GAMMA ZETA CHAPTER HISTORY

foundingbanquet

Initiation banquet at old Carter house – standing – T. A. Clark (mustache) and William Sumner – Clockwise around table from lower left – Charles Noble, C.O. Pitney, Henry W. Grieme, Edward Flanagan, Parker Hale Hoag, John Raymond, Prof. Nathan Weston, Paul Newcomer, Alfred Helton, three installing officers (Brothers W. G. Atwood, Beta Theta, Elias P. Lyon, Beta Kappa, and E. A. Thornton, Alpha Theta), Max Branch, J. Colby Beekman

The Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity was founded at the University of Illinois on March 21, 1895.  Thomas Arkle Clark, who went on to be Dean of Men at the University of Illinois was initiate number one.

The Gamma Zeta ATO’s have had a long proud tradition of leadership at the University of Illinois both at the undergraduate and alumni levels, within the Alpha Tau Omega National Fraternity and in virtually every walk of life as alumni.

There have been three documents compiled over the years chronicling the history of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega Chapter at the University of Illinois.

The first document was written in 1922 and covers the early years from the founding in 1895 through 1922. – A History of Illinois Gamma Zeta of Alpha Tau Omega – 1895 – 1922

The second document was written in 2007 and covers the history to that point in time.  It was commissioned by the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing and was written by a University of Illinois graduate student, Kate Meehan Pedrotty.  – A History of Gamma Zeta Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega, 1895-2003 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The third document was written in 2013 and focusses on the men who have been Gamma Zeta ATO’s.  It was written by Dane Luhrsen ’77 and Bob Simonds ’43. – Legends, Leaders, Lists and Profiles – the Stories and Men That Bind Us Gamma Zeta – Alpha Tau Omega – University of Illinois.