Sigma Mu Sigma is a college fraternity founded in 1921 at Tri-State University. Sigma Mu Sigma was historically an all-male social fraternity open originally to Master Masons, and later open to all undergraduate male students. As a national fraternity, Sigma Mu Sigma dissolved in 1935 when it was absorbed by Tau Kappa Epsilon. Sigma Mu Sigma was later revived, and the remaining chapters of Sigma Mu Sigma transformed into a co-ed service fraternity in 1984. ΣΜΣ currently has two active chapters.
Early history
In 1921, Sigma Mu Sigma was founded by three student Knights Templar at Tri-State College in Angola, Indiana. The three founders were Harold Van Vranken, Charles Knapp, and Claude Brown. ΣΜΣ was founded as a fraternity exclusively for Master Masons with a zeal for promotion of the cardinal principles of Sincerity, Morality, and Scholarship. At the time of the fraternity's founding, a ban on secret societies existed at Tri-State College; however, a number of sub-rosa organizations were known to exist on campus. The three founders of ΣΜΣ selected nine other student Master Masons who were among the top students at the college. Sigma Mu Sigma announced their formation to administrators and professors of the college. Faced with the possibility of expelling twelve of the top students at Tri-State, the college moved to end its ban on fraternities.
Merger with TKE
In the early 1930s, the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression, and college enrollment and fraternity membership had dropped significantly. The effect was especially felt on Sigma Mu Sigma because of the requirement that all members be Masons. In Fall 1934 the National organization of Sigma Mu Sigma made the decision to dissolve and be absorbed by Tau Kappa Epsilon. Sigma Mu Sigma had nine chapters at the time of the decision. Sigma Mu Sigma officially merged with Tau Kappa Epsilon in March 1935. The Epsilon chapter at George Washington University became the Alpha-Pi chapter of TKE. The Zeta chapter at Purdue University and the Eta chapter at the University of Illinois merged with existing TKE chapters at their respective campuses. The Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Theta chapters dissolved. The Alpha and Iota chapters chose to remain Sigma Mu Sigma chapters without a national organization. Alpha chapter later affiliated with Alpha Lambda Tau in 1936, and the Iota chapter was closed by 1940.
Redevelopment
Clyde E. Shaw, a ΣΜΣ brother and faculty member at Tri-State, revived the fraternity in 1940. The new Alpha chapter changed membership requirements to allow non-Masons to join. Alpha chapter was the only chapter of ΣΜΣ from 1940-1952. In August 1952, Sigma Mu Sigma made the decision to merge with Sigma Alpha Chi, which was another Masonic fraternity originally known as Square and Compass. The merged organization was known official as Sigma Mu Sigma—Square and Compass. The merger brought in four chapters from Sigma Alpha Chi, and in the two decades following the merger, eight additional chapters were established.
Recent history
The anti-establishment attitudes on college campuses that began in the late 1960s began to put pressure on most college fraternities. This was especially true for ΣΜΣ, which had long been linked with conservative ideals and the Masons. At this time most chapters began to close. The Alpha chapter at Tri-State joined Acacia, the Lambda chapter at Elon College joined Kappa Sigma, and the Sigma chapter was removed from campus by the administration of Lynchburg College. The Sigma chapter was later revived in 1984. At this time the fraternity took on a new direction. The new Sigma Mu Sigma Fraternity was focused on service, and it allowed both male students to be members as well as female students, known as sisters. The Sigma chapter remained the only chapter of ΣΜΣ until 1989 when they began working to start the Chi chapter at the College of William and Mary. The Chi chapter was chartered in November 1990.
