Starting an Interest Group
We allow a new chapter of Tau Delta Phi to form after careful consideration of the men involved and the environment at the host institution. In order to become a chapter of Tau Delta Phi there are three steps. First a group of men must form an interest group. Then they must move through the first two phases of the Enlightened Gentleman’s Program to achieve Colony status, in which they become fraters of Tau Delta Phi. Finally, the fraters of the colony seek to achieve Chapter Status in which they move through our chartering program and present their chartering request before the Grand Chapter or Executive Council.
Moreover, in order to complete each step, certain requirements must be met. The requirements for each of the three steps are detailed briefly on the following pages. This is not an exhaustive discussion of all requirements to become an active chapter; however, it includes the most important elements. The first step is to form an interest group. The requirements after expressing interest are below:
- The group of intent must reach the number of members predetermined by the Executive Council.
- The group of intent must begin holding weekly meetings and have established short and long-term goals for itself.
- All members of the interest group must be academically eligible according the academic continuance policy of the college or university where the interest group is located.
- The interest group must express written intent to become a colony of Tau Delta Phi. An example of a letter or e-mail follows on the following pages of the From Friends to Fraters: A Guide to Start a Chapter of Tau Delta Phi.
National Fraternity
Tau Delta Phi was founded in 1910 as a high school fraternity named Phi Sigma Beta.
Tau Delta Phi become a collegiate fraternity at City College of New York, New York College of Dentistry, and New York University in 1914, and was incorporated in 1916.
Tau Delta Phi became a member of the North American Inter-Fraternity Conference in 1922.
Member Services
Tau Delta Phi has an Education Foundation that is a 501(C)3 charitable organization founded in 1945.
Tau Delta Phi owns a housing Management Company, which is controlled by the National Fraternity and oversees the individual chapter housing corporations.
Tau Delta Phi covers its National Officers, Chapters/Colonies, Fraternity owned residences, and host institutions with a $2,000,000 aggregate liability insurance policy.
Conferences & Meetings
The Pyramid Leadership Institute is held annually at one of the campuses where Tau Delta Phi has an active chapter and is sponsored by the Executive Council. Subjects discussed can include: hazing prevention, alcohol awareness, educational responsibility, time management, and recruitment.
The Fraternity holds a Grand Chapter meeting annually, where all brothers are invited to discuss the operations and outcomes for the Fraternity.
Host Institution Offerings
$2,000,000 aggregate liability insurance coverage protects our host institutions.
National Officers meet with Greek Life staff on campus routinely and as requested.
Tau Delta Phi believes that a good chapter is only predicated by an outstanding Greek system. Therefore, Tau Delta Phi will perform educational sessions for the benefit of the entire Greek community on subjects such as hazing, Fraternity/Sorority Ritual & Pride, recruitment, alcohol responsibility, and risk management if the host institution should want us to facilitate them.
Expansion
Tau Delta Phi has dedicated expansion teams that run National expansion initiatives. The Executive Director and Director of Membership Development include themselves in all expansion programs.
A team visits each colony two times a semester (minimum), and runs the Colony Program for each new member class until the Colony is chartered (the expansion team also runs every initiation until the chartering).
The expansion team interviews area alumni for alumni advisor positions, and maintains constant contact with the campus community.