Beta Chi Theta

Beta Chi Theta (ΒΧΘ, also known as Beta Chi) is a South Asian-interest collegiate social fraternity in the United States. It was established at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1999. The fraternity is a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference.

Beta Chi Theta
ΒΧΘ
Founded	June 2, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-06-02) University of California, Los Angeles
Type	Social
Affiliation	NIC
Former affiliation	NAPA
Status	Active
Emphasis	South Asian
Scope	International
Motto	"Above All Else, Brotherhood"
Pillars	Brotherhood, Tradition, Service to Humanity, South Asian Awareness, Academic Excellence, and Nationwide Network.
Colors	Black   Silver   White
Flower	Orchid
Mascot	Rampant lion
Philanthropy	Mental health
Chapters	11 active
Colonies	6
Members	2,000+ lifetime
Nickname	Beta Chi
Headquarters	5868 E. 71st Street, #E-120 Indianapolis, Illinois 46220 United States
Website	www.betachitheta.com

History

Beta Chi Theta originated with eight students at the University of California, Los Angeles in the spring of 1999 as a South Asian-based fraternity.^[1] On June 2, 1999, Beta Chi Theta officially received recognition by the university and was granted membership into the UCLA Inter-Fraternity Council; this is used as the fraternity's founding date.^[1] Its eight founders were Abu Abraham, Hashu Datwani, Samir Khandhar, Ankur Kumar, Ashish Nagdev, Ankur Parikh, Roshan Patel, and Ali Zhumkhawala.^[1]

In 2021, Beta Chi Theta became a national fraternity with the chartering of Beta chapter at Baylor University and Gamma chapter at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.^[2] The fraternity held its first national convention in 2003, where its constitution and bylaws were adopted and a national board was established.^[1] The fraternity was incorporated in Texas as Beta Chi Theta National Fraternity, Inc. in 2004.^[1]

On April 23, 2006, Beta Chi Theta became the first nationally recognized South Asian-based fraternity to become a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC).^[1] It has since been the youngest fraternity to become a member of the NIC.^[1] Beta Chi Theta was also a member of the National APIDA Panhellenic Association, but left that organization on November 18, 2023.^[3]

Beta Chi Theta has chartered more than 30 chapters and more than 2,000 alumni.^[4][2] Its headquarters is in Indianapolis, Indiana.^[2]

Symbols

The fraternity's Greek letters, Beta Chi Theta, stand for Brotherhood, Culture, and Tradition.^[4] Its motto is "Above all else, Brotherhood".^[4][5]

Beta Chi Theta's pillars are "Brotherhood, Tradition, Service to Humanity, South Asian Awareness, and Academic Excellence".^[4] Its colors are black, silver, and white.^[4][6] Its mascot is that of a rampant lion.^[4][5] Its flower is the orchard.^[6]

Philanthropy

The fraternity's primary philanthropic focus is mental health awareness.^[7][6]

Chapters

Following is a list of Beta Chi Theta chapters, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.^[2][8]

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	June 2, 1999 – 20xx ?	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	Inactive	[1]
Beta	January 3, 2001 – 20xx ?	Baylor University	Waco, Texas	Inactive	[1]
Gamma	April 2001–20xx ?	California State Polytechnic University, Pomona	Pomona, California	Inactive
Delta	April 2002–2017	University of Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	Inactive
Epsilon	August 2002–2017	University of California, Riverside	Riverside, California	Inactive
Ζeta	2003–20xx ?	University of California, San Diego	San Diego, California	Inactive
Eta	2003–2021	University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	Inactive
Theta	2004–202x ?	Vanderbilt University	Nashville, Tennessee	Inactive
Iota	October 2004	Purdue University	West Lafayette, Indiana	Active
Kappa	2005–202x ?	Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	Colony
Lambda	2006	University of Minnesota	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Active	[9]
Mu	May 2008	University of Florida	Gainesville, Florida	Active
Nu	2009–20xx ?	University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Inactive
Xi	2009–2018	University of Houston	Houston, Texas	Colony
Omicron	2010–20xx ?	Emory University	Atlanta, Georgia	Colony
Pi	2010–20xx ?	Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	Inactive
Rho	April 30, 2010 – 2019	University of Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	Inactive	[10]
Sigma	May 2010	Rutgers University	New Brunswick, New Jersey	Active
Tau	2010–20xx ?	University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	Colony
Upsilon	May 2010	University of Texas at Dallas	Richardson, Texas	Active
Phi	December 4, 2010	University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	Champaign, Illinois	Active	[5]
Chi	April 2006			Memorial
Psi	2011–2018	University of Connecticut	Storrs, Connecticut	Inactive
Omega	2011–2023	University of Alabama at Birmingham	Birmingham, Alabama	Inactive
Alpha Alpha	2011–202x ?	Northeastern University	Boston, Massachusetts	Inactive
Alpha Beta	April 2014–2019	Drexel University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Inactive
Alpha Gamma	December 2014	University of Massachusetts Amherst	Amherst, Massachusetts	Active
Alpha Delta	April 2017	Indiana University Bloomington	Bloomington, Indiana	Active	[11]
Alpha Epsilon	December 2017	University of Georgia	Athens, Georgia	Active
Alpha Zeta	April 2018	Arizona State University	Tempe, Arizona	Active
Alpha Eta	April 2019–20xx ?	Binghamton University	Binghamton, New York	Colony
Alpha Theta	March 17, 2024	University of California, Davis	Davis, California	Active	[6]
Alpha Iota		Acharya Institutes	Bengaluru, India	Colony

See also

• List of Asian American fraternities and sororities
• List of social fraternities