A brief history of Greek Letter Organizations:

Only five months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Phi Beta Kappa was founded by five students at the College of William and Mary in ancient Williamsburg, VA, on the night of December 5, 1776. It is generally believed that this first Greek-letter society grew out of an antecedent organization know as the “Flat Hat Club,” which had existed at William and Mary since about 1750. The Phi Beta Kappa of the late Eighteenth Century had all the earmarks of our present-day social fraternities: the charm and mystery of the secrecy, a ritual, oath of fidelity, a grip, a motto, a badge for external display, high ideals of morality, scholastic achievement and fellowship. The ancient society soon determined to extend its values to other institutions and within eleven year had established chapters at Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth. 

Because of increased military activity in Virginia during the Revolutionary War, the parent chapter of Phi Beta Kappa became dormant in 1781 and the fraternity did not expand further for many years. In 1831, influenced by a nation-wide agitation against secret societies, the Harvard chapter voluntarily disclosed it secrets; thenceforth the entire organization became an honorary society in which membership was conferred solely for distinguished scholarship. Following this change of policy, Phi Beta Kappa emphasized the honorary nature of its membership and no longer considered itself in competition with social fraternities. 

Phi Beta Kappa today is more widely distributed than any other Greek-letter society and remains purely honorary in character. Yet the fraternities of 1776-1831 was the progenitor of our whole species of college fraternities and its numerous offspring bear all of its essential features.

The history of Greek Life at UT Arlington:

Greek Life at UT Arlington was initiated by Dr. Kent Gardner in 1969. As Director of Housing he initiated the Greek system at UT Arlington, colonizing six original groups and establishing the constitution and by-laws for the direction of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic council. Today the UT Arlington Greek community consists of 32 organizations, 4 governing councils and over 700 students.