About – Delta Tau Delta – University of Illinois

What Makes a Delt Unique

Academics

Delta Tau Delta consistently ranks among the top of all Fraternities with regards to academics. For the last 5 years, Delta Tau Delta has found itself either at the top or near the top in terms of national GPA.

Values Based Organization

Delta Tau Delta is a value driven organization, and we strive to make all of our decisions based on our mission and values. Our members live by the principles of integrity, accountability, truth and courage. Building a fraternity around these values sets forth the expectations for how the fraternity will run and the behavior in the fraternity. Bringing these values into our Brotherhood allow for personal and organizational accountability and overall excellence.

Leadership Academy

The academy is a personal development process based on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. This process is not designed to create better presidents or recruitment chairman, but to offer our undergraduates the opportunity to assess their personal skills, strengths and weaknesses; so that they may better prepare themselves for their future. Recently added to our leadership development opportunities is an experimental process that takes place in the Rocky Mountains, and another on the North Atlantic off the coast of Maine. The purpose of this expedition is to provide the basics of outdoor leadership including basic communication and leadership skills.

Who is a Delt?

Over 143,000 men have been initiated into Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. These men are doctors, lawyers, teachers, athletes, musicians, senators, businessmen, fathers, grandfathers, mentors, advisors, etc. Becoming a Delt offers you an instant connection between these men and you, a connection that could result in some phenomenal life experiences and advice.

Not only are these men Delts, they also give back to their organization. Delta Tau Delta is the #1 Fraternity in terms of per member giving and has one of the largest Educational Foundations in the fraternity world. Alumni giving has endowed our leadership programming and is establishing the funds to keep us among the leaders in the fraternity world.

Who is a Delt?

Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College in present day West Virginia. Eight men, 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), responded by forming a secret society. The purpose of the new society, known only by the Greek letters Delta Tau Delta, was to see the Neotrophian Society returned to popular control from the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, and to form an organization of the student body drawn together by common aims, brotherly regard and desire for mutual support.

Delta Tau Delta was born of the knowledge that integrity is essential. The founding principles of Truth, Courage, Faith and Power have provided a guide for both the Fraternity and its membership.

Since 1858 the Fraternity has spread to nearly 200 campuses with over 120 active chapters and colonies comprised of about 6,500 undergraduate members.

Values

The Mission and Values of the Fraternity are a public representation of our core values contained within our Ritual. Our mission is simple but straightforward, “Committed to Lives of Excellence.” Our members should be committed to living lives that reflect themselves, the Fraternity and every part of their being to a level of excellence. We as a Fraternity are dedicated to helping men achieve this level of excellence in their own lives.

The four fundamental principles of Delta Tau Delta are Truth, Courage, Faith, and Power.

Truth is fundamental to any organization, but truth is particularly critical to Delta Tau Delta because honest relationships are mandatory for Brotherhood. Telling the truth to yourself and others is fundamental to your commitment to a life of personal and professional excellence.
Courage means aggressively taking on challenges and being a leader in the face of adversity. It means caring for the lives of the people around you and understanding that sometimes saying, “No” is a necessary act of responsibility and love for your Brothers and the Fraternity as a whole.
Faith is a belief in yourself that what you are doing is right. Whether your faith comes from yourself, your parents or your God is up to you. Faith also means being loyal and trusting among people. It means knowing that people will make correct choices and decisions provided they have the necessary information and they understand the consequences of their actions.
Power is the inherent ability and talents of each member as valuable resources. These qualities and talents give Delta Tau Delta the power and energy to continue looking and moving toward a grand future.

In addition to the four principles of Delta Tau Delta, there are five phrases that complete our system of values.

Integrity is Essential: Integrity means doing what you say you will do. Integrity establishes credibility for yourself and the Fraternity, and having it means that others can trust you, believe you, and count on you.
Accountability is Fundamental to all Commitments: Accountability means holding to your promises, making you responsible for both your words and your actions.
Lifelong Learning and Growth are Vital: There is no status quo in the pursuit of excellence – you are either moving ahead through continuous growth and learning, or going backwards and slowly narrowing your choices and opportunities in life. There is no point in today’s world where one can afford to stop learning and growing.
Strengthening Community is Essential to our Vitality: The pursuit of a life of excellence must occur through constant interactions with many different communities. Therefore, a strong community is vital for your future, as well as the Fraternity’s.
Brotherhood Sustains Us: Delta Tau Delta is an organization that relies on Brotherhood to hold us together. Brotherhood involves individual responsibility to one’s self and to others.
The value statements of Delta Tau Delta are evident in everything we do and say. Our values shape our decisions, our programs and our future.