The good ole days of expansion
 

I posted this elsewhere on GC in a discussion about GLO expansion, but it has a lot of TKE Stuff)

If there are 3,000 4-year colleges, and you limit your GLO to the top 10 percent, that's 300 possible chapters (and I don't think even TKE, LXA, or SPE have that many active chapters.)

I think there are GLOs at 650-700 campuses, so no National is even at half the campuses.

Some of these old line GLOs, like Psi U, may say they only go to "Tier I/II" schools, but if you look at their roster of chapters they have made many exceptions. If some alum's kid was going to XYZ college, and wanted to be a Psi U, XYZ was soon elevated to Tier I/II (perhaps in exchange for a few $$$, a donated house, etc. from the alum.)

During the heydey of TKE/LXA/SPE/DZ expansion in the decade of the 1960s, TKE installed 23 or 27 chapters in one school year. There were so many new chapters, that each only got a few paragraphs in the TKE magazine.

Many of these were "pioneers" - the first national GLO on a campus. Now, 40/50 years later, some of the pioneers are the oldest and largest on campus, and now watch as the other GLOs try to colonize/charter new groups. SX and SAE and others may have laughed in the 1960s as TKE/LXA/SPE/DZ attempted to start from scratch at some big-name places, but now TKE/LXA/SPE/DZ laugh as SX and SAE and others try to start colonies at some of these former state teacher's colleges, which now are major universities with 1,000s of students.

Of course, some of the TKE pioneers and charters in the 1960s died slow and agonizing deaths - but in general TKE is a post-WWII fraternity and fairly healthy due to the efforts of its expansion leaders.

Basicly I believe that if your GLO is good, you should spread the word to more good students at more good campuses. If your GLO is not expanding, its die-ing.

Canadian Expansion
 

Expansion is something that is often debated north of the 48th parallel. There are only 2 active TKE chapters in Canada, Kappa Chi in Montreal (9 active brothers) and Tau Omega in Ottawa (29 active brothers). There have over the History of TKE been 5 Canadian Chapters, but three have folded. The greek system here is remarkably different than that of the USA. My chapter is not recognized by my University, we have no IFC, no Greek Dean, no anything we are an autonomous organization. TKE prides itself on being international but has no plans to expand any furthur into Canada, it is frustrating for Canadian fraters who know what this fraternity have to offer to other Canadian schools but have no means to purpogate expansion. There are only a hundred or so universities in Canada, many with absolutly no greek system. Infact there are schools in Canada where if you are caught wearing letters you are expelled on the spot. The 'hayday of expansion' may well be over in the United States but it is mearly begining up here, Canada is an untapped resource for greek organizations. Many fraternities are begining to realize this and are moving north, TKE is at a point where it needs to decide whether it wants to be a leader in this momement or a follower.

From what I hear within the next few years because or restarts and expansion TKE will be back over 300 actives again.