ALPHA TAU OMEGA

'ATΩ (Alpha Tau Omega)' is an American fraternity. It annually ranks among the top ten national fraternities for number of chapters and total number of members. ATO has more than 245 active and inactive chapters with more than 195,000 members and more than 6,500 undergraduate members. ATO is also one-third of the Lexington Triad, along with Kappa Alpha Order and Sigma Nu. The oldest active chapter is the Delta Chapter located at the University of Virginia.

Contents

History of Alpha Tau Omega

The Creed of Alpha Tau Omega

Founders

ATO Firsts

Famous ATO members

Astronauts

Business

Education

Entertainment/Media

Politics

Scientists

Sports

External links

References

History of Alpha Tau Omega

During and after the Civil War, families were torn apart, due to brothers fighting on opposite sides. A VMI student, Otis Allan Glazebrook, had a vision to reunite the North and the South in brotherhood. His ideals started Alpha Tau Omega as the first fraternity that would be considered a national fraternity, and it was with Erskine Mayo Ross, and Alfred Marshall that they sought to bring together the two factions that had been torn apart.

The Creed of Alpha Tau Omega

-'Otis Allan Glazebrook 1880'

Founders

There are three men recognized as the founders of Alpha Tau Omega:

★ Otis Allan Glazebrook,

★ Alfred Marshall,

★ Erskine Mayo Ross
Alpha Tau Omega continued a tradition of excellence through out the past century. After the creation by Erskine Mayo Ross, Otis Glazebrook, and Alfred Marshall the fraternity was lead by the stewardship of other great leaders such as Thomas Arkle Clark. Thomas Arkle Clark was the first dean of men at the University of Illinois and the President of the Gamma Zeta chapter at the University. Thomas A. Clark served the national fraternity as Worthy Grand Chief for several terms. To this day the highest honor a member of Alpha Tau Omega can achieve is the Thomas Arkle Clark Award.

ATO Firsts

ATO was the first fraternity founded after the Civil War in 1865.^[1]
ATO was the first fraternity founded as a national fraternity.^[2]
The first meeting of ATO was at 114 E. Clay St. in Richmond, Va., where Glazebrook read the Constitution of ATO to Marshall and Ross for the first time.
The first chapter north of the Mason-Dixon line, was chartered at the University of Pennsylvania 16 years after the founding of ATO, helping to bring a realization to the founders' dreams.
Thomas Arkle Clark in 1880, the ATO chapter at the University of the South (Sewanee) became the first of any fraternity in the South to have a chapter house.
ATO's first fraternity west of the Rockies and first of any fraternity in the Northwest was at Oregon State University in 1882.
Thomas Arkle Clark, the first initiate of the Gamma Zeta chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was the nation's first collegiate dean of men.
The first World War I Medal of Honor was given to Captain C. L. Irwin, Wyoming '13, as one of the first American heroes mentioned in dispatches to the U.S.
ATO was the first national fraternity to start a chapter free of alcohol and tobacco on fraternity property.
ATO was the first national fraternity to sponsor and conduct coeducational leadership conferences nationwide in 1992.^[3]
ATO was the first fraternity to implement a spiritual development program.
ATO was the first to develop and implement a member success initiative.
ATO founded the LeaderShape Institute in 1986, which is a prestigious leadership development program for college students across the United States.

Famous ATO members

Astronauts

★ Sonny Carter: NASA

★ Charles Duke: NASA

★ Robert Overmyer: NASA

★ Dr. David Wolf: NASA

Business

★ Elton B. Stephens, Birmingham-Southern Founder EBSCO Media.

★ John Bair: co-founder and CTO of Pinnacle Data Systems, inc.

★ Edwin. M Crawford, Auburn '71, CEO of Caremark RX

★ Walt Ehmer: Georgia Tech, CEO of Waffle House

★ Gerald J. Ford, Southern Methodist '66, CEO of Golden State Bancorp

★ Richard S. Fuld Jr., Colorado '69, CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings

★ Daniel E. Gill: Chairman & President, Bausch & Lomb

★ Richard C. Green, Southern Methodist '76, CEO of Aquila Corporation

★ Matthew J. Hart: CFO & Executive Vice President for Hilton Hotels

★ James P. Hoffa: President of Teamsters Union (Jimmy Hoffa's son)

★ John Jennings: President of Associated Builders and Contractors

★ J. Erik Jonsson: Founder, Texas Instruments

★ Earl T. Leonard Jr.: University of Georgia, Senior Vice President for Coca-Cola

★ William Mitchell: Texas Instruments Vice Chairman (retired)

★ C. Dowd Ritter, Birmingham-Southern '69, CEO of AmSouth Bancorp

★ Francis M. Scicco, Worcester Poly '68, CEO of Arrow Electronics

★ Christopher A. Sinclair, University of Kansas '71, CEO of PepsiCo (retired)

★ David M. Thomas, Florida '71, CEO of IMS Health

★ John A. Young: President & CEO, Hewlett-Packard

Education

★ Dr. Michael Ferrari: President of Drake University

★ Frank Hereford: Former President of the University of Virginia

★ Robert Mittelstaedt: Tulane; Vice Dean of Wharton School

★ Stephen C. O'Connell: Former President of the University of Florida

★ Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr.: Chancellor of Troy University

Entertainment/Media

★ Dana Elcar: Film and TV best known for his supporting role on ''MacGyver''

★ Hunter Ellis: Reality TV star, TV host

★ Rob Estes: Actor, ''Melrose Place'', ''Silk Stalkings''

★ Brad Fiorenza: MTV's '' castmate

★ Rob Fitzgerald: Bud Light's "I love you man"

★ Paul Gilmartin: Co-host of TBS Superstation's ''Dinner & A Movie''

★ Jack Ingram: Country music performer

★ Greg Kinnear: ''Talk Soup'' host, 1998 Academy Award nominee

★ Art Linkletter: Television personality/Author, ''Kids Say The Darndest Things''

★ Elmer Lower: Former president of ABC News

★ Elliot Segal: Radio DJ and host of ''Elliot in the Morning''

★ Frank Marshall (movie producer): Film producer/director; co-founder of Amblin Entertainment

★ Garry Marshall: Film director (''Pretty Woman'', ''Overboard''), Television producer (''Happy Days'' and ''Laverne & Shirley'') (incidentally, in the latter seasons of ''Happy Days'', Marshall used ATO in the show several times, and an ATO fraternity paddle can be seen hanging on the wall of "Arnold's")

★ Ted Stryker: Radio DJ and co-host of the radio show Loveline

★ Cary Pierce, Jack O'Neill: Members of the band "Jackopierce"

★ Forrest Sawyer: ABC News, ''Nightline''

★ Grant Show: Actor, ''Melrose Place''

★ Tennessee Williams: Pulitzer Prize winner for ''A Streetcar Named Desire''

Politics

★ Lee Atwater: Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC)

★ Richard H. Bryan: U.S. Senator (Nevada)

★ Alberto "Al" Cardenas: Political lobbyist

★ Lawton Chiles: U.S. Senator and later Governor of Florida 1991-1998

★ Federico Clerici: Congressman in Argentina 1986-1993 - Northwestern '59

★ James Eastland: Senate Pro Tempore from 1972-1979

★ Frank Fahrenkopf: Chair of the Republican National Committee

★ Sam Gibbons: Congressman

★ Edward J. Gurney: U.S. Senator (Florida)

★ Stephen H. Grimes: Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court

★ Lee H. Hamilton: U.S. Congressman (Indiana)

★ Willis B. Hunt Jr.: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia

★ Harry A. Johnston: U.S. Congressman (Florida)

★ Jack Kemp: 1996 candidate for U.S. Vice President, former U.S. Secretary of the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)

★ Michael Mansfield: U.S. Senate Majority Leader 1961-1977

★ Larry McDonald: Georgia Congressman killed on Korean Air Flight 007

★ Stephen C. O'Connell: Former Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court

★ John E. Porter: Congressman (Illinois)

★ James Stockdale: 1992 Independent vice-presidential nominee

★ Alan K. Simpson: U.S. Senate

★ John Tanner: U.S. Congressman (Tennessee)

★ Charles F. Wald US General

★ Harry Mitchell: U.S. Congressman (Arizona)

★ Mel Martinez: U.S. Senator (Florida)

Scientists

★ Vannevar Bush: Physicist, WWII advisor and architect of modern government science policy

★ Arthur Holly Compton: Physicist and Nobel Prize winner

★ Karl Compton: Physicist and influential science advisor in World War II

Sports

★ Perry Barnett: Middle linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles

★ Dom Capers: Defensive coordinator, Miami Dolphins

★ Bud Collins: Tennis announcer, author

★ Cris Collinsworth: Former NFL wide receiver, sports anchor

★ Lee Corso: Sports commentator, football coach

★ Len Dawson: NFL Hall of Famer, Super Bowl IV MVP, sports anchor

★ Ted Dibiase: "The Million Dollar Man"; Former WWF wrestler

★ Terry Funk: Pro wrestler

★ Joe Girardi: New York Yankees catcher; former Florida Marlins manager

★ Curt Gowdy: Sports broadcaster for 5 decades; 7 Super Bowls and 14 World Series

★ Lou Groza : NFL Hall of Famer

★ Keith Jackson: Sports commentator, ABC

★ Ernie Koy: Texas Longhorn, 1963 National Champions; Pro Bowl running back for New York Giants

★ William Little: Known as "Father of Southern Football", introduced football at the University of Alabama

★ Jim Mora: Former coach of the New Orleans Saints

★ Steve Spurrier: Head coach of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, Heisman Trophy winner 1966 at University of Florida, Former Florida head coach, 1996 National Championship

★ Jim Tressel: Head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes (2002)

★ Jack Youngblood: NFL Hall of Fame

External links

★ ATO National Fraternity

★ Leadershape

★ JoinATO.org

★ ATO Roadshow

References

1. "After the Storm", The ATO Palm, December 1981.
2. Tau Facts & Firsts, ATO web site 2004
3. Interfraternity Council, Oregon State University. 2007