Phi Delta Theta Fraternity - Washington, DC Alumni Club

Chapters

There are four undergraduate chapters in the immediate Washington, DC metropolitan area. Within the fraternity, this geographical region is known as the Gamma South Province.

Maryland Alpha
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Nu Sigma Omicron, a local fraternity at the University of Maryland, was organized in January 1916 with nine undergraduates and two faculty as charter members. In November 1920, the group petitioned Phi Delta Theta for affiliation. Maryland Alpha was later installed on November 11, 1930. They have come to be known as the "Gentleman's Fraternity."

The chapter house sits on College Avenue and has been exclusively occupied by Phi Delts since 1926. To date, over 2,000 men have been initiated at Maryland Alpha including A. James Clark (Clark Construction), Ralph Friedgen (Head Coach, UMD Football), Gary Williams (Head Coach, UMD Basketball), Adam Hasner (State Representative, Florida House Majority Leader), Bob "Turtle" Smith (Berger Cup recipient, UMD Baseball) and Bob Fitzpatrick (retired Senior VP, Fannie Mae).

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Maryland Beta
McDaniel College, Westminster, MD

McDaniel College A local group at Western Maryland College by the name of Pi Alpha Alpha was founded in 1923 as the "Black and White" club, which later evolved into a fraternity. The club published the college's first newspaper, which is still in existence, and gave the local it's nickname, the "Black and Whites".

Boasting an undergraduate roster of 59 members and over 350 alumni, Pi Alpha Alpha was the largest fraternity on campus when they approached Phi Delta Theta to affiliate. Their strength, however, was not limited to their number alone. Included among their ranks were various campus leaders such as the student body president, senior class president and vice president, IFC president, Men's Council president, and the chairman of the Honor Court.

Colony status was approved by the 1970 Phi Delta Theta Convention in Washington, DC and on April 23, 1971, sixty-one WMC undergraduates and three alumni signed the Bond of Phi Delta Theta. The next day, the group received their charter and Maryland Beta was proudly added to the fold.

On May 10, 2002, Western Maryland College officially changed its name to McDaniel College in honor of WMC alumnus and past president, William Roberts McDaniel.

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Maryland Gamma
Washington College, Chestertown, MD

In the Fall of 1989, a group of students who were frustrated with the deteriorating state of the Greek system at Washington College, met to discuss the possibility of starting a new fraternity that would focus more on leadership and service, rather than alcohol.

The men chose to affiliate with Phi Delta Theta due in part to the fraternity's reputation as an international fraternity, as well as the encouragement from Stephen J. "Tio" Kleberg, a Phi Delt from Texas Tech. His son, Chris, was a member of the Washington College interest group. He would later become Bond #1 at Maryland Gamma. The Kleberg family owns and operates the world famous King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas.

The Maryland Gamma chapter of Phi Delta Theta was installed on April 24, 1992. From this date forth it has been the goal of the men of Maryland Gamma to uphold the integrity and character of Phi Delta Theta in everything they do. Over 200 men have signed the Bond at Washington College.

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Maryland Delta
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

In September of 2008, JHU students clicked on targeted Facebook advertisements placed by Phi Delta Theta General Headquarters. The first email came from Justin Shen, a sophomore at Johns Hopkins University, who visited Phi Delta Theta’s expansion website after seeing the ad. He then contacted Robert Turning, Gamma South Province President and Greek Adviser at Johns Hopkins. Shen was attracted to Phi Delta Theta’s strong sense of values and felt that there was a great need for such an organization on the Hopkins campus.

Shen quickly began to identify several of his fellow peers to join him as Founding Fathers of Hopkins’ newest fraternity. In just a few weeks time, the group had grown to over twenty five members, appointed officers, and under Shen’s leadership as President begun to fastidiously work on their petition to become a colony. By the time of their colonization as the Maryland Delta colony on February, 13, 2009, the group had grown to thirty-six Founding Fathers. Taking great pride in diversity and involvement, the colony drew members from different, ethnicities, nationalities, and faiths and quickly became one of the most involved fraternities on the Johns Hopkins campus. The colony also was able to maintain a 3.28 cumulative GPA during their first semester as a colony

In September of 2009, the Maryland Delta colony petitioned the Survey Commission and General Council for formal recognition as a chapter and was unanimously approved. On November 20, 2009, forty-five Founding Fathers were initiated into the Bond of Phi Delta Theta in a ceremony attended by alumni and undergraduate Phis from the University of Maryland, Washington College, University of Louisville, Widener University, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, University of Akron, Centre College, Cameron University, Chico State, Northern Arizona University, University of Cincinnati, and Tennessee Tech. The next day, Maryland Delta was formally installed in a ceremony presided over by David Almacy, Chairman of the Survey Commission, who presented Brother Shen with the charter and an engraved gavel to commemorate the momentous occasion.

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Virginia Beta
Univeristy of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

In 1873, three members of Phi Delta Theta petitoned the Virginia Alpha chapter at Roanoke College to establish a new chapter at the University of Virginia. Two of the members, F.H. Terrill and M.M Hardgrove, were Roanoke Phis, while R.S. Salusbury was an alumnus of the Georgia Beta chapter at Emory. The charter was granted on November 18, 1873.

In the spring of 2000, the charter was suspended and plans were made for an immediate return in the Fall of 2000. Although the former chapter continued to operate as a local fraternity under the name of "Phi Delta Alpha", the members were no longer affiliated with the General Fraternity.

After an extremely successful recruitment, 32 men accepted their invitation to join the re-colonization effort with a vision to create a fraternity which would set "The Standard" for all others. Virginia Beta was colonized on February 19, 2001 and on September 14, 2001, 31 brothers were initiated. The next day, in the Dome Room of the Rotunda, Virginia Beta received the charter from the General Council and officially returned to the University of Virginia.

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