Alpha Delta Gamma (), commonly known as ADG, is an American Greek-letter Catholic social fraternity and one of 75 members of the

North American Interfraternity Conference The North American Interfraternity Conference (or NIC; formerly known as the National Interfraternity Conference) is an association of college, intercollegiate men's List of social fraternities and sororities, social Fraternities and sororities ...

(NIC). Based on

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

principles and the traditions of the Jesuit Order of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Alpha Delta Gamma was founded at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

on October 10, 1924, as a response to the unwillingness of most national fraternities to colonize at Catholic colleges and universities. Since its founding, Alpha Delta Gamma has expanded conservatively to keep a small but strong brotherhood; thus, the fraternity has chartered 32 chapters in its long history. Today, Alpha Delta Gamma operates nine active chapters at private and public colleges across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, stretching from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

History

Alpha Delta Gamma was founded at the Lake Shore campus of

on October 10, 1924, by four students: Francis Patrick Canary, John Joseph Dwyer, William S. Hallisey, and James Collins O'Brien Jr. According to the Alpha Delta Gamma National Web Site, "In effect, they wanted a fraternity founded upon

ideals of true manhood, sound learning, and the unity of the fraternal brotherhood. These ideals decreed the purpose of Alpha Delta Gamma when it first came into being. And so the foundation was set, Alpha Delta Gamma was on its way to becoming a city walled!" In 1926, members of the local organization Delta Theta at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, contacted the ''Alpha chapter'' at Loyola University Chicago, requesting permission to affiliate with the then-existing fraternity. Their request was granted and, on October 26, 1927, Alpha Delta Gamma officially charted its ''Beta chapter'', becoming a national fraternity. The fraternity continued expanding to other Catholic colleges and universities and adopted the descriptive "National Catholic-College Fraternity." This was eventually changed to "National Catholic Social Fraternity" when the organization began expansion to non-Catholic colleges and universities. Alpha Delta Gamma has remained a small national fraternity, granting charters to 32 collegiate chapters, nine of which are active. Most chapters are located at Catholic universities but there are no religious requirements for membership.

Symbols and traditions

The Fraternity's badge is hexagonal, in gold, which is optionally plain, beveled, or jeweled with pearls and ruby points. The base supports a black enameled field bearing the carved golden letters , , and . Members are instructed to wear the pin at a 45° angle with the appropriate chapter guard. The pledge button is a diamond-shaped slab of gold with a bright red enamel center. The fraternity's colors are scarlet red and gold. The fraternity's flower is the red carnation. A universal ADG Night is celebrated on the first Friday of December each year, commemorating the founding of the fraternity. Active chapters annually support at least one function for the benefit of orphans such as a Christmas toy drive or spring picnic.

Chapters

These are nine active chapters of Alpha Delta Gamma fraternity, listed in bold. Inactive chapters are listed in ''italic''.The History of Alpha Delta Gamma
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Notable members

These names and additional famous Alpha Delts are listed on the Alpha Delta Gamma National Fraternity website. * Benjamin Bok - Dutch chess grandmaster (''Beta chapter'') * Pascal F. Calogero Jr. – chief justice of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (; ) is the supreme court, highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The Supreme ...

(''Epsilon chapter'') * Joseph Paul Clayton – former president and CEO of DISH Network Corporation, former CEO of

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

, president and CEO of Frontier Communications (''Xi chapter'') * Edward Derwinski – former United States Congressman from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

; first

United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits, health care, and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The secretary is a me ...

(''Alpha chapter'') * John (Jack) Grundhoffer – former CEO and chairman of US Bank (''Lambda chapter'') * Nathan H. Lents – scientist, author, science communicator (''Beta chapter'') * Walter J. Ong – Jesuit, cultural and religious philosopher, historian (''Zeta chapter'') *

Michael R. Quinlan Michael Robert Quinlan (born December 9, 1944) is a graduate, and former chairman of the board of trustees, of Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit res ...

– former chairman and CEO of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Corp. (''Alpha chapter'') *

Richard G. Thomas Richard G. Thomas (April 2, 1930 – June 19, 2006) was an American test pilot, who flew the Tacit Blue, and several spin tests on the F-5F program, including the first flights on both aircraft for the Northrop Corporation. Early life and educat ...

– chief

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

Tacit Blue/

Area 51 Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada, north-northwest of Las Vegas. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force B ...

Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Spiri ...

(''Beta chapter'') * Patrick Wayne – actor (''Lambda chapter'') * Hunter Wendelstedt –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

umpire (''Epsilon chapter'') * Harry Wiggins – former State Senator of Missouri (''Zeta chapter'') *

Phil Woolpert Philipp D. Woolpert (December 15, 1915 – May 5, 1987) was an American basketball coach, best known as the head coach of the University of San Francisco Dons in the 1950s. He led them to consecutive national championships in 1955 Biograph ...

– head basketball coach,

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

Dons (''Lambda chapter'') * J. Skelly Wright – judge,

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

(''Epsilon chapter'')

Notable honorary members

George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hit ( ...

–

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

baseball player * de Lesseps Story Morrison –

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

–

baseball player * Carl Sandburg – poet * Victor H. Schiro –

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

–

President of the United States of America The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

References

{{Authority control North American Interfraternity Conference Student organizations established in 1924 Christian organizations established in 1924 Loyola University Chicago Catholic University of America Christian fraternities and sororities in the United States 1924 establishments in Illinois