Unlike many chapters on campus with long storied histories, the Georgia Tech chapter of Delta Chi is one of the newest fraternities on campus. Started just 17 years ago, the chapter has grown rapidly and gained recognition as one of the top fraternity chapters in the nation.

The Georgia Tech chapter of Delta Chi started in 1990 in the halls of Folk and Caldwell dorms. A few friends who were quite active in their residence hall council found that they enjoyed not only the simple time spent together, but they also enjoyed organizing and participating in group activities. They found that by pooling their resources, they could derive significant advantages from the collective group.

One of them, Brian Crawford, first suggested the idea of starting a fraternity to Marc Paolo and Chris Brown in late Fall of 1989. The two men liked the idea, and so Brian took the initiative to contact Bill Barnes, the Dean of Fraternities at Georgia Tech. He was initially discouraged by Bill, who told him that there were already too many fraternities at Tech. No new chapters had successfully started in 30 years, and he didn't believe the group was big enough to gain recognition. Brian, Marc, and Chris were disappointed, but they continued the prospect by repeatedly meeting with Bill Barnes and trying to rally support from other friends who would be interested in the idea of starting Tech's next great fraternity.

Georgia Tech Delta Chi's Founding Fathers

In January 1990, they held their first organizational meeting. They had 15 men; Barnes had said 25 was necessary. To build numbers, each agreed to bring a friend to the next meeting. Interest grew, and by the next meeting they had enough and received permission from the school to proceed.

Before talking to any national organizations, these men knew they needed to define what they were looking for in a fraternity. Several of the men had been pledges at other chapters on campus, but had decided to leave for various reasons: hazing, lack of academic focus, lack of respect for members. These men wanted the benefits of a fraternity without the disadvantages presented by the chapters available at the time.

They planned a retreat in Gatlinburg, Tennessee to hammer out some of the ideals that they wanted in a fraternity. These philosophies were developed in the retreat and set to paper upon return to Tech. These ideals, described below, are straight from the original text:

1. We firmly decided that we were strongly against hazing of all types, including psychological and physical.
2. No unnecessary punishment, humiliation, or embarrassment.
3. Grades were of the highest importance, with the fraternity never to be an excuse for poor academic performance.
4. Standards for grades would be required, which required members to go on a brother supported tutor system and a loss of certain privileges if the member's grade point average was ever to fall below a 2.0.
5. Repeatedly making less than a 2.0 caused "involuntary inactive status."
6. Chores and duties were to be divided equally among all members.
7. All members should be well versed in the history of the fraternity.
8. There would be an alcohol responsibility policy.
9. There would be an open door policy; friends of members should always be welcome at open functions.
10. Above all, we wanted to be known as gentlemen.

After this retreat, the chapter met with two national organizations, one of which was Delta Chi. The members eventually chose Delta Chi based on several factors. Delta Chi already had a strong alumni support base already established in the Atlanta area. More importantly, the Ten Basic Expectations of a Delta Chi aligned closely with the ideals the members had agreed upon at the retreat, making Delta Chi the logical choice for the new group.

The group was colonized by Delta Chi later that spring, and just one year later was chartered on May 11, 1991. This was an extremely quick turnaround from colony to chapter, as many colonies stay as such for two or three years.

Since those early days, the chapter has purchased a house, built a new additional house, and become a model for chapters nationwide.