At Lambda Chi Alpha, we embrace men regardless of background and differences and empower them to become a better version of themselves by finding their reason for being. From day one, members are treated as equals and fully experience Lambda Chi Alpha and learn what it means to lead with loyalty and purpose. We believe that sacrifices borne from service build character and strength in the men who bear them.
There are over 180 Lambda Chi Alpha chapters, each challenging and empowering men to become better versions of themselves in every season of life. Since 1909, our legacy has deepened when each generation equips even more young men to redefine who we are and who we can be for others, generation after generation. Our fraternity seeks to foster this legacy of leadership through enduring relationships, strong mentorship and intensive instruction on our history, values and code of conduct.
Founding
A Legacy Of Lifelong Leadership
In 1909, Lambda Chi Alpha’s founders dared to create a fraternity that would uphold timeless traditions, bold principles, and authentic ideals in a manner wholly set apart from other fraternities - a brotherhood of men who lift each other up and advocate for causes beyond themselves. More than a century later, the standards they set for themselves and their brothers continue to endure.
College is the start of it all, but the benefits of Lambda Chi Alpha brotherhood reach new heights when a man finds ways to bring his best self to his family, industry and community at every stage of his life. Our brotherhood shows men how to be their best selves by teaching them to cherish membership, leadership, diversity, health and service at every stage of life. Through the years, we have and will remain devoted to fostering timeless leadership on and off college campuses and in everything our brothers do.
Inspire and equip men to lead an ethical life of growth, service and leadership. Lambda Chi Alpha envisions a world where the ideal man pursues a life of respect and inclusion for all. A world where we support and encourage one another. And a world where every brother models and embraces our values: loyalty, duty, respect, service and stewardship, honor, integrity and personal courage.
Loyalty
Duty
Respect
Service & Stewardship
Honor
Integrity
Personal Courage
Lambda Chi Alpha has formed partnerships and alliances with foundations and nonprofits that provide our brothers with opportunities to become better men and build a better world.
Our members work with our partners to host philanthropic events, advocate for issues and volunteer whenever possible.
This partnership supports the Red Cross mission by providing essential volunteers and donors to local blood drives and community preparedness initiatives at both the chapter level and with the Office of Administration.
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Lambda Chi Alpha is a proud partner with the Movember Foundation. Movember is the leading charity dedicated to changing the face of men’s health. Did you know men die on average 6 years earlier than women and largely for...
Lambda Chi Alpha is partnering with the One Love Foundation to create educational curriculum that supports healthy relationships amongst its members and their peers, develops recognition of behaviors that lead to relationship abuse, fosters...
There are two versions of the story about the founding of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, but both involve one man who wanted to create a lifetime of true brotherhood– Warren Albert Cole.
Version One
The first, resulting from an agreement in late 1912 between Warren Cole in Boston and Albert Cross in Philadelphia, holds that on November 2, 1909, Warren A. Cole, Percival C. Morse, and Clyde K. Nichols met at 22 Joy St., Boston, and swore allegiance to the new fraternity. The meeting had been called, by whom it is not recorded, for the purpose of considering the reorganization of the Cosmopolitan Law Club, a society of law students of Boston University, of which Cole was a member, into the Greek letter society.
Cole, Morse, and Nichols were all close friends, for all had been members of Alpha Mu Chi, a preparatory school fraternity. Cole was also a member of the legal fraternity, Gamma Eta Gamma, and the Grange or Patrons of Husbandry, a society of agriculturalists. The laws and rites of these societies are thought to have had a strong influence on Cole as he formulated the first regulations and Initiation Ritual of Lambda Chi Alpha.
The name Lambda Chi Alpha is thought to have been used from the beginning. The Greek letter name was not used in the Alpha Zeta minutes until April 27, 1910, however, and, as far as is known, this was the first time it was recorded.
Version Two
The second version of our founding results from interviews with Cole and other early members in later years, and further investigation. When Cole entered Boston University in the fall of 1909, his first residence lay too far from the law school on Beacon Hill, so he and a varied group of youngsters rented a room at Pemberton Square, which they used for study between classes or work. This loosely-held group became known as the Tombs or Cosmopolitan Club, but did not lead directly to the formation of Lambda Chi Alpha.
Before the end of 1909, Cole moved to 22 Joy St., where he shared an apartment with James C. McDonald and Charles W. Proctor, both of whom later joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Cole, however, was determined to start his own fraternity. In the fall of 1911, he moved to 35 Hancock St., rooming with Ralph S. Miles and Harold W. Bridge. On November 15, 1911, the constitution of the new fraternity, largely derived from Gamma Eta Gamma’s, was signed by Cole, Miles, Bridge, and Percival C. Morse – the four founders.
Over the next month, wonderful, yet mysterious, events of great significance occurred and a new fraternity was born with the appearance of our first badge and our first coat of arms, known as the Gamma Plate. Each of the four founders bought a badge. They issued themselves a charter for Alpha Zeta, back-dating it to November 15, 1911.
From this point on, Lambda Chi Alpha progressed at an incredibly rapid rate. Cole soon wrote the original Initiation Ritual, and within one year chapters at the Massachusetts Agricultural College (University of Massachusetts-Amherst), the University of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania State University were installed. Titles of national officers, such as Supreme Eminent Archon, were most likely borrowed from Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and the overall design of our first coat of arms may have been inspired by the seal of McDonald’s prep school, the Worcester Academy.
Flat Hat Club established at the College of William & Mary. (This is thought to have been the first American university fraternity.)
1776
Phi Beta Kappa founded at William & Mary. (This was the first Greek-letter university fraternity and is, of course, the oldest honorary fraternity.)
1780
Phi Beta Kappa installed its second chapter at Yale University.
1845
First fraternity house occupied at the University of Michigan (Delta Kappa Epsilon).
1854
First house built expressly for fraternity use was erected at Kenyon College. (This also was a log cabin.)
1864
First modern fraternity house including dormitory living quarters built at Williams College.
1867
I. C. Sorosis founded at Monmouth College. The society used the subtitle, Pi Beta Phi, in 1883, and in 1888, became known by this name alone. This was the first national sorority.
1870
Kappa Alpha Theta, first national sorority to be founded with a Greek-letter name, established at DePauw University.
1893
Interfraternity and Intersorority Congress at World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago.
1909
First Interfraternity Conference meeting in New York City.
1917
200,000 fraternity men served in World War I. 2,000 never returned.
