Alpha Theta Chapter Suspended

Phi Kappa Tau National Home Page

February 17, 2012: Oxford, Ohio—Phi Kappa Tau National President Greg Heilmeier, Bethany ’86, announced today that the Fraternity’s National Council has suspended the charter of Alpha Theta chapter at William & Mary for a minimum of three years.

The chapter was suspended by the National Fraternity earlier last fall following an incident that involved an alleged assault. This incident arose from a scavenger hunt that was conducted through the membership orientation program for new members. Scavenger hunts and other such functions are not permitted by the Fraternity’s policies or the college’s conduct codes.

This latest incident follows other disciplinary issues that have arisen over the past two years. These issues were adjudicated and discussed with the undergraduates by the chapter’s local alumni board and the college. Both the Fraternity’s National Council and college viewed the most recent incident as indicative of the chapter’s unwillingness to change its operations despite past action by the school and alumni to facilitate that process.

“With the time and energy that has been offered to these young men by the alumni advisors, as well as the professionals at William & Mary, it’s disappointing to see that we have come to this point,” said Phi Kappa Tau CEO Steve Hartman, Muskingum ’89. “Nationwide, we have thousands of young men who continue to focus on being model fraternity men—dedicated to learning, campus and community involvement, and fellowship—however, in isolated cases where the culture within a chapter becomes accepting of stereotypical fraternity buffoonery, our organization has been clear that it will not fly the Phi Kappa Tau flag.”

The college’s office of judicial affairs, through the dean of students, also supported the closing, issuing a letter to the chapter president that suspended operations for at least three years. The intention is to work with the school to restart the chapter with a new group of students after the suspension is complete. The earliest that plans could be developed are spring 2015. The timeline for a return to the campus has not yet been determined by the Fraternity.

“While there are certainly individuals among our chapter membership who are outstanding students and leaders on the William & Mary campus and community, the culture of the larger chapter was unable to support the mission of Phi Kappa Tau and the college,” Heilmeier said. “Our goal in the future will be to work with our group of dedicated alumni leaders to help rebuild the chapter that has graduated a wide variety of esteemed and distinguished members over the years.”

The Alpha Theta chapter has long been a flagship chapter for Phi Kappa Tau, consistently producing leaders in all walks of life. This recent suspension is not a reflection upon the hundreds of alumni who graduated through the chapter.

“Phi Kappa Tau has a history of supporting our partner universities and remains committed to the missions of the institutions in which our chapters reside,” Heilmeier said. “Although we take pride in providing undergraduates the opportunity to learn through the hands-on experiences of self-governing and accountability, there are situations that sometimes arise where a critical mass negatively influences a chapter’s direction. We have reached a point with our chapter at William & Mary where closing is in the best interest of all those involved, including the undergraduate members, guests, parents, the college and the dedicated alumni who helped build this chapter over the past 80-plus years.”

Over the next several weeks, the Fraternity will continue to work closely with William & Mary officials and chapter alumni to outline a timetable to re-establish an Alpha Theta chapter that will remain dedicated to the principles and ideals espoused in the Phi Kappa Tau mission, creed, and Ritual.

Founded in 1906 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Phi Kappa Tau is a national fraternity that fosters three core ideals within its membership: learning, leading and serving. Currently, the Fraternity has nearly 90,000 members and 86 active collegiate groups—74 chapters and 12 colonies, or student organizations in the final stages of being installed as a chartered chapter.

The mission of Phi Kappa Tau is to champion a lifelong commitment to brotherhood, learning, ethical leadership and exemplary character.