Phi Gamma Delta Day

WHEREAS, , in February 1961, a group of men began a series of meetings with Auburn University English professor Dr. William Hauser and were inspired by his vision of a college fraternity that would break through stereotypes current at the time; and

WHEREAS, that group of men, many of whom would have never considered membership in a college fraternity, joined together to form Delta Colony, committed to three principals:  scholarship, community and brotherhood; and

WHEREAS, Delta Colony developed these principals into standards that would guide their actions:  a higher minimum grade-point-average for initiation than any other social fraternity at Auburn; a “dry” house that provided a positive and supportive environment for young college students; and a “no-hazing” policy to break the vicious cycle of humiliating and degrading practices then current in college fraternities; and

WHEREAS, Delta Colony survived the effects of a devastating fire that destroyed their chapter house on the night of January 13, 1962, when the temperature in Auburn reached ten degrees; and

WHEREAS, seven months after the fire, Delta Colony was accepted as the Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta by the national fraternity; and

WHEREAS, on October 27, 1962, the Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was installed at Auburn University; and

WHEREAS, the Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta has distinguished itself in academics, service, athletics and campus leadership for the past fifty years; and

WHEREAS, members of Phi Gamma Delta have gone on to distinguished careers in law, business, the arts and sciences, and public service that have enriched the lives of Alabamians; and

WHEREAS, members from the first ten years of the Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta have gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the chartering of their chapter at Auburn:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim October 20, 2012 as

Phi Gamma Delta Day

in the state of Alabama.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 20th day of October 2012.

 

      

Robert Bentley, Governor