About Delt Tau Delta
Who We Are
Delta Tau Delta is much more than a social organization, a place to live, or a way to meet new people. Our mission “Committed to Lives of Excellence” drives our actions, programming, and essence. Delta Tau Delta fulfills many purposes from honoring its members’ leadership skills and encouraging personal growth, to providing a nurturing environment in which members can enjoy their collegiate and post-collegiate experiences. Delt life offers fantastic opportunities through Leadership Academies, training conferences, and chapter involvement to help develop personal abilities and increase the potential for success. As Delts, we demonstrate strong commitment to the community through our weekly Adopt-A-School programs, and Coaches vs. Cancer benefits from the thousands of dollars raised each year through our exciting philanthropic events. Finally, our member education initiative, “The Road,” coupled with our anti-hazing pledge program brings together many opportunities for life-skills development and networking through chapter workshops in order to ensure a fun and healthy college experience. If you are committed to the excellence of a Delt, please visit our home page and sign-up for recruitment today.
Local History
The Delta Chi Chapter was awarded its charter on May 7, 1949, after a year as a Crescent Colony. The colony was founded by Donald Judson Holt, George Henry Blessing, and Hudson Dale Edmonson from the University of Oklahoma and Dr. John Howard Venable from Carnegie-Mellon University. These four members of the Fraternity were instrumental in the early days of the Chapter’s success and continue to leave their mark through endowed scholarships to the chapter. Their signatures can be found on the Chapter’s Charter located at the shelter.
Since it’s founding the Delta Chi Shelter has been located at 1306 W. University, and has continually grown since its inception. The original structure, a two-story Dutch Colonial home with an attic and basement is where the chapter began. At that time there were two annexes; a duplex just west of the Shelter, and a small “garage-like” building with a basketball court behind the house. Because the houses had no efficient method of heating, the members and pledges living in the Shelter slept on bunk beds in the attic. The first floor of the main house contained the house mother’s apartment, a large living area and a game room. The second floor was devoted to study rooms with desks and closets and a community-style bathroom. The basement is where the kitchen was located, as well as the dining hall where the brothers gathered for meals. The houseboys/servers were Delts who needed a job and could serve formal meals, keep the kitchen clean, and help the resident cook as needed in exchange for room and board.
During 1961-62, the first housing project took place. The main structure was torn down and a more modern fraternity house was constructed with heating, several bedrooms, two large community bathrooms, and better accommodations for the ever expanding membership. Notwithstanding, the chapter continued to grow and acquired yet another annex, which caused the living and dining spaces of the main house to become crowded and left the chapter again feeling the need for housing expansion. In 1981 the new renovation project more than doubled the square footage of the first floor by adding a large living room and expanding the kitchen/dining areas. Finally, an approximately $2.4 million dollar housing project dedicated October 10, 1987 completely renovated the new house, demolished the annexes, and constructed a new wing that increased the housing capacity to 78 men and gave us the highly functional shelter that is enjoyed today. This renovation made the Delt house the first fraternity on the OSU campus to provide private suite-style rooms to its undergraduate membership.
Our Founding
Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College by eight undergraduate students. These men, angered by a fixed vote for a prize in oratory given at the Neotrophian Literary Society; the only real forum for students to practice and demonstrate skills in poetry, public speaking, and writing essays responded by forming a secret society. The purpose of the new society, known publicly only by the Greek letters Delta Tau Delta, is to restore popular control within the Neotrophian Society and deliver it from the hands of the group of students who seized it. Because Delta Tau Delta was founded to right an injustice, we have esteemed integrity as an essential element of living the honorable life a Delt. Our eight founders were outraged that one group of students would and could choose in advance the candidate they favored and join together to swing enough votes for that man to win, regardless of actual performance. From this experience, the new Delt brothers determined that “Accountability is fundamental to all commitments,” and this is now one of the six values of the Fraternity.
