There are six Phi Delta Theta undergraduate chapters in the Washington, DC area. Please visit the General Fraternity website for a full list of Phi Delta Theta chapters and alumni clubs located across the United States and Canada.

MARYLAND ALPHA
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
http://www.umdphidelt.com
@UMDPhiDelt
UMDPhiDelt

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), Marv Perry (former GHQ staff member) 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 and General Fraternity Warden).

MARYLAND BETA
McDaniel College, Westminster, MD
https://phideltmdbeta.wordpress.com
@PhiDeltMDBeta
PhiDeltMDBeta

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. 61 WMC undergraduates and three alumni signed the Bond of Phi Delta Theta on April 23, 1971. 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.

MARYLAND GAMMA
Washington College, Chestertown, MD
http://www.washcoll.edu/
@PhiDeltaThetaWC
PhiDeltaThetaWAC

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 Kleberg, was a member of the Washington College interest group and 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.

Phi Delta Theta’s annual crab feast at Washington College raises $10K for ALS research, bringing over $20K in donations to the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins.

MARYLAND DELTA
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
https://jhu.campusgroups.com/phi%20delt/
@JHUPhiDelts
Phi Delta Theta Johns Hopkins

In September 2008, JHU students clicked on targeted Facebook advertisements placed by Phi Delta Theta General Headquarters. The first email inquiry 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, the Greek Advisor at Johns Hopkins who also happened to be an Akron Phi Delt and Gamma South Province President.

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 Johns Hopkins campus. He quickly began to identify several of his peers to join him in forming JHU’s newest fraternity. In just a few weeks time, the group had grown to over 25 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 36 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 campus. The colony also maintained a 3.28 cumulative GPA during their first semester as a colony.

In September of 2009, the Maryland Delta colony petitioned Phi Delta Theta’s Survey Commission and General Council for formal recognition as a chapter and received unanimous approval. On November 20, 2009, 45 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.

On November 21, 2009, the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity officially granted a charter to the newly initiated men of the Maryland Delta chapter at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

VIRGINIA BETA
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
https://virginiaifc.com/chapters/

In 1873, three members of Phi Delta Theta petitioned 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 due to inappropriate behavior by some of the chapter members that was inconsistent with the fraternity’s values. Plans were made for an immediate return in the Fall of 2000. It was paramount that any return to UVA would be predicated upon our founding principles of friendship, sound learning and moral rectitude.

To further exemplify the teachings of the Bond and protect the health and safety of members and guests, Phi Delta Theta took a bold step in 2000 and voted unanimously to adopt alcohol and substance-free housing for all chapters. The former UVA chapter members and a few alumni, some of which responsible for the closure in 2000, disagreed with this approach and chose to sever ties with Phi Delta Theta in favor of alcohol. Although they continued to use some Phi Delta Theta symbols and ritual and operate as a local fraternity under the name “Phi Society,” local society members since 2000 are not Phi Delts nor are they affiliated with the General Fraternity in any way.

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

Local Phi Delt alumni, faculty, students and guests attend the Virginia Beta Installation Ceremony in the Dome Room of the University of Virginia’s Rotunda in Charlottesville, VA on September 15, 2001.

VIRGINIA LAMBDA
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
https://mason360.gmu.edu/phidelt/
@phideltgmu
Phi Delta Theta – George Mason University
phideltgmu

In late 2018, Phi Delta Theta was invited to conduct an expansion presentation to the Greek community at George Mason University as they were considering the addition of a new fraternity to their system. An expansion team consisting of Phi Delta Theta GHQ staff and local alumni volunteers including Director of Expansion Alex Atkinson, General Council Member David Almacy, Austin Deray and Todd Rose met with George Mason fraternity leaders on January 28, 2019 to discuss the creation of a new chapter on campus. Shortly thereafter, we were thrilled to learn that we had been selected and that we were added to the expansion calendar for Fall 2021.

The Virginia Lambda Interest Group of Phi Delta Theta at George Mason University was established after GHQ staffer Robbie Nunes arrived on campus in September 2021 to begin recruitment efforts. On behalf of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Delta North Province President Austin A. Deray inducted 28 George Mason University students as founders of the Virginia Lambda Emerging Chapter on November 21, 2021.

During the weekend of November 17-18, 2023, the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity was pleased to officially welcome the Virginia Lambda Chapter as the newest fraternity at George Mason University. On Friday, November 17, 2023, 33 new members were initiated into the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity at the Naval Lodge, No.4 in Washington, DC. The next morning, Virginia Lambda officially received their charter from Phi Delta Theta General Council President David Almacy at the Lorton Volunteer Firehouse in Lorton, VA. The event was well attended by family, friends and members of the George Mason community.

On Saturday, November 18, 2023, the Virginia Lambda Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at George Mason University was officially installed.

MORE CHAPTERS
A complete list of Phi Delta Theta chapters and alumni clubs may be found by visiting phideltatheta.org.