Membership

Starting a new chapter is a rewarding endeavor for any undergraduate student wanting to sharpen his leadership skills. One must be prepared to commit a great deal of their time and to follow through on the various steps of the process to become a founding father of a chapter of Phi Delta Psi. Achieving such a milestone affords you the opportunity to be a beacon of excellence on your campus, wherein both you and the multitude of men who will join this chapter after you have graduated will be privy to a rewarding fraternal experience marked by academic achievement, social prominence and service.

We are an organization that has zero-tolerance for hazing and ensures that there is no place for it throughout our intake process. This Fraternity also takes pride in adhering to our principles of Brotherhood, Leadership, Achievement, Honor and Service. By committing to introduce Phi Delta Psi to your campus you will be able to develop an organization that adheres to these values and will eventually become a strong chapter within this Fraternity. Once you have made your interest known and have gathered the requisite number of potential members, local alumni and representatives from the National Board will work with you to complete the various steps of the Colony Development Program. Successful completion of this program results in the conferment of a charter to operate as a Phi Delta Psi chapter.

Once you have made contact with Phi Delta Psi National Board to express your interest in bringing Phi Delta Psi to the campus, we will coordinate a visit from a regional alumni officer. It is important for you and other interested students to use this initial meeting to have all of your questions answered about the logistics and benefits of establishing a Colony by an official representative of the Fraternity. This meeting also presents our representative with the opportunity to assess the quality and the character of the men interested in becoming a part of this Colony, as well as to visit with the appropriate university officials and determine specific requirements the University may have for conferring official recognition to a Greek organization on their campus.

Our representatives designated by the National Board representatives will work with you and your university administration to recruit a group of students interested in becoming a part of this Fraternity. There is no requisite number of students needed to start a Colony, but we do require that there be at least five (5) students who will commit to completing the entire process. We also require that you register with the relevant university authority that will grant you official recognition as a group on the campus. We ask as well that you enlist the supervision of a reputable faculty advisor who is affiliated with the university/college.

With the approval of Phi Delta Psi’s National Board, an event will be scheduled that will be directed by local/regional alumni and/or members of the National Board. At this juncture, we will set about creating goals, and team building activities as well as a framework detailing the requirements to gaining a charter. At this time you can then begin the initiation of your interested members into the colony.

This phase of colonization will be in effect until initiation and requirements for the establishment of a chapter have been completed. In order to move on to the next phase, you will be required to complete the application for a charter and to pay the fees in full for all active members of the colony. Once this has been completed and you have gained the approval of the National Board, you will receive your charter.

Leading Principles for Establishing Chapters of Phi Delta Psi Fraternity, Inc.

We will establish and develop successful Chapters based on the following principles:
• Brotherhood: The goal of our organization is to create a strong network of brothers who will give life to the principles of the Fraternity on a daily basis. We want brothers who will respect the diversity of their fellow members be in terms of viewpoints and ideas and who will commit to creating an environment that in turn fosters mutual respect, pride, and responsibility for enriching the lives of their fellow members and surrounding community.
• Leadership: Recruiting leaders is one of the primary objectives of Phi Delta Psi. We welcome the inclusion of both current leaders and those who only need to realize their potential for leadership. Within our Fraternity we will provide the opportunity for members to constantly develop and improve upon their skills as leaders so that our brotherhood serves as a vehicle for change and empowerment for each member and their fellow black students, and encourages them to realize their potential for improvement individually and in a team environment.
• Achievement: Superior scholarship and achievement is one of the tenets of or our Fraternity and our goal is to recruit men who understand the value of a performing well academically as the proven way to break the cycle of poverty, discrimination and deprivation of our rights. We are committed to providing an experience for our members that complements their undergraduate academic requirements and inculcates the ideal of academic achievement.
• Service: Service to others is an important component of being a member of Phi Delta Psi and we expect our members to give back to their community both individually and as a group. Our goal is to recruit men who are passionate about helping others and will employ the full extent of their creativity and effort to address the needs of the under-privileged and disenfranchised both material and psychological. We want men who will remain ever conscious of their lifelong responsibility of serving others.

In accordance with our Code of Conduct strict adherence to our commitment for non-hazing is required for all Fraternity Chapters.

• The use of narcotic substances of any kind is strictly prohibited during the conduct of any Fraternity activities. Phi Delta Psi will continuously strive to create a social environment that does not encourage the use of such substances at any time.
• It is important that our members appreciate the fact that their commitment to Phi Delta Psi as well as to their alma mater is a lifetime one which in turn elicits lifetime rewards.
• We will work tirelessly to create a strong partnership with our host-institutions and will adhere to their policies since we fully recognize that it is in our interest to encourage each institution to invest in the long-term viability in its Greek community.