Omega Tau Sigma
ΩΤΣ

Founded	1906; 118 years ago (1906) University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
Type	Professional
Affiliation	PFA (former)
Emphasis	Veterinary Medicine
Scope	International
Colors	Maroon and Navy blue
Flower	White Carnation
Jewel	Pearl
Publication	Shroud
Chapters	14
Headquarters	Omega Tau Sigma PO Box 876 Ithaca, New York 14851-0876 United States
Website	Omega Tau Sigma Website

Omega Tau Sigma (ΩΤΣ) is an international veterinary medicine professional fraternity. It formed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1906.

History

Omega Tau Sigma was founded by several students in veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1906. Its purpose is to encourage and foster "the development of well-rounded, ethical veterinarians and through them creates a better profession based on friendship, cooperation, and respect for their fellow professional."^[1] Its charter members were Howard H. Curtis, Gerrit P. Judd, William A. Haines, Frank E. Lentz, E. A. Parker Jr., and George A. Schwartz.^[2]

It soon opened additional chapters at other colleges of veterinary medicine.^[2] In 1911, Beta chapter was established at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in Ithaca and Gamma at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.^[2]^[3] The fraternity went international in 1914 with the chartering of Delta chapter at Ontario Veterinary College on the campus of University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario.^[2]^[3] It eventually spread to fifteen veterinary schools in the United States along with the branch in Canada.

The first meeting of its governing body, the Grand Chapter, was held on April 1, 1911, in Philadelphia.^[3] Today, the Grand Chapter meets annually in October.

Omega Tau Sigma was previously affiliated with the Professional Fraternity Association. The Gamma chapter went coed in 1982.^[2]

Symbols

The Omega Tau Sigma coat of arms was developed by the Beta chapter in 1924.^[4] It features a navy blue shield with insignia, letters, and other elements in gold.^[4] The animal kingdom is represented by a lion and ram on the left and right of the shield, respectively.^[4] Behind the shield are a crossed sword and spear, representing the tools veterinarians use to defend the animal kingdom.^[4] The crest is a helmet with plumes, representing a sign of high royalty.^[4]

The fraternity's badge is a diamond-shaped yellow gold pin with a black diamond in the center that bares the Greek letters ΩΤΣ.^[4] Its pledge pin is a circular-shaped with a small square inside a larger square on a black background.^[4] The fraternity's recognition pin consists of the Greek letters ΩΤΣ.^[4]

The colors of Omega Tau Sigma are maroon and navy blue.^[3]^[4] The fraternity adopted the white carnation as its flower on April 29, 1949; the choice came from the Zeta chapter's annual White Carnation Ball.^[4] Its jewel is the pearl.^[3] Its publication is called Shroud.^[3]

Chapter houses

The Alpha chapter purchased a house at 237 S. 41st Street in Philadelphia in 1947.^[2] Alpha purchased a larger chapter house in 1963 at 4013 Pine Street.^[2]

Beta chapter purchased a house at 413 Dryden Road in Ithaca in 1912.^[2] In 1938, the Alumni Corporation of Beta Chapter of OTS was formed and purchased a new Beta chapter house at 200 Willard Way.^[2] The chapter house was remodeled in 1956 and 1994.^[2]

In March 1947, Gamma chapter purchased a house at 115 Fourteenth Avenue in Columbus.^[2] Gamma purchased a new chapter house at 4673 North Kenny Road in 1974.^[2]

Delta chapter acquired a chapter house at 51 Dundas Road in 1955, with the assistance of the OTS Holding Company.^[2] In 1966, Delta built a new two-story house at 349 Gordon Street in Guelph, Ontario for $150,000.^[2] The 1,500 square feet (140 m²) can house 32 brothers, in addition to providing meeting spaces.^[2]

The Zeta Club purchased a house for the Zeta chapter in 1945.^[2] In 1958, the club built a new chapter house for $100,000 on West Thach Street.^[2] After the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine moved, the Zeta Club acquired property to build a new house.^[2] In 1993, the Thatch Street chapter house was sold to FarmHouse.^[2] The new chapter house was built for $300,000 in 1995.^[2]

In 1950, the Eta chapter acquired its house at 1363 S. Milledge Avenue in Athens in 1950.^[2] Later, Eta purchased a new chapter house at 1690 S. Lumpkin, followed by a house at 205 Burnett Street in 1985.^[2]

Theta chapter has a house on Oregon Street in Urbana.^[2] Kappa chapter purchased its chapter house at 158 Hyland in Ames in 1985 that provides accommodations for seventeen members.^[2]

Chapters

Following is a list of chapters of Omega Tau Sigma.^[3]^[2] Active chapters are in bold, inactive chapters in italics.

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	1906–1918, 1928–19xx ?	University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Inactive	^[a]
Beta	March 31, 1911	New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University	Ithaca, New York	Active
Gamma	November 25, 1911	Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine	Columbus, Ohio	Active
Delta	1914	Ontario Veterinary College	Guelph, Ontario	Active
Epsilon		George Washington University College of Veterinary Medicine	Washington, D.C.	Never chartered	^[b]
Zeta	March 26, 1940	Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine	Auburn, Alabama	Active
Eta	October 18, 1948	University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine	Athens, Georgia	Active
Theta	April 14, 1956	University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine	Urbana, Illinois	Active
Iota	December 20, 1958	Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine	Stillwater, Oklahoma	Active
Kappa	May 22, 1965	Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine	Ames, Iowa	Active
Lambda	Spring 1985	Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine	Blacksburg, Virginia	Active
Mu	1986–1989	University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine	Columbia, Missouri	Inactive
Nu	September 12, 1987	Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences	College Station, Texas	Active
Xi	February 1990	Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine	West Lafayette, Indiana	Active	^[5]
Omicron	January 5, 1991	Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine	East Lansing, Michigan	Active
Pi	March 30, 1996	Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine	Tuskegee, Alabama	Active
Rho	October 22, 2016	Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine	Glendale, Arizona	Active

Notes

^ Chapter went inactive due to the lack of veterinary students during World War I.
^ Epsilon chapter was proposed, and its constitution was drawn up in 1918. However, GWU dropped its Veterinary School before the chapter was chartered.

Notable members

References

^ "Welcome!". Omega Tau Sigma. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y National History: Chapter History. Omega Tau Sigma. Accessed January 21, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. V-29–30. ISBN 978-0963715906.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "The Grand Council". Omega Tau Sigma. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
^ Celebrating a Continuum of Excellence: Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, 1959-2009. Purdue University Press. 2009. pp. 49–. ISBN 978-1-55753-543-6.

v t e Professional fraternities and sororities organizations and members
Currently active members of the Professional Fraternity Association	Alpha Zeta Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Rho Chi Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Chi Sigma Alpha Omega Epsilon Delta Chi Xi Delta Epsilon Mu Delta Theta Phi Delta Kappa Alpha Delta Omicron Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Chi Epsilon Nu Tau Theta Tau Kappa Epsilon Kappa Epsilon Psi Kappa Eta Kappa Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Lambda Chi Kappa Psi Lambda Kappa Sigma Mu Beta Phi Mu Phi Epsilon Pi Sigma Epsilon Rho Pi Phi Sigma Alpha Sigma Alpha Iota Tau Beta Sigma Phi Alpha Delta Phi Beta Phi Gamma Nu Phi Delta Epsilon Phi Delta Chi Phi Sigma Pi Phi Chi Theta
Former and formerly active members of the Professional Fraternity Association or its predecessors: Professional Panhellenic Association or Professional Interfraternity Conference	Alpha Delta Theta Alpha Delta Sigma Alpha Kappa Kappa Alpha Sigma Alpha Alpha Tau Delta Alpha Omega Beta Alpha Psi Gamma Eta Gamma Gamma Iota Sigma Delta Epsilon Iota Delta Sigma Delta Delta Psi Kappa Epsilon Eta Phi Zeta Phi Eta Theta Kappa Psi Theta Sigma Upsilon Theta Sigma Phi Iota Sigma Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Beta Pi Kappa Delta Epsilon Kappa Phi Kappa Nu Sigma Nu Xi Psi Phi Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Nu Pi Lambda Theta Sigma Delta Chi Sigma Nu Phi Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Phi Delta (now social) Phi Beta Gamma Phi Beta Pi Phi Delta Delta Phi Delta Gamma Phi Delta Kappa Phi Delta Pi Phi Delta Phi (now honor society) Phi Epsilon Kappa Phi Lambda Kappa Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (now social) Phi Rho Sigma Phi Upsilon Omicron Phi Chi Chi Beta Phi Psi Omega Omega Tau Sigma Omega Upsilon Phi Pershing Rifles Scabbard and Blade Scarab
North American Interfraternity Conference	Alpha Gamma Rho Alpha Gamma Sigma
Active independent professional fraternities	Alpha Gamma Kappa Alpha Zeta Omega Alpha Eta Rho Alpha Iota Alpha Psi Gamma Epsilon Tau Delta Sigma Theta Delta Theta Sigma Delta Kappa Gamma Delta Kappa Phi Delta Phi Epsilon Kappa Gamma Psi Kappa Pi Nu Beta Epsilon Phi Delta Kappa (sorority) Phi Sigma Gamma Phi Psi Chi Eta Phi Block and Bridle
Inactive independent professional fraternities	Aleph Yodh He Alpha Epsilon Iota Alpha Tau Sigma Chi Zeta Chi Delta Omicron Alpha Pi Delta Nu