Finally, on April 4, 1998, Mu Theta Tau was certified and renamed The University of Michigan Colony of Theta Tau National Professional Engineering Fraternity. The members of the new Colony had the opportunity to meet some of the "Grands" whose names they had worked so hard to memorize in the previous week: Grand Regent Lee C. Haas, Executive Director Michael T. Abraham, Student Member Jeremey M. Tschaepe, Great Lakes Regional Directors Marco A. Bianchini and Chrisopher A. Stockman, and the Colony's advisor, Edward J. Vinarcik. Theta Tau alumni, and members of several chapters, including chapters as far away as Platteville, Wisconsin were also in attendance. (The Colony Members recognized they were from Platteville due to their intense study period.) Members from co-ed and all-male chapters made a point to make their stories heard, and the Colonials had a choice ahead of them: to remain an all-male group by tradition and rule or to open their doors to members of both genders. These stories were reinforced by the trip that Jensen and Fischer took to the 1998 Theta Tau National Convention in Iowa City, with Dan spending most of his spare time with the delegation from Mu Chapter and Carl hanging out with those present from Tau and Rho Chapters.

On 11 September 1998, just before their first official rush, the members of Michigan Colony voted unanimously to accept women into their ranks as Fischer took over the reins as Colony President. The next day, Michigan Colony went to Festifall '98 and redoubled their collective recruiting efforts, with the promise of their first Founder's Day Retreat not long off. All the while, members kept their noses buried in their several copies of The Way To Theta Tau, a booklet of guidelines on how to become a Chapter. The Colony pressed on towards Chapterhood.

Those pledging joined the eight Colonials at the Ortonville Recreation Area (lousy directions from Bailey notwithstanding) for a weekend including a makeshift Pass-The-Gavel, hobo dinners, and a well-played game of Capture The Flag. Stan Bisgaier, the quiet one in the group of new pledges, distinguished himself in the game by risking body and clothing to win the day for the yellow team just before the agreed-upon time at which the game would be declared a draw.

The newly formed group also made a point of attending its first official Theta Tau party, an event organized by Iota Beta chapter. After what could only be described as an interesting trip further into Detroit than several members and pledges had ever been, the guys and gals from Michigan Colony met Theta Taus who would become almost household names around Ann Arbor, like SSgt Jerry Oswald, Divot, and Chops. The Colonials were also introduced to the tradition of making off with a souvenir from events whenever possible, and Aaron Furman distinguished himself by collecting Michigan Colony's first (and only) trophy.

The first rush was a success, yielding the ten members (eight men and two women) of the retroactively-designated Alpha Pledge Class. After a tag-team pledge period between Meder and Jensen, Alpha Class took their exams and all passed, even as Dave Moenssen gave us the now-classic "Six Guys and a Dream". Roll numbers for the new pledge class were assigned based on their final scores on these exams, starting the tradition of giving the new members a tangible reward for academic excellence within the fraternity.

These eighteen Colony members were determined to become a Chapter of Theta Tau by the end of the year, and didn't need encouragement. They drew inspiration from the "competition" from the Virginia Commonwealth University Colony and from the University of Cincinnati Colony to get the next Chapter designation: Theta Gamma. The Colony finished the last few elements required, culminating in a second petition to the Fraternity, written again by Jensen, requesting installation as a Chapter. They submitted the petition as their next rush was getting underway.

Winter Term brought a slightly smaller, but no less enthusiastic, group of pledges to Michigan Colony. With the addition of Alphas as members, the Colony had the manpower (and womanpower) to do things of which it was previously incapable. This extra strength and experience, combined with reworking and retooling practically every committee's operations, all contributed to a successful retreat in Detroit, including dinner in Greektown and Stomp at the Fisher Theater.

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