Greek life has been part of the University of Central Arkansas since the Owls social organization was created in 1915 at Arkansas State Normal School (now UCA) by members of the Clary Literary Society and the Wingo Literary Society. The Owls would later become the Sigma Chapter of the Sigma Tau Gamma social fraternity.
A Centennial Celebration will take place on October 17. Proceeds go toward the endowment of the Harold Gene Guthrie and Don King scholarships. Contact Mike Reynolds at mreynolds@uca.edu for more information.
Landon Lee, junior accounting major and current Sigma Tau Gamma president said, “It is quite an honor to lead an organization that has such a rich history at this university. It makes me think of this school as more of a home than I already did. Leading this fraternity at this time has also brought increased incentive to uphold our legacy on this campus, and to continue to contribute to the great name of the University of Central Arkansas.”
Dr. H.B. Hardy, retired UCA administrator, related, “Sig Tau offered a lot of leadership opportunities for those of us who were interested in assuming leadership roles. We took a lot of pride in our involvement with student government, Who’s Who and other organizations.” Hardy was an active member as an undergraduate student and a chapter advisor.
Bill Byrd is the current chapter advisor. When Byrd was a student at UCA he was involved in Student Senate, Royal Rooters, Student Orientation Staff and Ambassadors. He was also an active member of Sigma Tau Gamma. When asked what the fraternity means to him, he replied, “The relationships I developed with my fraternity brothers are very similar to the relationship I have with my own brother.”
The fraternity has inducted some prestigious members throughout the years, including notable figures such as Arkansas Governor Ben Laney, noted author Dee Brown, and Sheffield Nelson, former CEO of Arkansas Louisiana Gas Company (now CenterPoint Energy) and former chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party.