Kappa Sigma MTSU

European Founding - 1400 AD
A man by the name of Manuel Chrysoloras, born around 1350, came to Bologna, Italy to revive the study of Greek to the Christian West. Bologna
was home to Europe's oldest University, The University of Bologna, founded in 1088 and because of this, Bologna was known as "The City of Letters". In Bologna, Chrysoloras taught his disciples to spread the Greek literature and philosophy through Europe. He wrote Erotemata Civas Questiones,
which was used for the teaching of the Greek language. Chrysoloras promoted the integration of the Latin and Greek cultures which would allow Italy to become a world power.

One problem for Chrysoloras and his disciples was the tyrant Baldassarre Cossa. Cossa was the Governor of Bologna and he would have his men
attack Chrysoloras and his students. He would also commit acts of robbery, levy fees against students who came from cities other than Bologna, and practice the use of extortion. To continue the spread of Greek throughout the land, Chrysoloras had to devise a plan that would counter the attacks of the ruthless Governor. In doing so, he created Kappa SIgma. The Order was founded in 1400 for protection against Cossa and his men. The members of the society used certain signs and words, known only by them, to keep outsiders from compromising the mission of spreading the Greek culture.

American Founding - 1869 AD
Modern day Kappa Sigma was founded one chilly evening in the fall of 1869, as five students attending the University of Virginia in Charlottesville gathered in the room of William Grigsby McCormick, at 46 East Lawn, and planted the seed of Brotherhood. For many weeks the bonds of friendship had drawn these five together; now the need became clear for a formal structure to contain their feelings. Thus, not only did the Founders formalize their friendship, but they also created a fraternity steeped in the traditions of the past and dedicated to the Pursuit of Learning. The new brothers recorded their bond in a Constitution and in an Oath that set forth the ideals and principles to all Kappa Sigmas today.

MTSU Founding and Re-Founding 1969, 2010
Kappa-Iota chapter of Kappa Sigma was chartered on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University on March 8, 1969. It is number 191 on the official roll of Kappa Sigma chapters. The chapter began as a local fraternity, Sigma Tau Omega, which was founded January 13, 1966 by Phillip A. Davidson. The fraternity became Sigma Colony of Kappa Sigma on March 9, 1968.

The first chapter house was located on the corner of Highland and Lytle streets in Murfreesboro. In 1973 the chapter purchased a house at 1003 North Maple Street, which remains the home of Kappa-Iota to this day. The antebellum structure holds a place on the historic register of the state of Tennessee. The famous Kappa Sigma Barn was hand built by the brothers of Kappa-Iota in 1974.

As expansion plans for the campus of MTSU unfolded in the late 1990s, Kappa-Iota became one of the first tenants at the newly constructed Greek Row on the southwest end of the campus. The house, designed specifically for Kappa Sigma, featured a distinctive integrated barn structure, paying homage to the original property that had become almost synonymous with the chapter itself.

In January 2006, after a period of disciplinary and financial struggle, the Kappa Sigma Fraternity revoked the charter of the Kappa-Iota chapter. This, the darkest day in the history of the chapter, serves as a constant reminder to brothers of all generations of the fragility of any chapter and the vulnerability it faces if taken for granted.

In January 2009, a group of dedicated Kappa-Iota alumni initiated the process of re-colonizing the chapter, recruiting new members and establishing the Kappa-Iota colony at MTSU. On December 12, 2009 a new generation of founding fathers, numbering 35 in all, restored the dormant chapter to its rightful place at MTSU. Within days, the chapter resumed residence at the house at 1003 North Maple Street, the ownership of which had been retained by the alumni of the chapter in anticipation of its eventual return.

Today, both the original charter from 1969 and the 2009 charter hang in a place of honor in the chapter house, bearing the names of the men who founded and re-founded our beloved chapter.