Current Students > Division of Student Life > Greek Life > Zeta Tau Alpha

Fraternities: Delta Sigma Phi | Kappa Sigma | Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sororities: Alpha Xi Delta | Chi Omega | Sigma Kappa | Zeta Tau Alpha

The Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity was founded on October 15, 1898 at Longwood College (a.k.a. Virginia State Female Normal School) in Farmville, Virginia. Thiel’s chapter was installed on September 28, 1964 as the Zeta Beta chapter at Thiel College. Thiel is the 123rd link in the chain of ZTA chapters.

Zeta Tau Alpha selected breast cancer education and awareness as its national philanthropy and THINK-PINK!® is a registered trademark of Zeta Tau Alpha.  In 1992 ZTA formed a partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure® when it became the first national sponsor of the Race for the Cure’s National Series Breast Cancer Survivor Recognition Program.  ZTA has provided the signature pink T-shirts and caps for participants to wear during the race.  ZTA also provides pink “In Memory Of” and “In Celebration Of” back signs for participants to wear during the Race for the Cure events so they may race in honor of a friend or loved one.  ZTA is a member of the Komen Million Dollar Council donating over $3 million dollars to Susan G Komen for the Cure.  ZTA has also partnered with Yoplait® in the Save Lids to Save Lives® program, the National Football League to increase awareness of breast cancer at professional football league games, with SELF Magazine promoting healthy lifestyles through the annual SELF Challenge, and with Lifetime Television supporting it’s movie “Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy” to spread the message about breast cancer awareness. 

Our symbols include the five point crown and the strawberry, and our flower is the white violet. Our colors of Zeta Tau Alpha are turquoise blue and steel gray.  The patron goddess of Zeta Tau Alpha is Themis, which is also the name of our quarterly magazine.   

The founders of ZTA did not want to represent a stereotyped womanhood. Even then, as today, Zeta Tau Alpha aims for a well-balanced group with no thought of making a woman a “Zeta type.” Our ideal is to blend skillfully varying personalities, temperaments and abilities into a harmonious whole. The goal of all Zetas is to seek the noblest in all things, to strengthen friendships, and to perform deeds and mold opinions that will lead to building up of a purer and nobler woman.