Sigma Mu Sigma is a college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 fraternity

Fraternities and sororities

Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

 founded in 1921 at Tri-State University

Tri-State University

Trine University is a postsecondary educational institution based in Angola, Indiana, United States. It has satellite campuses in South Bend/Mishawaka, Schererville, Logansport, Indiana, Indianapolis, Howe, Columbus Warsaw, and Fort Wayne.-History:...

. Sigma Mu Sigma was historically an all male social fraternity open originally to Master Masons, and later open to all undergraduate male students. As a national fraternity, Sigma Mu Sigma dissolved in 1935 when it was absorbed by Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

. Sigma Mu Sigma was later revived, and the remaining chapters of Sigma Mu Sigma transformed into a co-ed service fraternity in 1984. ΣΜΣ currently has two active chapters.

Early History

In 1921, Sigma Mu Sigma was founded by three student Knights Templar at Tri-State College

Tri-State University

Trine University is a postsecondary educational institution based in Angola, Indiana, United States. It has satellite campuses in South Bend/Mishawaka, Schererville, Logansport, Indiana, Indianapolis, Howe, Columbus Warsaw, and Fort Wayne.-History:...

 in Angola, Indiana

Angola, Indiana

Angola is a city in Pleasant Township, Steuben County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,612 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Steuben County . Angola was founded by Thomas Gale and Cornelius Gilmore. Angola is home to Trine University...

. The three founders were Harold Van Vranken, Charles Knapp, and Claude Brown. ΣΜΣ was founded as a fraternity exclusively for Master Masons with a zeal for promotion of the cardinal principles of Sincerity, Morality, and Scholarship. At the time of the fraternity's founding, a ban on secret societies existed at Tri-State College; however, a number of sub-rosa organizations were known to exist on campus. The three founders of ΣΜΣ selected nine other student Master Masons who were among the top students at the college. Sigma Mu Sigma announced their formation to administrators and and professors of the college. Faced with the possibility of expelling twelve of the top students at Tri-State, the college moved to end its ban on fraternities.

Merger with TKE

In the early 1930s, the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, and college enrollment and fraternity membership had dropped significantly. The effect was especially felt on Sigma Mu Sigma because of the requirement that all members be Masons. In Fall 1934 the National organization of Sigma Mu Sigma made the decision to dissolve and be absorbed by Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

. Sigma Mu Sigma had nine chapters at the time of the decision. Sigma Mu Sigma officially merged with Tau Kappa Epsilon in March 1935. The Epsilon Chapter at George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

 became the Alpha-Pi Chapter of TKE. The Zeta Chapter at Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

 and the Eta Chapter at the University of Illinois merged with existing TKE chapters at their respective campuses. The Alpha and Iota chapters chose to remain Sigma Mu Sigma chapters without a national organization. The Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Theta Chapters dissolved. Alpha Chapter later closed in 1936, the Iota Chapter was closed by 1940.

Redevelopment

Clyde E. Shaw, a ΣΜΣ brother and faculty member at Tri-State, revived the fraternity in 1940. The new Alpha Chapter changed membership requirements to allow non-Masons to join. Alpha Chapter was the only chapter of ΣΜΣ from 1940-1952. In August 1952, Sigma Mu Sigma made the decision to merge with Sigma Alpha Chi, which was another Masonic fraternity originally known as Square and Compass. The merged organization was known official as Sigma Mu Sigma -- Square and Compass. The merger brought in four chapters from Sigma Alpha Chi, and in the two decades following the merger, eight additional chapters were established.

Recent History

The anti-establishment attitudes on college campuses that began in the late 1960s began to put pressure on most college fraternities. This was especially true for ΣΜΣ, which had long been linked with conservative ideals and the Masons. At this time most chapters began to close. The Alpha Chapter at Tri-State joined Acacia

Acacia Fraternity

Acacia Fraternity is a Greek social fraternity originally based out of Masonic tradition. At its founding in 1904, membership was originally restricted to those who had taken the Masonic obligations, and the organization was built on those ideals and principles. Within one year, four other Masonic...

, the Lambda Chapter at Elon College joined Kappa Sigma

Kappa Sigma

Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...

, and the Sigma Chapter was removed from campus by the administration of Lynchburg College

Lynchburg College

Lynchburg College is a private college in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA, related by covenant to the Christian Church with approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. The Princeton Review lists it as one of the 368 best colleges in the nation...

. The Sigma Chapter was later revived in 1984. At this time the fraternity took on a new direction. The new Sigma Mu Sigma Fraternity was focused on service, and it allowed both male students to be members as well as female students, known as sisters. The Sigma Chapter remained the only chapter of ΣΜΣ until 1989 when they began working to start the Chi Chapter at the College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

. The Chi Chapter was chartered in November 1990.

Chapters

#	Chapter	Institution	Year Chartered	Status	Notes
01	Alpha	Tri-State University Tri-State University Trine University is a postsecondary educational institution based in Angola, Indiana, United States. It has satellite campuses in South Bend/Mishawaka, Schererville, Logansport, Indiana, Indianapolis, Howe, Columbus Warsaw, and Fort Wayne.-History:...	1921	Closed	Merged with Acacia Acacia Fraternity Acacia Fraternity is a Greek social fraternity originally based out of Masonic tradition. At its founding in 1904, membership was originally restricted to those who had taken the Masonic obligations, and the organization was built on those ideals and principles. Within one year, four other Masonic...
02	Beta	University of Oklahoma University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...	1924	Closed
03	Gamma	National University George Washington University The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...	1924	Closed	National University merged with GWU
04	Delta	Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee School of Engineering The Milwaukee School of Engineering is a private university located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. MSOE is best known for its applications-oriented curriculum, close association with business and industry, and extremely high placement rate...	1925	Closed
05	Epsilon	George Washington University George Washington University The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...	1925	Closed	Merged with Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...  in 1935
06	Zeta	Purdue University Purdue University Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...	1925	Closed	Merged with Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...  in 1935
07	Eta	University of Illinois	1925	Closed	Merged with Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...  in 1935
08	Theta	Oklahoma State University	1926	Closed
09	Iota	Michigan State Normal College Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...	1926	Closed
10	Kappa	Medical College of Virginia	1952	Closed	Originally a chapter of Square and Compass
11	Lambda	Elon College	1952	Closed	Originally a chapter of Square and Compass Merged with Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...  in 1973.
12	Mu	Chase College of Law	1952	Closed	Originally a chapter of Square and Compass Chase is now part of Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University |type = Public|president= Dr. James C. Votruba|city = Highland Heights|state = KY|country = U.S.|endowment = $68 million|students = 15,405|undergrad = 13,206|postgrad = 2,199|faculty = 1,159...
13	Nu	Miami University Miami University Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...	1953	Closed	Originally a chapter of Square and Compass
14	Xi	Joliet Junior College Joliet Junior College Joliet Junior College , a community college based in Joliet, Illinois, was the first public community college founded in the United States. JJC offers pre-baccalaureate programs for students planning to transfer to a four-year university, as well as occupational education leading directly to...	1953	Closed
15	Omicron	University of Louisville University of Louisville The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...	1953	Closed
16	Pi	New York University New York University New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...	1955	Closed
17	Rho	Virginia Tech	1955	Closed
18	Sigma	Lynchburg College Lynchburg College Lynchburg College is a private college in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA, related by covenant to the Christian Church with approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. The Princeton Review lists it as one of the 368 best colleges in the nation...	1962	Active	co-ed chapter
19	Tau	Widener University Widener University Widener University is a private, coeducational university located in Chester, Pennsylvania.Its main campus sits on 108 acres , just southwest of Philadelphia...	1965	Closed
20	Upsilon	Salem College Salem College Salem College is a liberal arts women's college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina founded in 1772. Originally established as a primary school, it later became an academy and finally a college. It is the oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college...	1969	Closed
21	Phi	Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...	1971	Proposed	Never Chartered
22	Chi	College of William and Mary College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...	1990	Active	co-ed chapter