Tau Alpha Omicron Records
Scope and Contents
The collection contains primarily the original building bonds redeemed by the College and related financial information and correspondence.
Dates
- Creation: 1926-1974
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright has not been assigned to Friends Historical Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in to the Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Friends Historical Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.
Biographical / Historical
Tau Alpha Omicron, a men's Greek fraternity, was founded at Swarthmore College in 1907. It became part of the national fraternity Phi Delta Theta in 192 , designated Pennsylvania Kappa Chapter. Its charter was revoked in 1958 following years of protest against the national organization's racial, ethnic, and religious restrictions on membership. The organization became a local fraternity, resuming its original name, and the supporting alumni organization was renamed Tau Alpha Omicron, Inc. To reduce the indebtedness of the fraternity, the College agreed to buy back at face value the bonds issued when the fraternity lodge was built in 1926. By 1974, the membership and administration of the local fraternity had collapsed, and the College recommended laying down Tau Alpha Omicron, Inc., and turning the lodge over to the College. In 1977, the College assumed control of the fraternity lodge, now known as Sharples #2.
Extent
0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Tau Alpha Omicron, a men's Greek fraternity, was founded at Swarthmore College in 1907. It became part of the national fraternity Phi Delta Theta before 1923, designated Pennsylvania Kappa Chapter. Its charter was revoked in 1958 when its members protested the national organization's racial, ethnic, and religious restrictions on membership. It then became a local fraternity, resuming its original name. The collection contains primarily the original building bonds retired by the College and related financial information and correspondence compiled by the Tau Alpha Omicron Alumni Corporation.
Arrangement
The collection is contained in 1 box.
Physical Location
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donor: John C. Thomas, Class of 1939
Date: 1985
Transfer: Controller's Office, Swarthmore College
Acc. SCA 1998.032
Provenance: John Thomas was the Treasurer of Tau Alpha Omicron, Inc., the alumni corporation created to support the local fraternity.
Subject
- Phi Delta Theta. Pennsylvania Kappa Chapter (Swarthmore College) (Organization)
- Swarthmore College (Organization)
- Title
- Tau Alpha Omicron Records, 1926-1974
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Sponsor
- Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries
Find It at the Library
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