Theta Tau Sigma Gamma
Professional Engineering Fraternity
Our Histroy
National
Theta Tau was founded as the “Society of Hammer and Tongs,” on October 15, 1904, by Erich J. Schrader, Elwin L. Vinal, William M. Lewis, and Isaac B. Hanks, mining engineering students at the University of Minnesota. They all agreed that character qualifications should have top priority in membership selection. Thus heavy emphasis was placed on a quality and strong fraternal bond.
In 1911, the society’s name was changed to Theta Tau at the fraternity's first national convention with only 3 chapters at the University of Minnesota. Also at the first National Convention, a revised ritual was approved and our current badge was adopted. Most important for its expansion, Theta Tau was also definitively affirmed to include all branches of engineering.
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Theta Tau is the largest (as well as the oldest) professional fraternity in the field of engineering. Since being founded, over 40,000 brothers have been initiated within over 100 student chapters all across the country.
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For more details, please visit our national website.
Local History
In the spring season of 2005 a group of friends originally brought together by the purpose of study engineering were just finishing up their first year as college students. One friend, Greg Parascandolo, proposed the idea of founding a group, a fraternity, whereby all of them could come together to study and socialize. The others expressed their enthusiasm for this proposed institution that, by its creation, would draw them together in both academia and brotherhood. The fall season of 2005 brought Michael Abraham of the Theta Tau Central Office to the University of Rhode Island where he presented these students with a proposition to form a colony (now called Candidate Chapters) with Theta Tau, a professional engineering fraternity.
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Under the direction of Michael Abraham and the leadership of Greg Parascandolo and a select few others, Theta Tau Rho was created. Positions were formed, officers were appointed, and a plan to reach the goals of becoming a colony (now called a Candidate Chapter) and then reaching chapter status was developed. During the 2005-2006 academic year following the visit of Michael Abraham, the Grand Regent of Theta Tau, Mike Livingston, and other associates visited the group at URI to meet with the members and discuss the true meaning of brotherhood, the values represented in Theta Tau, the goals of the colony and chapter and how a colony can accomplish their goals. Following these discussions, during the second semester of that academic year, Theta Tau Rho was officially recognized by Theta Tau and initiated into the Fraternity as a colony on February 25th, 2006. The new colony held formal elections soon after and the first official regent (Greg Parascandolo), vice-regent (Filip Losowski), Scribe (Michael Centazzo), and Treasurer (Jean-Paul Vandeputte) were elected by the other members.
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Over the next year, the Theta Tau colony at URI worked to become acquainted with fraternity tradition and move towards self-sufficiency. The colony established committees and chairs in order to delegate responsibilities and improve bureaucratic efficiency. Various events were scheduled and the colony members attended other outside events for the college and community. All of this was done with the ideals of brotherhood and unity kept in mind and the hopes of reaching chapter status. In April 2007, the Theta Tau colony at URI submitted its petition to become a chapter, with 36 active members and eight graduated alumni.
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This petition was accepted and the URI colony of Theta Tau was officially installed as the Sigma Gamma chapter on November 3rd, 2007. Since that date we have continued to grow and change into the chapter we are today, while still remembering and honoring our founding members and all the work they did for our formation. As well as keeping up with the ideals, laws and customs of our Fraternity as a whole.
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Group Photo of members at our colony initiation on February 25th, 2006
