. It’s going to be a great experience not only for the current members, but for all the alumni as well, to see what they have built and see where it is going.”

Christianne Medrano Graham, director of Sorority and Fraternity Life at OHIO, said fraternities and sororities foster shared values through the practice of their rituals, the memories they share and traditions that can positively contribute to the University’s cultural fabric.

“A celebration like this is like going to a family reunion, because they’re fraternal brothers across the years, decades even, so they share in the same ritual experience, which is the glue that brings them together,” she explained. “What a group of new members did as part of their initiation ritual 100 years ago—because it is written in their ritual—they are still doing the same things right now. They recite the same oath to ‘God, Country, and Alma Mater,’ recite the same passages, and have the same shared experience, which creates that connection through time.”

For Centennial Committee member George Vanderbilt (BGS ’89), the celebration is an exciting and rare opportunity to celebrate the fraternity’s continuous presence and legacy on campus. He sees his time in the chapter as a transformative experience that taught him leadership skills and allowed him to meet and befriend people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

“Theta Chi’s motto is, ‘Extend an assisting hand,’ and it’s nice to know that there are people out there that can extend that assisting hand,” Vanderbilt said. “It’s a common purpose.”

Dorony echoed the sentiment, adding that the fraternity’s assistance isn’t limited to its members.

“No matter who you are or where you’re from … we’re always looking to help everyone out,” he said. “We want to see our community grow in positive ways.”