An old fraternity is coming back with a new twist.
The Harbaugh Club was originally established at F&M in 1900 as an eating club where students gathered with faculty to discuss pressing issues of the day. In 1917, the fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha grew out of the Harbaugh Club, eventually causing the Club to cease to exist.
Lambda Chi Alpha was strong on campus up until F&M’s de-recognition period in the mid-1980s when all fraternities and sororities ceased to be officially recognized by the College. Lambda Chi Alpha’s presence on campus fizzled out and remained absent.
But in 2005 the Harbaugh Club reemerged.
The Harbaugh Club retains its meaningful presence at F&M today, and after nearly a year of preparation, Lambda Chi Alpha is now going to become present on campus again, this time to work alongside the Club.
The twist is that all members of Lambda Chi Alpha will have mandatory membership in the Harbaugh Club (which has just recently become co-educational), while not all members of the Club must be in the fraternity.
Three consultants from Lambda Chi Alpha’s national headquarters are coming to F&M Monday, Feb. 15 to meet with and interview men they believe are good candidates for Lambda Chi Alpha. The fraternity will have its founding class by March 6.
The new Lambda Chi Alpha brothers will have a six-week education program, just as any other Greek organization would. Director of Greek Life Mary Kate Boland ’01, director of Greek life, likened the renewed presence of Lambda Chi Alpha on campus to the re-emergence of the sorority Alpha Phi in 2007.
“President [John] Fry and Dean [Kent] Trachte identified Alpha Phi as the [sorority] they wanted to come back for re-colonization,” Boland said. “The structure was in place for them to be successful. I see Lambda Chi paralleling that. Lambda Chi has a very supportive alumni base.”
Alumni of Lambda Chi Alpha have been the main outside support system for the Harbaugh Club. Lambda Chi alumni, current Harbaugh Club members, faculty, and administration comprise the events the Harbaugh Club has.
The administration hopes Lambda Chi Alpha will provide a different kind of experience than that of the fraternities and sororities already on campus. The strength of the alumni association and the mix of co-educational discussions bring the new fraternity to another level.
“There are alumni from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, who are active in the alumni group,” Trachte said. “It’s really good for the College to have that cross-generational relationship.”
The Club presents three luncheons and one formal dinner per semester. A faculty member is invited to speak on a topic of their choice with a lively Q&A period to follow. Attendance to these events has been known to exceed sixty people. The numbers are slated to rise even higher when the addition of Lambda Chi Alpha.
“I think those fraternities and sororities that are most vibrant and successful are those that have involved alumni groups,” said Kent Trachte, dean of the College. “Lambda Chi probably has the most involved alumni group. They’ve already been involved with the Harbaugh Club, so they are ready for this.”
While there are plans in the works between the College and the Alumni Greek Council to create a viable long-term housing plan for the Greek organizations on campus, there are no plans to add a house for Lambda Chi Alpha at this time, according to Trachte.
The Harbaugh Club is in negotiations with the College for a space to hold meetings and discussions that will also inevitably provide meeting space for the fraternity.
In addition to acting as a venue for academic discourse, the Harbaugh Club also has a history of community and public service activities, a tradition that is expected to continue with Lambda Chi Alpha. The new fraternity is also going to be dry, meaning that no alcohol will be served at undergraduate-only events.
“Thinking back to 2007, when Alpha Phi came to campus, their presence really shook things up in a positive way for sororities here,” Boland said. “It has allowed the other sororities to step up their game a little bit. My hope is that with the addition of a strong national like Lambda Chi, that it will be a positive thing for the fraternities, as well.”
First-year Kristin Miller is a layout assistant. Her e-mail is kristin.miller@fandm.edu.
