THE EVOLUTION OF LAMBDA OMICRON CHAPTER

 

In 1923, Lambda Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity was established in Los Angeles, California. Thus Lambda Chapter became the first chapter established west of the Rocky Mountains. It was an undergraduate chapter and most, if not all, of the members of the chapter were undergraduates at the University of Southern California. Some of the charter members of the chapter were Thomas Griffith and his brother Lloyd, and Brice Taylor, the first All-American football player at USC.

 

Since there was no other chapter of the fraternity in the area, Lambda Chapter, as was the case in other chapters, became a chapter for both undergraduate and  graduate brothers. With the mass migration of other brothers  in the area after World War II, the need for a chapter composed entirely of graduate men became apparent. Many brothers who migrated to this area were World War II veterans and college graduates. Moreover, brothers who were once undergraduates in Lambda Chapter were now college graduates. 

 

Early in 1946, a group of graduate brothers began laying the foundation for establishing a graduate chapter in Los Angeles. A petition for a chapter charter was submitted to the Supreme Council and on December 16, 1946, a charter was issued for a graduate chapter to be designated Lambda Omicron. This designation was consistent with an earlier policy of assigning the name of an undergraduate chapter in a community as the first name of the graduate chapter established in the same community.