- Apr 29, 2023
- 2 min read

KTP Comes to Campus

Professional Fraternity Kappa Theta Pi’s First Year at Boston University.

By Allyn Tucker

Following concern about the lack of on-campus opportunities for technology-driven students, two freshmen brought professional fraternity Kappa Theta Pi to Boston University and opened recruitment to the general student population this semester.

Founded by co-presidents Paul Lee (CDS ‘26) and Tye Robison (CDS ‘26), the Lambda Chapter of Kappa Theta Pi is Boston University’s first co-ed professional fraternity, with a specialization in information technology. The two freshmen joined forces last fall after they struggled to find STEM groups without major-specific requirements.

“I decided to join Paul on this mission because I was also looking to join a group that would cater to the new school of Computing and Data Sciences,” Robison said. “In order to find the community I was looking for, I needed to establish it myself.”

Connecting with peers by sharing information and ideas is a fundamental part of the fraternity’s identity. According to the Boston University KTP website, the fraternity operates on a five-pillar system: professional development, alumni connects, social growth, technical advancement, and academic support. To further members’ growth in all five areas, the Kappa Theta Pi E-board is planning for the group to hold science and technology workshops and social events.

The five-pillar ideology has been in place since the creation of the fraternity. The Alpha chapter of Kappa Theta Pi was founded at the University of Michigan in 2012, and according to Robison, members of Michigan’s Alpha chapter were integral in the creation process of the Lambda chapter. Since the fall, brothers from Boston and Michigan have been in constant contact and hope to attend a multi-school Kappa Theta Pi conference in the future.

Presidents Lee and Robison worked closely with the Center for Computing and Data Sciences and Boston University's Spark! program to make the fraternity a reality. The university’s recent introduction of the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences has opened a variety of doors for students interested in technology. BU Spark!, a technology incubator and experiential learning lab, provides both monetary and networking resources to student projects similar to Kappa Theta Pi.

With support from the school’s faculty, many of the fraternity’s events will be held in and around Boston University’s new Center for Computing and Data Sciences. The building, which opened to the general student population at the start of spring semester, furthers Boston University’s growing commitment to technological studies.

Boston University’s President, Robert Brown, believes that the university is leading “a data-driven revolution,” and it is doing so sustainably, according to BU Today. President Brown sees the new Center for Computing and Data Sciences as material evidence of data science’s growing relevance in every academic field at Boston University and beyond.

“The Center for Computing and Data Sciences gives us an ability to collaborate with faculty, who provide us with further resources that we wouldn’t otherwise have access to," Robison said. “With the excitement of the new building, everybody is hyped and ready to embrace data science.”