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Purdue Lambda Chi Alpha History

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Various historical references say that two Purdue University groups, Alpha Epsilon and the Aeolian Club, were founded around 1908 and both became the nucleus of Psi Zeta. Founder Warren A. Cole (Boston 1912) and National Chancellor Ernst J.C. Fischer (Cornell 1910) conducted the installation ceremonies in West Lafayette, Indiana on December 11, 1915; making ours the 24th chapter of The Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity and the last one to be designated with only a single Greek letter.

Lambda Chi Alpha's History

There are two versions of the story about the founding of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. 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.

The first three members were all close friends before Cole's withdrawal from the law club, 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.

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.