About Alpha Tau Omega

Founded in 1865, Alpha Tau Omega stands out among other fraternities in its goal to unite men from all walks of life. Alpha Tau Omega was founded on Christian rather than Greek principals, however, membership is open to men of all religions, cultures, creeds, and backgrounds. The three founders, all Civil War veterans, created a the fraternity in order to bind men together in the ties of brotherhood.

Today, ATO is an American leadership fraternity that annually ranks among the top ten national fraternities for number of chapters and total number of members. ATO has more than 250 active and inactive chapters with more than 197,000 members and more than 6,500 undergraduate members. The ATO National Headquarters is based out of Indianapolis, IN, and helps undergraduates by offering scholarships, internship opportunities, and the means to connect with brothers all across the nation.

For more information about the National Fraternity, check out www.ato.org

About Alpha Tau Omega (Gamma Upsilon Chapter)
at Iowa State University

The Iowa State University chapter of Alpha Tau Omega was founded in 1908, and is proud to have celebrated its 100th anniversary of continuous membership at ISU this past fall. The chapter currently has over 50 undergraduate members, and gets actively involved in the university's various opportunities. ATO has brothers involved in the Interfraternity Council, which is the body of oversight of the 30 fraternities on campus, the Government of the Student Body, ISU's student government, and many other organizations on campus from the Homecoming Central Executive Committee to the Liberal Arts and Sciences Council. Whatever interests a member of ATO has, there is always an opportunity to get involved, either within the house or on campus, in a way that will teach skills and grant experiences which will help brothers to succeed in life after college.

ATO at Iowa State is also proud to award one of the largest amounts of scholarship money out of the 30 fraternities at ISU. Each year, the chapter awards up to $28,000 to the undergraduate ATO brothers. These scholarships are awarded based primarily on grades per semester, and for each semester a brother gets a GPA above the All Men's Undergraduate Average (approximately 2.85), they are automatically entitled to a monetary scholarship. Scholarship money further goes up based on what leadership responsibilities the brother has taken in the house, as well as the individual's financial need. These scholarships are a strong incentive at ATO for brothers to strive for both academic excellence as well as involvement in the fraternity, Greek community, and campus community. 

In the spirit of The ATO Creed, the National Fraternity annually honors the chapters most deserving of the recognition of True Merit. The award presented to a select group of chapters that have achieved a high level of excellence in the areas of scholarship, internal structure and operation, campus and community involvement, and an overall balance in chapter programming. Competition for True Merit is intense on the National level. From year to year, many chapters are deserving of this honor, but the award goes to only the best throughout the country. There is no limit to the number of True Merit Awards that may be given out each year.

There are only 7 chapters who have won more True Merit Bowls than the Iowa State University chapter of Alpha Tau Omega, placing us among the strongest ATO chapters in the country. The chapter was honored to receive this award for the past 2008 year, and plans to continue to receive it in the years to come. Only 22 True Merit Bowls were given out for the 2008 year.

Alpha Tau Omega at Iowa State University True Merit History:

ATO Gamma Upsilon has won this Award 15 times in the 38 years of the Award's existence, which historically places ATO Gamma Upsilon as one of ATO's Finest. Gamma Upsilon has won this award in the following years:

1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2008, 2009