Abstract:
The history of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity chapter at Ball State University is
rich and unique In one facet it mirrors the history of the college/university in Muncie,
Indiana, and in another facet demonstrates the cyclical nature of social fraternity life on
college campuses during the 20th Century. For predating its affiliation with Lambda Chi
Alpha Fraternity in 1951, this fraternity had a lengthy history as a local club/fraternity
dating back to 1921. They were called the Navajos, the first social club on the young
state campus.
In examining the evolution of this local club into a chapter of one of the nation‘s
largest and most respected fraternities, one needs to keep his/her examination in the
context of the growth and evolution of Ball State University. Recently, Professors
Anthony O. Edmonds and E. Bruce Geelhoed of the BSU History Department authored
the first definitive history of Ball State (published by the Indiana University Press). This
task began in 1993 when a sesquicentennial committee appointed by the president of Ball State was charged with planning the 75th anniversary of the state institution The
committee made as one of its chief priorities the research and publication of such a
history that charted the school‘s start through the auspices of Provost Warren Vander
Hill, a member of the committee.
