Beta Theta Pi

Beta Theta Pi Fraternity ΒΘΠ Motto: ___kai___ Nickname: Beta File:BetaCoat.jpg The Coat of Arms Founded: August 8, 1839 at Miami University, (Oxford, Ohio) Founders John Reily Knox 1839 Samuel Taylor Marshall 1840 David Linton 1839 James George Smith 1840 Charles Henry Hardin 1841 John Holt Duncan 1840 Michael Clarkson Ryan 1839 Thomas Boston Gordon 1840 Members 187,000 Alumni, 6,000 Undergraduate Scope International Canada Official Colors: Delicate shades of Pink and Blue.             Official Flowers: Roses of the "June" or "Queen of the Prairie" variety Beta Theta Pi Fraternity Website

Beta Theta Pi (ΒΘΠ) is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. Beta, as it is nicknamed, was the first college fraternity to be founded west of the Allegheny Mountains, and has over 131 chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada. More than 183,000 members have been initiated world-wide. Beta Theta Pi has more than 6,000 undergraduate members. Beta Theta Pi is annually ranked in the top ten nationally known fraternities for number of chapters, members, and philanthropy. Beta's Administrative Office is located at 5134 Bonham Road, Oxford, Ohio. In 2006, the driveway up to the administrative office was renamed "Lugar-Bates Drive" in appreciation for the work that Senator Richard Lugar and Brother Bert Bates Missouri '56 performed in the $20 million "Upon These Principles" capital campaign.

Founders

At 9 o'clock in the evening of the eighth day of the eighth month of the year 1839, eight earnest young men, all students at Miami University, held the first meeting of Beta Theta Pi in the Hall of the Union Literary Society, an upper room in the old college building known as "Old Main."

The eight founders in the order in which their names appear in the minutes were:

• John Reily Knox 1839
• Samuel Taylor Marshall 1840
• David Linton 1839
• James George Smith 1840
• Charles Henry Hardin 1841
• John Holt Duncan 1840
• Michael Clarkson Ryan 1839
• Thomas Boston Gordon 1840

... of ever honored memory.

— The "Founders' Paragraph"

Purpose

Again, the Beta is distinguishable and distinguished from all other kinds of fraternity men whatsoever by just a little warmer and stronger, just a little tenderer and more enduring fraternity feeling than any of them can attain to. For it was always so. I do not in the least know how it happened, nor why it persisted after it happened, but a long time ago there came into Beta Theta Pi a fraternity spirit that was, and is, and apparently will continue to be, unique. We know it, who are inside, and they see and record it who are outside the Beta pale. Whether young or old, in college or out, from the small school or the great university, we are conscious of a heritage of genuine fraternalism that has not been vouchsafed in like measure -- I say it deliberately -- to any other of the great college fraternities. And we cannot doubt that in this, as in other respects, our 'future will copy fair our past, and that in the world of fifty years from now, as in that of years ago, as in that that lies around us today — the first mark of a Beta will be his Beta Spirit.

-Willis O. Robb, Ohio Wesleyan 1879

In 1879, Beta Theta Pi was the first college fraternity to publish its constitution. While the organization continues to guard certain secrets reserved for members, it does publicly offer wide knowledge of objects and aspirations.

The Code of Beta Theta Pi - Article 1, Section 2.

Name and Objects:

It shall be constituted as hereinafter provided and shall have for its objects the promotion of the moral and social culture of its members, the establishment of confidence and friendly relations among the universities and colleges of the United States and Canada, in securing unity of action and sympathy in matters of common interest among them, and the building up of a fraternity that recognizes mutual assistance in the honorable labors and aspirations of life, devotion to the cultivation of the intellect, unsullied friendship and unfaltering fidelity, as objects worthy of the highest aim and purpose of associated effort.[1]

Famous Betas

Academia

Thomas Bartlett	Willamette 1951	Rhodes Scholar; Chancellor, Univ. of Alabama System
Stanley Coulter	Hanover 1870	Dean, Purdue University
Andrew Dousa Hepburn	Washington & Jefferson 1852	President, Miami University
Alfred Hume	Mississippi	Chancellor, University of Mississippi
Deane W. Malott	Kansas 1921	Chancellor, University of Kansas; President, Cornell University
Franklin David Murphy	Kansas 1936	Chancellor, University of Kansas; Chancellor, UCLA
Russell E. Palmer	Michigan State 1956	Dean, Wharton School of Business
James M. Sellers	Chicago 1917	President, Wentworth Military Academy
Frank Hugh Sparks	DePauw 1936	President, Wabash College
David Stanton Tappan	Miami University 1864	President, Miami University
Byron K. Trippett	Wabash 1932	President, Wabash College
Fredrick W. Ness	Dickinson 1933	President, Fresno State
David T. McLaughlin	Dartmouth 1954	President, Dartmouth College
John P. Crecine	Carnegie Mellon 1961	President, Georgia Tech
David Alexander Wallace	Miami University 1846	President, Muskingum and Monmouth Colleges
Samuel Weese	West Virginia 1957	President, American College
Steven Sample	Illinois 1958	President, University of Southern California
Thomas Litzenburg	Washington & Lee 1957	President, Salem College

Community Organizations

Ernest Kent Coulter

Ohio State 1892

Founder, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Government and politics

Joe Allbaugh	Oklahoma State 1974	Former Director of FEMA
Albert Beach	Kansas 1905	Mayor of Kansas City, MO
William Borah	Kansas 1884	Senator from Idaho and Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Robert Docking	Kansas 1946	Governor of Kansas
Thomas Docking	Kansas 1976	Lt. Governor of Kansas
Ozro J. Dodds	Miami University 1861	US House of Representatives 1872-74
William O. Douglas	Whitman 1920	United States Supreme Court Justice
Robert Ellsworth	Kansas 1946	US House of Representatives, Nixon Campaign Director, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Advisor to President Nixon, and Representative to NATO
W. Mark Felt	Idaho 1935	Exposed the Nixon administrations' corruption as "Deep Throat"
David R. Francis	Washington, St. Louis 1870	Mayor of St. Louis, Governor of Missouri, Secretary of the Interior, Ambassador to Russia, President of Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Richard Gephardt	Northwestern 1962	Former United States House Minority Leader
John Brown Gordon	Georgia 1854	Major General in CSA, U.S. Senator, and Governor of Georgia
Peter B. Halbin	Ohio Wesleyan 1953	Social worker, newspaper columnist and Cleveland politician
H. R. Haldeman	UCLA 1948	President Nixon’s Chief of Staff
Michael Harcourt	British Columbia 1963	Premier of British Columbia
Charles Henry Hardin	Miami (OH) 1841	Former Governor of Missouri
Mark O. Hatfield	Willamette 1943	Former United States Senator and Governor of Oregon
David Karnes	Nebraska 1971	Former United States Senator
Horace Lurton	Cumberland 1867	United States Supreme Court Justice
Richard Lugar	Denison 1954	United States Senator
Ray Mabus	Mississippi 1969	Former Governor of Mississippi 1988-92
James G. Martin	Davidson 1957	House of Representatives and Governor of North Carolina
Arch A. Moore, Jr.	West Virginia 1951	Former Governor of West Virginia
Oliver P. Morton	Miami 1847	Civil War Governor of Indiana, and instigator of the DePauw, Indiana and Wabash Chapters
Bill Nelson	Yale 1965	United States Senator
Don Nickles	Oklahoma State 1971	Former United States Senator
William Perry	Stanford 1949	Former Secretary of Defense
David Peterson	Western Ontario 1966	Premier of Ontario
John J. Rhodes	Kansas State 1938	Former House Minority Leader
Charlie Rose	Davidson 1961	Former Representative
Angelo Scott	Kansas 1877	Founder of Oklahoma City, OK
Charles Scott	Kansas 1881	Regent, Kansas State Senator, and Member of Congress
Frank Smith	Mississippi	Former Mississippi Congressman
Mike Synar	Oklahoma 1972	Former Representative
John Turner	British Columbia 1952	Former Prime Minister of Canada
Willis Van Devanter	DePauw 1881	United States Supreme Court Justice
John Warner	Washington & Lee 1950	United States Senator
Kenneth S. Wherry	Nebraska 1914	Former United States Senator and Minority Leader
Durbin Ward	Miami University 1843	Civil War General and United States Attorney
Jamie Whitten	Mississippi	Former Mississippi Congressman
Wendell Willkie	Indiana 1916	1940 Republican Party Nominee for President

H.R. Haldeman, UCLA

Senator Richard Lugar, Denison

Arts, entertainment, and media

William Anderson	Whitman 1951	aka. Adam West actor, Batman
James Arness	Beloit 1946	aka. Marshall Matt Dillon actor, Gunsmoke
James Batton	Davidson 1957	Former President, Knight Ridder Newspapers
George Bellows	Ohio State 1905	Artist
Thom Brennaman	Ohio 1986	Sports Broadcaster
Percy Jewett Burrell	Boston 1897	Dramatist and Playwright
Jay Chandrasekhar	Colgate 1990	Actor/director, Super Troopers, Arrested Development
Neil Everett	Oregon 1984	ESPN Anchor
Howard Fineman	Colgate 1970	Journalist
Chet Forte	Columbia 1957	Former TV Director ABC Monday Night Football
Kevin Heffernan	Colgate	Actor, Super Troopers
David Hirshey	Dickinson 1971	Vice President and Executive Editor at HarperCollins publishers
Jeffrey Jones	Lawrence 1968	Actor, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Amadeus
Richard Karn	Washington 1978	Actor, Home Improvement
Ken Kesey	Oregon 1957	Author, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Steve Lemme	Colgate	Actor, Super Troopers
George Peppard	Purdue 1952	Actor, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Carpetbaggers, The A-Team
Robert Reed	Northwestern 1954	Actor, The Brady Bunch
Doug Russell	Wisconsin-Oshkosh 1995	Talk show host, Sporting News Radio
Stephen Sondheim	Williams 1950	Lyricist, West Side Story
Paul Soter	Colgate	Actor, Super Troopers
Erik Stolhanske	Colgate	Actor, Super Troopers
Kermit Hunter	Ohio 1931	Author, Encyclopædia Britannica
Elias Soriano	Florida Atlantic 1999	Musician, Nonpoint[2]
Pat Green	Texas Tech	Musician Pat Green
David Samuel	MIT 1994	Founder and president of Grouper Networks
Andrew E. Spey	Washington & Lee University 2003	Satire/humorist writer and radio personality
Brian J. White	Dartmouth	Actor, Stomp the Yard
Conor Devitt	University of Western Ontario	Actor/original O'Doyle from Billy Madison
Ben Stiller	UCLA	Actor, There's Something About Mary, Dodgeball, The Heartbreak Kid

George Bellows, Ohio State

P

Sports

Frankie Baumholtz	Ohio 1941	Professional basketball and Major League baseball player
Earl "Red" Blaik	Miami University 1918	Head football coach, Army
Matt Borland	GMI-EMI 1994	NASCAR Crew Chief for Ryan Newman, Dale Jarrett
Mike Brown	Dartmouth 1957	President & GM, Cincinnati Bengals
Guy Chamberlin	Nebraska 1916	College and Pro Football Hall of Famer
Peter Cipollone	California 1994	Olympic Gold Medalist, Rowing, 2004
Eddie Collins	Columbia 1907	Baseball Hall of Famer
Donald D. Coryell	Washington 1947	Retired San Diego Chargers Coach
DeLoss Dodds	Kansas State 1959	Athletic Director of The University of Texas at Austin
Bobby Douglass	Kansas 1969	Quarterback, Chicago Bears
Gene L. (Red) Estes	Oregon 1959	Head Track & Field Coach, Fresno State
Max Falkenstien	Kansas 1947	Legendary Kansas Jayhawks Radio Personality
Jay Fiedler	Dartmouth 1994	Football
Dow Finsterwald	Ohio 1952	Professional Golfer
Ken Forsch	Oregon State 1969	Baseball
Gail Goodrich	UCLA 1965	Basketball
Dan Guerrero	UCLA 1974	UCLA Athletic Director
William Koch	MIT 1962	Skipper and Champion America’s Cup
Jerry Lucas	Ohio State 1962	Basketball
Leland (Larry) MacPhail	Beloit 1910	Brooklyn Dodgers Owner/GM; Hall of Fame/Introduced night games
Scott McCarron	UCLA 1989	Professional Golfer
David Edward "Chip" Reese	Dartmouth	Professional Poker Player
Jamey Rootes	Clemson 1988	Former GM Columbus Crew Major League Soccer and current Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing for Houston Texans
Ed Roski Jr	Southern California 1968	Owner Los Angeles Kings Hockey Team/Realtor
Mike Schmidt	Ohio 1971	Baseball Hall of Famer
Eran Horodniceanu	George Washington 1998	George Washington Women's Basketball Coach
Stan Smith	Southern California 1969	Professional Tennis
Bill Veeck	Kenyon 1936	Major League Baseball franchise owner
Rick Volk	Michigan 1967	Miami Dolphins
John Wooden	Purdue 1932	Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach
Brian White	Dartmouth 1995	New England Patriots

Military

John Coburn	Wabash 1846	Civil War General and founder of the Wabash College Chapter
John Brown Gordon	Georgia 1854	Major General in CSA, U.S. Senator, and Governor of Georgia
Terrence C. Graves	Miami 1967	Medal Of Honor recipient, United States Marine Corps
Thomas McGuire	Georgia Tech 1944	Major in US Army Air Corps, Fighter Pilot and World War II Ace, Medal of Honor recipient

Business

John Edward Anderson	UCLA 1940	Founder of Topa Equities, Ltd., namesake of UCLA Anderson School of Management
Bill Bowerman	Oregon 1933	Founder of Nike, Inc.
Justin Dart	Northwestern 1929	Founder of Dart Industries
Joel Hyatt	Dartmouth 1972	Founder Hyatt Legal Services
Samuel Laws	Miami University 1848	Inventor of the ticker tape machine
Kenneth Lee Lay	Missouri 1967	Former chairman and CEO of Enron
Bruce A. Nordstrom	Washington 1955	Former chairman and CEO of Nordstrom
Blake W. Nordstrom	Washington 1982	Current Chairman and CEO of Nordstrom
Everett W. Nordstrom	Washington 1923	Former chairman and CEO of Nordstrom
John H. Patterson	Miami University 1867	Founder National Cash Register
J. C. Nichols	Kansas 1902	Real Estate
Marvin Pierce	Miami University 1916	President McCall Corporation and father of Barbara Bush
Jeffrey Skilling	Southern Methodist 1975	former CEO of Enron
Warren Staley	Kansas State 1965	Chairman and CEO of Cargill
John Opel	Westminster 1948	Former President of IBM
Frank Schrontz	Idaho 1954	Past Chairman and CEO of The Boeing Company
Sam Walton	Missouri 1940	Founder of Wal-Mart
Fred Wilson	MIT 1983	Venture capitalist and prominent blogger
James Wilson	Southern California 1957	International Grocery Store Mogal
Dan Irwin	Ohio State University 1983	Part Owner Buffalo Bills
G. Kennedy Thompson	North Carolina	President and CEO of Wachovia

Astronauts

Joseph P. Allen	DePauw 1959	Astronaut; Space Flight Executive
Kenneth D. Cameron	MIT 1971	Space Shuttle Flight Commander
Bill Nelson	Florida 1964/Yale 65	Former astronaut; United States Senator
Paul J. Weitz	Penn State 1954	Former astronaut; Space Center Director

Other Prominent Betas

Walter P. Chrysler	Dartmouth 1933	Philanthropist
Ovid R. Sellers	University of Chicago 1904	Old Testament Scholar and Biblical Archaeologist

Chapters

Main article: List of Beta Theta Pi Chapters

External links

• Beta Theta Pi homepage

Source

• Brown, James T., ed., Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi, New York: 1917.