The termTriad is used to designate a grouping of three national collegefraternities or sororities that were founded at the same place.[1][2] The most famous and oldest triad is theUnion Triad atUnion College inSchenectady, New York which includes some of the oldest national fraternities still in existence.[2][3] The second triad that formed is theMiami Triad atMiami University inOxford, Ohio.[2][3] There is also theSyracuse Triad atSyracuse University inSyracuse, New York and theLexington Triad inLexington, Virginia.[2][4]
There are also groupings of two fraternities that were established at the same place that are called Duos, including theMonmouth Duo atMonmouth College inMonmouth, Illinois and theJefferson Duo atJefferson College inCanonsburg.Pennsylvania.[2][5]
The Lexington Triad is a group of three fraternities founded immediately after theCivil War by students from two colleges inLexington, Virginia:Alpha Tau Omega,Kappa Alpha Order andSigma Nu.[4]
Alpha Tau Omega was founded inRichmond, Virginia in 1865 by students fromVirginia Military Institute.Kappa Alpha Order was founded in 1865 atWashington and Lee University.Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 at Virginia Military Institute. The national headquarters of the Kappa Alpha Order and Sigma Nu are still in Lexington.
The Miami Triad refers to three fraternities founded atMiami University inOxford, Ohio, in the 19th century:Beta Theta Pi in 1839,Phi Delta Theta in 1848, andSigma Chi in 1855.[2][3] Some fraternal historians compare the significance of the Miami Triad to that of the earlierUnion Triad.[6][7]
Delta Zeta sorority was founded at Miami University in 1902, andPhi Kappa Tau fraternity in 1906.Delta Sigma Epsilon sorority began there in 1914, merging in 1956 with Delta Zeta. The establishment of these numerous Greek organizations at Miami University resulted in it being known as theMother of Fraternities.[8]
It has been a tradition at some campuses that have chapters of each of the Miami Triad, such as theUniversity of Kansas,[9] and theUniversity of Mississippi,[10] to hold an annual party, formal, or ball, often referred to as "Miami Triad" or simply "Triad", to commemorate their tie to each other and the Miami Triad's place in Greek history.[11] This tradition has waned in recent years and some schools have transformed the celebration into new events, such as the University of Kansas' Miami Triad Concert.[12]
ThePennsylvania Triad consists ofPhi Kappa Sigma, founded at theUniversity of Pennsylvania in 1850, andPhi Gamma Delta andPhi Kappa Psi, founded in 1848 and 1852, respectively, at Jefferson College inCanonsburg,Pennsylvania.[13][14]
The Syracuse Triad is the name given to the three women's sororities founded atSyracuse University:Alpha Phi,Gamma Phi Beta, andAlpha Gamma Delta.[2][15] Alpha Phi was founded in 1872 by 10 of the first 20 women admitted into the university.[15] Gamma Phi Beta was founded in 1874 and with it came the term "sorority", which was coined for it at the time of its founding.[15] Before that, women's Greek-letter organizations used the term "women's fraternity", since no more appropriate term existed. Alpha Gamma Delta completed the triad when it was established in 1904.[2]
The three sororities maintain social bonds, coordinating special events and ceremonies for the three sororities on the Syracuse campus.[16]
TheUnion Triad is a group of the three Greek-letter social fraternities in North America that were founded atUnion College inSchenectady, New York, including theKappa Alpha Society that was established in 1825; theSigma Phi Society established in 1827; and theDelta Phi established in 1827.[2][3] These three fraternities are also some of the oldest surviving national fraternities that provided the template for the modern social fraternity.[2][3]
Other fraternities which owe their birth to Union College includePsi Upsilon (1833),Omicron Kappa Epsilon (1834),Chi Psi (1841) andTheta Delta Chi (1847). Collectively, these many fraternities have given Union College the titleMother of Fraternities.
Four sororities were formed atLongwood University, which are billed as theFarmville Four. These includeKappa Delta (1897),Sigma Sigma Sigma (1898),Zeta Tau Alpha (1898), andAlpha Sigma Alpha (1901). The four faces of the campus bell tower commemorate these four organizations.[17]
The Jefferson Duo includes the fraternitiesPhi Gamma Delta andPhi Kappa Psi, founded in 1848 and 1852, respectively, at Jefferson College inCanonsburg,Pennsylvania.[13][14] A third,Kappa Phi Lambda, was also founded there but dissolved in 1874.[5] In 1865, Jefferson College combined with Washington College to becomeWashington & Jefferson College.
Two national sororities were founded atWesleyan College inMacon, Georgia:Alpha Delta Pi which was established in 1851, andPhi Mu which was established in 1852. General (social) sororities were banned on that campus in 1914, but this occurred long after the two organizations, called theMacon Magnolias, had expanded nationally.[18][19]
The Monmouth Duo consists ofPi Beta Phi andKappa Kappa Gamma, formed in 1867 and 1870, respectively, atMonmouth College inMonmouth, Illinois.[20][2] Monmouth College banned social fraternities and sororities in the late 1870s but the two sororities continued to operate sub rosa.[20] The two sororities became national organizations that survive today because they had formed chapters at other colleges before Monmouth's ban.[20]
The members of the Lexington Triad are sometimes grouped as part of theVirginia Circle, which includes several other fraternities founded in Virginia roughly during period of the Lexington Triad:Kappa Sigma andPi Kappa Alpha at theUniversity of Virginia andSigma Phi Epsilon atRichmond College.[21][22]
These two-Phi Gamma Delta andPhi Kappa Psi- comprise the famed "Jefferson Duo." A third fraternity, Kappa Phi Lambda, also had its genesis at old Jefferson College, where it was established in 1862, spreading to nine other colleges.
...together with the Jefferson Triad, went beyond it in the direction most natural—South, where...
...PHI GAMMA DELTA'S fellow member of the "Jefferson Duo" — Phi Kappa Psi — has taken an unusually courageous stand in the matter of...