Gamma Tau

Gamma Tau Chapter had its genesis at Michigan State University in September 1947, when a group of nine academically gifted African-American men saw a need to organize themselves to meet the rigors of MSU’s academic environment. Just as the bold and pioneering “Seven Jewels” had done just forty-one years earlier at Cornell University, these men sought to form an organization in the noble legacy of Alpha Phi Alpha. An application was made to the general organization and a new chapter was chartered into Alpha on May 1, 1948.

Early lines featured several star athletes in football, basketball and track and field, including Bro. William Thrower, the first Black man to play quarterback in the NFL and Bro. Don Coleman, Michigan State’s first Black All-American. Many dentists, entrepreneurs, educators, businessmen, lawyers and doctors were initiated into the fraternity through the Gamma Tau Chapter. Gamma Tau went inactive in 1994.