Tau Kappa Epsilon, Tau Eta Chapter at SCSU, History

Founded more than a century ago, Tau Kappa Epsilon considers men "not for wealth, rank, or honor; but for personal worth and character." TKE includes a very diverse membership, and is the largest college fraternity in the world, with locations at more then 270 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. Since 1899, more than 235,000 men have accepted the challenge of membership in Tau Kappa Epsilon. They are men of sterling character who have become leaders in the business and community.

The History of TKE | TKE Traditions | The Principles of Being a Teke | Distinguished TKE Alumni

History

The Tau Eta colony of Tau Kappa Epsilon was founded in 1990 here at Southern Connecticut State University by 16 men who felt that the organizations at that time could not offer the kind of brotherhood they were looking for. The organization was given Full Chapter status in September, 1993.

It proved to be a very strong fraternity on Southern's campus. TKE was associated with all campus sponsored charity activities and regularly participated in Greek events. However, during the late 90s, Tau Eta saw a decline in its membership. This caused some financial problems and, in 1998, Tau Eta's Charter was pulled by Tau Kappa Epsilon. The fraternity disbanded.

In 2000, former TKE brothers got together with undergraduates at the University and formed Kappa Chi Lambda Fraternity. These re-founders chose the letters because they did not want to give up on their heritage. Before national recognition, Tau Kappa Epsilon was known as the Knights of Classic Lore. Hence, the new SCSU organization adopted K, C, and L into its name. The brothers hoped to build a strong organization and petition TKE for its colony back.

For the next two years, KCL emerged as one of the strongest fraternities on campus. When an event was held at SCSU, KCL was there lending its name and support to the campus and community. On December 2nd, 2002, the brothers of KCL were officially given an invitation from Tau Kappa Epsilon International to become a colony. In March of 2003, the brothers of KCL finally achieved their first goal of bringing TKE back to Southern. Special thanks go out to the brothers who made this first goal a reality.

Since then, the Tau Eta colony of TKE at Southern has gotten bigger and stronger as a brotherhood on their road to becoming an official chapter of TKE. As of April 2007 TKE has regained full chapter status.

Want more information about The Fraternity? Please check back to this site periodically for updated news, event dates, and pictures. If you are interested in becoming a member of TKE, please fill out the New Member Application, or visit the Contact page to e-mail the brothers of Tau Eta.

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