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The Talented Tenth
As the Districts evolved, the decision was made in 1937 by Omega Psi Phi to redistrict the Fraternity. At that time there were six (6) chapters that made up the three state, "Talented" Tenth District of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan:
Phi Chapter – The undergraduate chapter established in 1921 at Talladega College in Talladega, AL, then relocated to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor on May 2, 1921.
Nu Omega Chapter – The graduate chapter established January 24, 1923 in Detroit, MI.
Sigma Omega Chapter – The graduate chapter established October 1, 1923 in Chicago, IL.
Iota Chapter – The graduate chapter established August 17, 1920 in Atlantic City, NJ, then re-designated as an undergraduate chapter and relocated to the University of Chicago on November 1, 1923.
Zeta Phi Chapter – The graduate chapter established April 29,1925 in Indianapolis, IN.
Pi Psi Chapter – The undergraduate chapter established at the University of Illinois at Champaign, IL on October 29, 1929.
Omega in Central and Southern Illinois
After Omega was established in Champaign, IL in the central Illinois region, there were multiple initiations and/or chapters chartered in the southern region of the state in the mid to late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Significant were Tau Gamma – the undergraduate chapter established in 1965 at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville and Tau Upsilon – the almost 10 years inactive graduate chapter charter transferred to Carbondale from Washington, DC in early 1969. Others were: Nu Chi – the graduate chapter established in 1965 in East St. Louis, IL ; Tau Theta – the undergraduate chapter established in 1969 in Charleston, IL at Eastern Illinois University; Pi Beta – the undergraduate chapter established in 1971 in Normal, IL at Illinois State University and Theta Xi – the graduate chapter established in 1973 in Peoria, IL.
Interesting Backstories...
Phi Chapter...
The June 1919 Oracle mentions several chapters of the Fraternity that were newly established, but because of publishing deadlines it was too late to include details of their establishment in the issue. One of those chapters listed under the heading, "New Chapters" was Tau Chapter, indicating it had been, "established at the University of Michigan". Based on publication deadline dates to receive information for inclusion in an issue, it is believed that the charter date would have been around April of 1919. Tau was transferred on May 1, 1922 to Atlanta University. The establishment, and relatively quick relocation of chapters were not uncommon during the early years of the Fraternity.
Sigma Chapter, Sigma Omega Chapter and Iota Chapter.
The questions are always asked, "why is the graduate chapter in Chicago named Sigma Omega instead of Iota Omega?" and, "isn't Sigma Chapter at Michigan State University in East Lansing?"
From its beginning, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity was created as an undergraduate organization that would have its chapters established strategically at colleges and universities. The concept of "graduate" members existed but their membership was viewed as honorary and termed, "elected active" - beginning with Founder Just elected to Alpha Chapter at Howard University on February 28, 1912. The chapters established were therefore undergraduate chapters. Some were established on the campuses - like Alpha Chapter in 1911 at Howard University. Others were established with a larger jurisdiction like Gamma Chapter in 1916 in Boston to service multiple institutions.
As more Brothers graduated and as more active elected honorary graduate members were initiated, the desire to continue associations with the Fraternity beyond the college years grew. Graduate brothers still continued to be active members of the undergraduate chapters but their focus as graduates was understandably different. This led to the establishment of graduate chapters in the Fraternity. The graduate chapter still had undergraduate members as well but operated as a graduate chapter. The closest comparison as to how these chapters would be viewed today in how they functioned would be as intermediate chapters.
Up until that time, as chapters were established, with a few exceptions, they were named following the order of the Greek alphabet - Alpha in 1911, Beta in 1914, Gamma in 1916, and so on, however, this naming convention did not allow for distinguishing undergraduate chapters from graduate chapters. The 11th Grand Conclave in Philadelphia in December 1922 addressed the way to standardize the naming convention of chapters and chapter types.
Sigma Chapter had been established as an undergraduate chapter in Chicago in April 1921 for the University of Chicago and Northwestern University (The Oracle, 1919), making Sigma Chapter,the first chapter undergraduate or graduate established in Chicago and the Tenth District. The mandate at the 1922 Conclave was that when any new graduate chapter was chartered going forward, they would be identified by adding "Omega" as the second greek letter at the end of the single letter undergraduate chapter that existed in that city. That meant the first graduate chapter established in Chicago would be named Sigma Omega...which happened on October 1, 1923.*
The Sigma Chapter undergraduate charter remained at the University of Chicago until the Iota Chapter was redesignated an undergraduate chapter and relocated from Atlantic City, NJ to the University of Chicago on October 12, 1923, displacing the undergraduate Sigma Chapter located there, causing that charter to be relocated to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 15, 1923 - and become the first International chapter of the Fraternity! Since March 4, 1961, Sigma Chapter has been located at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI.
*This scenario is disputed due to what has been interpreted as conflicting historic documentation.
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