On December 16, 1958, nine men met to form the core of what would become Theta-Eta chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon. The South Dakota Alpha colony was officially recognized by the Committee on Student Affairs on March 17, 1959. After just over a year of struggling and growing pains, Theta-Eta was chartered as the 175th chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon on June 4, 1960. The chapter acquired the former Sigma Alpha Epsilon house as its new home, and away we went!
A major bump in the road was a fire that broke out in the house the evening of November 10-11, 1961. There were no fatalities, but three brothers were injured.
The chapter had ups and downs, and finally got down enough that it went away for a few years. Then, in 2002, efforts to restart Theta-Eta began. A new Theta-Eta colony formed, rush was successful, and an energetic new group of men began to form a new edition of Theta-Eta. Their efforts reach fruition April 23, 2005, when the chapter was rechartered. Theta-Eta is now in the house formerly occupied by Chi Omega sorority. The new chapter has taken off at a run and plans to keep getting better!