 Dartmouth Beta ( " Beta " ) was founded in 1858 as a local fraternity at Dartmouth 's Chandler Scientific School named Sigma Delta Pi . This was the second Chandler fraternity and the seventh fraternity founded at the college . The fraternity changed its name to Vitruvian ( a tribute to the Roman architect Vitruvius ) in 1871 and later established two short @-@ lived chapters at other schools . In 1889 , the local brotherhood decided to join a national fraternity and the organization soon became the Alpha Omega chapter of Beta Theta Pi . It built a house ( now South Fairbanks Hall ) designed by Beta graduate Charles A. Rich of Lamb & Rich in 1904 , and it built its second house on Webster Avenue in 1933 . 
