The Beta Tau Chapter represents the Zeta Psi Fraternity at Tulane University. Beta Tau was founded in 1977 by Jay Rothberg (Delta Chi '69)—then the head of Zeta Psi's Expansion Committee—who visited Tulane University with the idea of colonizing a new chapter. Working with Greg McElroy (Phi '70) and Alan Davis, the Director of Men's Housing at Tulane, they searched for undergraduates who were interested in being the first Brothers of Beta Tau.
The original Brothers were mostly Resident Advisors at Tulane and Navy ROTC cadets. The first President of the Chapter was Randy Wykoff. He and the other charter Brothers—Craig Glidden, Dave Brain, and Eric Dubelier—were integral in helping the chapter off the ground. The initial Beta Tau Elder Association was founded mostly by Elders from the Beta Chapter at the University of Virginia, people such as Jefferson Parker, Parker LeCorgne, and Baldwin Hickey, who provided necessary support during the early years of Beta Tau. With their help, a Chapter House at 716 Broadway—in the heart of Tulane's Fraternity Row—was purchased. It houses the Active Chapter to this day.
Beta Tau was off to a strong start—just four years after its founded, it hosted the 1980 Zeta Psi International Convention in New Orleans, and initiated the largest pledge class in Beta Tau history, with twenty-one initiates—a record that still stands today. With increased numbers and anewly-remodeled house, Beta Tau developed a strong presence at Tulane in the early 1980s.
Unfortunately, this would be short lived—the recession of the 1980s decimated the ranks of the Elder Association as graduates left New Orleans, and this led the Active Chapter to a precarious financial situation by the early 1990s. With too few members to occupy the Chapter House, it was leased to another Tulane fraternity, Phi Kappa Sigma, in the fall of 1992. Despite the loss of the Chapter House, Beta Tau continued to forge onward, holding chapter meetings in the University Center, while the remaining Brothers, with help from IHQ, sought out strong pledges who would help restore the prominence of Beta Tau. They were successful and, by 1994, they were able to reclaim the Chapter House.
A year later, the Active Chapter hosted its second Zeta Psi International Convention—which, thanks to the management of Beta Tau and the draw of New Orleans, was one of the best-attended International Conventions ever.
By the 1998-1999 academic year, however, a series of conflicts within the Active Chapter reduced membership to just eleven Brothers, six of whom were graduating in the spring of 1999. Due to the determination and the efforts of the remaining Brothers, they were able to recruit fifteen pledges in the spring of 1999—more than the number of Active Brothers—and bring Beta Tau back from the brink.
Since that fateful year, Beta Tau has continued to grow and prosper. Over the next few years, repairs were made to the neglected Chapter House, Beta Tau's abused finances were put back in order, and new Chapter By-Laws were ratified in 2000.
By 2002, the Active Chapter numbered fifty-three Brothers, its highest membership since the early 1980s. With additional money and manpower, Beta Tau began to do large-scale renovations on the hundred-year-old Chapter House—walls were demolished, creating a large Chapter Room, and the kitchen and bathrooms were substantially redone. For their hard work, Beta Tau was awarded a Most Improved Chapter Award that year at the Zeta Psi International Convention in Calgary. A year later, in 2003, Beta Tau won Most Improved Chapter Award again, and as well as the prestigious Comstock Award, given to the Chapter that best fulfilled the historic vision of Bill Comstock, one of the most illustrious Brothers of Zeta Psi.
At the same time, however, tension between the Active Chapter and Tulane University led to Beta Tau voluntarily withdrawing from IFC and renouncing Tulane recognition in the spring of 2003—a bold move done with the backing and support of Zeta Psi International Headquarters. Beta Tau decided to remain off-campus until the issues with Tulane could be mutually resolved.
In 2004, Beta Tau's first year as a non-Tulane-affiliated fraternity, the Active Chapter continued to prosper. Thirteen pledges were initiated, and major renovations were made to 716 Broadway. The back house was demolished to make way for a larger backyard, and more renovations were made to the kitchen and the bathrooms. The back sunroom, too, was demolished to make way for a more-versatile back balcony. For its efforts, Beta Tau won the Most Outstanding Chapter Award—the biggest honor bestowed by headquarters—at the Zeta Psi International Conventions in both 2004 and 2005.
In the fall of 2005, just as Brothers were returning to New Orleans for the summer, Hurricane Katrina struck and devastated the city of New Orleans. With Tulane closed for the entire fall semester, the Brothers of Beta Tau were spread all over the world. The Chapter House, meanwhile, had sustained damage in the storm—the wind had blown off the Spanish tile roof and punched holes in the ceilings, floodwaters into the downstairs bedroom, and the basement was flooded, causing the destruction of utilities. Things seemed dire, but the overwhelming support of Zeta Psi Brothers across the world was immediate and massive; thanks to the efforts of the International Headquarters, Beta Tau received financial assistance from dozens of Chapters and other organizations, which allowed a large-scaled two-month-long cleanup, spearheaded by Active Brothers Gregory Hayslett (BT'07), Jimmy Mersereau (BT'07), and Will Woldenberg (BT'07), as well as the Director of Chapter Operations, Chris Bond (BT'05), to make the Chapter House habitable again. This included a complete renovation of the roof and the downstairs bedroom, as well as new utilities in the basement and a general remodel of both the upstairs and downstairs common areas. By the time Tulane reopened in January, the Beta Tau Chapter was strong and ready for the future, initiating eighteen Brothers by the end of spring 2006—its largest initiate class in years. At the 2006 Zeta Psi International Convention in Philadelphia, Beta Tau once again won the Most Outstanding Chapter Award, and was also awarded the McElroy Order of Excellence for earning three consecutive Most Outstanding Chapter Awards.
Despite a strong response to the physical damages of Katrina, the Active Chapter suffered another blow when Tulane announced the dismantling of its School of Engineering, causing many Brothers to transfer to other universities, as well as the lingering debt that Beta Tau had accumulated after Katrina. By the fall of 2007, after two large post-Katrina pledge classes that had replenished its numbers, Beta Tau began chapter operations out of debt for the first time since Katrina. Extra money led to continued Chapter House renovations; over the next two years, all common areas were repainted, the staircase banister was repaired, all furniture was replaced, the downstairs bathroom was gutted, a new utility closet was built under the stairs, a kitchen bar was constructed, and the old front doors were removed and replaced with more secure, modern ones.
By the spring of 2009, Beta Tau had recovered strongly from Hurricane Katrina, initiating nineteen Brothers, and taking its place as one of the top fraternities at Tulane. The Active Chapter has also renewed its commitment to philanthropy, and the longstanding disagreements with Tulane were amicably resolved, paving the way for Beta Tau to rejoin IFC and reclaim Tulane recognition, which it did in April of 2009. In just its first weeks back on IFC, a Beta Tau Brother was elected to join the IFC Executive Board.
As a young chapter with so much history, Beta Tau has been fortunate to have multiple brothers serve the International Fraternity in various aspects. Brothers Jason Murphy (BT'02), Mark Williams (BT'03), Richard Stirling (BT'09), Peter Johnson (BT'08), and Daniel Ehlers (BT'10) were selected to join the prestigious Washington Scholars Fellowship Program, and Chris Bond (BT'05) previously served as the program's Executive Director. M. Karl Pickett (BT'96), a 1996 Chapter Consultant, was honored with the Phi Alpha's award, and Will Woldenberg (BT'07) was honored to become Beta Tau's first Undergraduate Representative to the Zeta Psi Board of Representatives, as well as the first undergraduate to serve as an International Greek Officer, serving as Sigma Rho Alpha. Alan Davis, Beta Tau's longtime faculty advisor, was made an honorary Brother of Zeta Psi and was presented with the James H. McLaughlin Award in 1995, the highest award given to an individual by Zeta Psi. Stephen Halperin, (BT'84), has served as the Elder President for both the Alpha Chapter at Columbia, and the Beta Tau Chapter, and also served as the co-chairman of the 150th Anniversary Convention. Jay Rothberg, who served as Beta Tau's Elder Association President for many years, has chaired two International Conventions and was the Fraternity's Phi Alpha from 1985-87. Outstanding Undergraduate and Elder Awards have been given off to such worthy alumni as Jimmy Mersereau (BT'07), Andrew Heintz (BT'04), Will Woldenberg (BT'07), and Corey Dunbar (BT'02). The Beta Tau Chapter continues to have a strong presence both at Tulane University and in Zeta Psi, and looks forward to a strong and successful future.