Delta Kappa Epsilon

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Delta Kappa Epsilon
ΔΚΕ
Delta Kappa Epsilon Coat of Arms.png
FoundedJune 22, 1844;180 years ago (1844-06-22)
No. 12 Old South Hall, Yale University
TypeSocial
Affiliation NIC
StatusActive
ScopeInternational
MottoΚηροθεν Φιλοι ἀει (Kērothen Philoi Aei; "Friends From The Heart, Forever")
Member badge
Delta Kappa Epsilon badge.png
Colors  Azure (Blue/Navy)
  Gold (Or)
  Gules (Crimson)
SymbolRampant Lion
Flag Delta Kappa Epsilon flag.png
PublicationThe Deke Quarterly
PhilanthropyRampant Lion Foundation
Chapters56
Colonies5
NicknamesDKE, Deke
HeadquartersP.O. Box 8360
--or--
6921 Jackson Rd., Suite 400

Ann Arbor , Michigan 48103
United States
Website dke.org

Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ), commonly known as DKE or Deke, is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen sophomores who were discontented with the existing fraternity order on campus. The men established a fellowship where the candidate most favored was "he who combined in the most equal proportions the Gentleman, the Scholar, and the Jolly Good Fellow." [1]

Contents

History

Delta Kappa Epsilon was founded on June 22, 1844, in room number twelve in the corner of Old South Hall on the campus of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut. [1] Its fifteen founders were: [1]

At this meeting, the Fraternity's secret and open Greek mottos were devised, as were the lapel pin design and secret grip. The open motto became – "Kerothen Philoi Aei" – "Friends From The Heart, Forever."

Central to the values of Delta Kappa Epsilon are its objects:

The objects of Delta Kappa Epsilon are the cultivation of general literature and social culture, the advancement and encouragement of intellectual excellence, the promotion of honorable friendship and useful citizenship, the development of a spirit of tolerance and respect for the rights and views of others, the maintenance of gentlemanly dignity, self-respect, and morality in all circumstances, and the union of stout hearts and kindred interests to secure to merit its due reward. [2]

Within five years of the founding of Phi chapter at Yale, chapters were installed at Bowdoin College, Princeton University, Colby College, Amherst College, University of Nashville, and the University of Alabama.

Despite traditionally selecting and installing ΔΚΕ chapters along the Eastern Seaboard, ΔΚΕ holds a strong reputation as a Southern fraternity. Between 1845 and 1846, thirteen of the 38 of the active members of the Phi chapter at Yale were Southerners. While Vanderbilt University was not founded until 1873, the Gamma chapter of ΔΚΕ was founded in Nashville 25 years earlier, in 1847. Also that year, the Psi chapter at University of Alabama and then Chi chapter at Mississippi would firmly root Delta Kappa Epsilon as an institution steeped in southern heritage.

Delta Kappa Epsilon's first West Coast chapter was founded at the University of California, Berkeley on Halloween night, 1876. The Mu chapter at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, is one of the few with a Temple, open only to DKE member initiates of the Mu chapter. The Lambda chapter at Kenyon College built the first fraternity lodge in 1854. Delta Kappa Epsilon became an international fraternity with the addition of the Alpha Phi chapter in 1898 at the University of Toronto, Canada. Expansion to the United Kingdom had little success. Today, ΔΚΕ chapters are located only in the United States and Canada.

The Delta Kappa Epsilon house at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York DKE Cornell Chapter.jpg
The Delta Kappa Epsilon house at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York

The fraternity's first convention was held in New Haven, Connecticut on December 23, 1946.

Symbols

The ΔΚΕ Flag consists of three bands of color: Azure (blue, truth), Champagne (gold, fidelity), and Gules (crimson, courage) with a dexter rampant lion in the middle band. ΔΚΕ flags have been carried to the North Pole by its discoverer, Admiral Robert Peary and to the Moon by astronaut Alan Bean. Adorning the active pin are the Greek letters Δ Κ Ε etched downward, diagonally across an ivory scroll and centered atop an onyx diamond, encased in rope-textured gold trim and stars gracing each of the four corners. Active members' initials for their given name and number as initiated in the chapter complete the active pin. Delta Kappa Epsilon pledges wear a triangle-shaped lapel pin with the same heraldic colors of Azure, Champagne & Crimson, with red facing upward & always on collared shirts.

Activities

Community service is a major focus for each chapter of ΔΚΕ, in addition to the social aspect that integrates collegiate academics with Greek system of fraternities and sororities. Chapters compete and are awarded equally on merits of leadership, chapter improvement and community service. [3] The Lion Trophy is awarded each year to the chapter with most notable achievements in each category.

Chapters

ΔΚΕ has grown to fifty-six chapters and has initiated over 85,000 members across North America.

Delta Kappa Epsilon Club of New York

The Yale Club of New York City's main entrance on Vanderbilt Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, home of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Club of New York Yale Club high jeh.JPG
The Yale Club of New York City's main entrance on Vanderbilt Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, home of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Club of New York

Members of Delta Kappa Epsilon who have completed their undergraduate education are eligible for membership in The Delta Kappa Epsilon Club of New York. [4] The DKE Club was founded on May 9, 1885, [5] occupying several clubhouses in Midtown Manhattan, [6] including 30 West 44th Street which it purchased from The Yale Club of New York City in 1916. [7] After renovations totaling $75,000, the clubhouse opened in January 1917. However, just nine years later the Club relocated again when it sold the building to the Army and Navy Club of New York. [8]

Partially due to the Great Depression, in 1932, the DKE Club entered into an affiliation with the Yale Club of New York whereby members would have the same access to its clubhouse and facilities as the 11,000 members of the Yale Club itself. [9] Designed by James Gamble Rogers, the clubhouse is located at 50 Vanderbilt Avenue across from Grand Central Terminal. Upon opening its doors in 1915, the building became the largest clubhouse in the world and continues to be the largest college clubhouse in existence today. [10]

The club has often hosted dinners and other events for notable alumni members of the fraternity such as polar explorer Robert Peary (who took a Deke flag to the North Pole with him in 1909). [11]

Notable members

President Theodore Roosevelt President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904.jpg
President Theodore Roosevelt

United States presidents

Vice presidents

Other notable members

Many American and Canadian politicians, businessmen, sports figures, and artists have been members, including Joe Paterno, Herb Kelleher, J.P. Morgan, Jr., William Randolph Hearst, Cole Porter, Brett Kavanaugh, Ron DeSantis, Bradley Palmer, Henry Cabot Lodge, Dick Clark, Tom Landry, David Milch, and George Steinbrenner. [12] ΔΚΕ flags were carried to the North Pole by its discoverer, Admiral Robert Peary and to the moon by astronaut Alan Bean.

During the Civil War, the first Union officer killed in battle was member Theodore Winthrop of Phi chapter. The dying soldier, Edwin S. Rogers (Theta), of Maine was attended to by a Confederate Psi from Alabama, who noted Rogers' ΔΚΕ pin and sent it to the family. [13] During the Spanish–American War, the first American officer to be killed was a fraternity member, Surgeon John B. Gibbs (Phi Chi). ΔΚΕ member J. Frank Aldritch (Psi Phi) died when the USS Maine was sunk.

The fraternity has fifteen Medal of Honor recipients: George N. Bliss (Delta), Deming Bronson (Kappa Epsilon), Allen Buchanan (Psi Phi), Richard E. Fleming (Phi Epsilon), George W. Ford (Zeta), Webb Hayes (Delta Chi), Ruel Milton Johnson (Omicron), Charles Mattocks (Theta), Samuel E. Pingree (Pi), Adolphus Staton (Beta), Wager Swayne (Phi), Edward N. Whittier (Upsilon), and Eri D. Woodbury (Sigma).

Yung Wing, the first Chinese graduate from an American university in 1854, was a member of the Phi chapter.

Controversies and member misconduct

See also

Footnotes

  1. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a member of the Alpha Chapter of DKE at Harvard and would be considered the sixth DKE brother to serve as President of the United States; however, the Harvard chapter was de-recognized by DKE International due to the chapter's stance on dual membership with other fraternities.

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