The Alpha Tau Omega chapter at UTM celebrated its 40th anniversary last weekend with the fraternity’s national president, Dr. Miles McCall, delivering the keynote speech. Nearly 300 students and alumni participated in the four-day event, with an upwards of 200 attending the awards banquet Saturday evening.

Highlights of the banquet included the honorary initiation of Al Creswell, who serves on the board of trustees for the chapter, and a 20-minute slideshow of ATO’s past 40 years at UTM. McCall noted in his speech the importance of institutional change within the Greek system.

“Not every [ATO] chapter has the ability Martin does to change Greek organizations worldwide.” Following the banquet, the chapter hosted a reception for Dr. McCall and chapter alumni at the ATO house. Dr. McCall noted the role of ATO nationally as universities cope with non-Greek biases.

“We have 140 franchises – nationally – and every day we strive to change men’s lives and see them succeed.” He further stressed the importance of “leading by example,” in order to demonstrate the importance of Greek presence on the college scene.

Dr. McCall pointed out a common perception among universities to overlook the significance of Greek organizations.

“In many instances, universities forget the importance of Greek – and associated Greek [member families, spouses and friends] - alumni being future donors of the school,” said McCall.

Other highlights of the weekend included the formal dedication of the Col. Tom Elam Memorial Garden, where Mrs. Kathleen Elam commemorated the event. Mrs. Elam noted: “Tom would be proud if he were here today.”