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History

Chapter History

Zeta Lambda Chapter was founded on May 13th, 1972 under Phi Delta. In the Mississippi Room of the Union, 35 members were initiated including the Chapter adviser Lowell Oxtoby. Zeta Lambda has held an annual Philanthropy called Big Wheels since 1975.

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National History

To understand the history of Delta Tau Delta you must also understand the founding of greek letter societies. There are many similarities in the founding of the greek system in 1776 and the founding of Delta Tau Delta in 1858.

Bethany Timeline

• 1858: Delta Tau Delta is founded at Bethany College in Bethany, Virginia (now West Virginia). Eight undergraduates, angered by a fixed vote for a prize in oratory to be given at the Neotrophian Literary Society— a forum for students to practice and demonstrate skills in poetry, public speaking and writing essays—respond by forming a secret society. The society is to see that the Neotrophian is returned to popular control.
• 1859: Bethany Chapter grants charters to three chapters: West Liberty, West Virginia University and Jefferson. To establish membership, the new chapters are given a Constitution and Ritual, membership badges and are taught the Fraternity’s mottoes and purposes.
• 1861: Jefferson Chapter assumes Fraternity control and Alpha designation. Henry Bell, a founder and alumnus, comes from his home in Kentucky to search for a way to preserve the Fraternity after the last remaining Bethany members leave for the armed forces. In Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at Jefferson College, he finds Rhodes Sutton and Samuel Brown and persuades them to come to Bethany to be initiated. The two men brave a snowstorm and nearly impassible mountain roads on horseback to be initiated at Bethany on February 22. Sutton and Brown return to Canonsburg the following morning and that day initiate two more men at Jefferson.
• 1866: First General Convention is held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with five chapters represented: Allegheny, Ohio University, Washington and Jefferson, Monmouth and Pittsburgh.
• 1869: Ohio Wesleyan chapter assumes control of the Fraternity and takes on the Alpha designation after Jefferson chapter is closed. William H. Kirk is instrumental in keeping the Fraternity alive.
• 1874: Four Divisions of the Fraternity are created, the first such step taken by any fraternity.
• 1875: Allegheny chapter, the fourth and final chapter to hold Alpha designation, assumes control of the Fraternity after the Ohio Wesleyan chapter disappears. James S. Eaton, Alpha (Allegheny).
• 1875: A “hero” of the Fraternity, travels to Delaware, Ohio to collect what remains of the organization’s records. Delta Tau Delta flourishes during Allegheny’s era of control; a magazine (The Crescent) is established; 15 chapters are founded, of which eight survive (several others are reestablished later).
• 1880: First alumni chapter is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1883: The Executive Council is established to govern the Fraternity, replacing government by the Alpha Chapter. For the first time, administration of the Fraternity is passed from undergraduates to alumni volunteers. The Alpha Chapter, however, makes certain that the annual General Convention, to which all chapters send representatives, is still the policymaking body and that the Executive Council’s role is to carry out the decisions made at the General Convention—later known as Karnea.
• 1886: The Fraternity merges with the Rainbow Fraternity, a Southern fraternity founded in 1848 at the University of Mississippi.
• 1889: A new Fraternity Constitution establishes the position of chapter adviser and changes the name of the Executive Council to Arch Chapter.
• 1909: The National Interfraternity Council is formed by a group of men’s fraternities, including Delta Tau Delta. James B. Curtis, a Delt, is one of the founders.
• 1913: Central Office established in New York City, later moves to Indianapolis, Indiana.
• 1921: Undergraduate Loan Fund established. 1922 First Field Secretary – later chapter consultants—is appointed. Delta Tau Delta was the first to create such a position in the fraternity world.
• 1924: Delta Tau Delta creates the office of Supervisor of Scholarship, becoming the first fraternity to place on its governing board an officer concerned solely with fostering high scholarship.
• 1926: The Loyalty Fund, the Fraternity’s endowment fund is established by undergraduates.
• 1929: The Distinguished Service Chapter formed to honor Delt alumni who render outstanding service to the Fraternity. The Delt Creed, written by Stuart MacLean, Sewanee 1897, officially adopted.
• 1934: The first edition of the Chapter Management Guide (now called the Chapter Leadership Guide) and The Good Delt: His Book, the Fraternity’s first pledge manual, are published.
• 1941: Delta Tau Delta Educational Fund is established. 1956 Centennial Development Fund established to take care of new chapters, formed during postwar expansion, which had limited funds, no alumni and faced great difficulty in obtaining adequate housing.
• 1958: Delta Tau Delta celebrates its first 100 years at the Centennial Karnea in Pittsburgh. 1966 First Hugh Shields Award for Chapter Excellence announced.
• 1967: The President’s Council, forerunner of the present Undergraduate Council, created by Fraternity President and Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark.
• 1972: Zeta Lambda Chapter of Delta Tau Delta is established at Western Illinois University.

Zeta Lambda House Timeline

• 1974: Delta Tau Delta honored by The Newcomen Society in North America, the first fraternity so recognized.
• 1977: The Fraternity restores the Bethany Founding House, birthplace of Delta Tau Delta.
• 1980: The 75th Karnea, meeting in Pittsburgh, makes the pilgrimage to Bethany for the formal dedication of the Founders’ House.
• 1981: Educational Foundation of Delta Tau Delta established as a nonprofit organization to promote educational and charitable activities.
• 1986: Delta Tau Delta launches a comprehensive program for alcohol abuse prevention called “Delts Talking About Alcohol.”
• 1990: The Fraternity adopts the Chapter Responsibility Guidelines to assist chapters with liability and risk management issues. The Fraternity begins Delt Insurance and Risk Management Program to give chapters uniform quality and advice on insurance coverage and risk management.
• 1992: The first Delt Leadership Academy is held in Chicago. The Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation announces the completion of a $6 million capital campaign. Delt 2000 program launched.
• 1993: The Chapter Leadership Guide is developed, replacing the Chapter Management Guide. Delta Tau Delta Housing Association is established.
• 1995: Delta Tau Delta establishes Web site and internet presence.