Alpha Tau Delta () is a

professional fraternity Professional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of profes ...

for students and industry professionals in the nursing fields. It was founded in 1921 at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

as Alpha Tau.

History

Alpha Tau sorority

Nursing students at the

after holding conferences with the dean, the university faculty, and the director of the School of Nursing founded a nurses’ sorority on February 15, 1921.Alpha Delta Tau - History
/ref> It was named Alpha Tau, and its first chapter was named ''Alpha–the Lady of the Lamp'', after

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

Alpha Tau Delta

Soon after, the organizing committee decided that the sorority should be designated as a fraternity since it was professional. The name was changed to Alpha Tau Delta in 1924. The Greek letter Delta was added when it was learned that a male fraternity had a prior claim to the name Alpha Tau.Was this

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters an ...

? Note too, that the national sorority

Alpha Sigma Tau Alpha Sigma Tau (known as or Alpha Tau) is a national sorority founded November 4, 1899, at Eastern Michigan University (formerly Michigan State Normal College). A member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the sorority has 78 active collegia ...

uses "Alpha Tau" as a nickname on some campuses. Alpha Tau Delta and its insignia were registered with the

United States Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Ale ...

. Alpha Tau Delta became the first nursing fraternity in the United States. Invitations were sent to eligible collegiate Schools of Nursing throughout the states to join Alpha Tau Delta. The second chapter to be chartered was ''Beta'', at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1927, followed by ''Gamma chapter'' at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

in 1928. Since new chapters were being founded on different campuses in different cities, a central office was established at Berkeley. Its first national publication, the ''T.P.R. of ATD'', was first published in 1931. Later, the name was changed to ''Cap’tions'' of ALPHA TAU DELTA and then to ''The Pulse'' in 2000. ATD’s first national convention was held in 1932, in conjunction with the

American Nurses Association The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a 501(c)(6) professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911. It is b ...

Biennial Convention with six chapters participating. The fraternity has held a national convention each biennium from 1931 to the present time, except during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1944 or under exceptional circumstances. In the early 1970s, Alpha Tau Delta opened its membership to male nursing students, and the Articles of Incorporation of Alpha Tau Delta were changed to reflect this decision. The fraternity became a charter member of the

Professional Fraternity Association The Professional Fraternity Association (PFA) is an American association of national, college, collegiate, professional fraternities and sororities that was formed in . Since PFA groups are discipline-specific, members join while pursuing gradua ...

in 1978. This association was the consolidation of the Professional Panhellenic Association founded in 1925 and the Professional Interfraternity Conference founded in 1928, with the fraternity being a member of the former.. In 1992, Alpha Tau Delta replaced pledging with a membership orientation period. As of 2024, the fraternity has ten active collegiate chapters and three alumni chapters. It has initiated 10,000 members. Its national headquarters are in

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Coastal California, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north ...

Symbols

Alpha Tau Delta's colors are yellow, white, blue, and gold. Its flower is the yellow rose. Its jewel is the pearl. The fraternity's motto is "United in Service". Its symbols are the caduceus, the lamp, and the star.

Chapters

Collegiate chapters

In the following chapter list, active chapters are indicated in bold and inactive chapters are in ''italics''.

Alumni chapters

Alumni chapters end in Pi. In the following chapter list, active chapters are indicated in bold and inactive chapters are in ''italics''.

Notable members

Elenora A. Cawthon Elenora Albrecht Cawthon (1917–2016) was an American professor and university leader at Louisiana Tech. She served as president of the College Placement Council in 1972–1973 and was an officer of the American Association of University Women i ...

, professor and university leader at

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

. *

Katharine Jane Densford Katharine Jane Densford (1890–1978) was an American nurse who made important contributions to nursing education and to nursing services during World War II. Densford was Director of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, serving in that ...

, director of the

School of Nursing Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other me ...

* Louise M. Powell, dean of nursing at

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

and director of the

References

External links

* {{Authority control Student organizations established in 1921 Professional medical fraternities and sororities in the United States 1921 establishments in California Former members of Professional Fraternity Association