Beta Theta Pi wise unto life is belonging to a friend

The history of the Zeta-Xi chapter begins in the fall of 1994. Two roommates, Ryan Sather and Michael Stegeman, formed a small group of friends who held frequent meetings to discuss starting a new fraternity on what was then Northeast Missouri State University's campus. The group came to be known as Beta Lambda Epsilon and eventually grew to 26 outstanding young men. As the spring '95 semester began, the men of Beta Lambda Epsilon continued to work hard and recruit new members and on February 6, Beta Lambda Epsilon became an official campus organization.

Meanwhile Joel Stern, director of expansion for Beta Theta Pi, had learned of the group's ambitions and contacted Sather. On April 27, 1995, the men of Beta Lambda Epsilon were initiated as pledges of Beta Theta Pi and became the first sons of the dragon at Truman State University. On January 13, 2004 took another step towards living the ritual of Beta Theta Pi by aligning with the Men of Principal Initiative, signifing our commitment now and into the future to brotherhood, leadership and excellence.

While one of the youngest fraternities at Truman State, Beta Theta Pi has shown leadership and excellence in all facets of campus life. In fact we have earned many awards from the general fraternity and our campus IFC. Some examples include two Knox Awards, Beta's highest award for chaper excellence, IFC's Most Outstanding Chapter Award, and several Sission Awards for chapter excellence. The Zeta Xi members place a strong emphasis on giving back to the campus and the community. With members involved with organizations such as the Student Activities Board, Student Senate, Center for Student Involvement, Blue Key, and Student Ambassadors, the men of Beta Theta Pi do our best to give back to the campus. Beta's at Truman volunteered over 5000 hours of their time for various charitable organizations.

Two of the newest additions to our fraternal infrastructure are the Zeta Xi Alumni Association and the Zeta Xi Housing Corporation. These are organizations maintained primarily by involved alumni. They fund various activites of the fraternity and are working toward an important goal of obtaining a house for the brothers of Zeta-Xi.