Tau Delta Phi (), whose members are commonly known as Tau Delts, is a national social fraternity founded on , in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Since its inception, dozens of chapters have been founded and thousands of men initiated its membership. Today, the Tau Delta Phi fraternity operates five active chapters and colonies located primarily in the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

History

Founding

The predecessor to Tau Delta Phi was called Phi Sigma Beta, a high school fraternity founded on by Jewish students at

DeWitt Clinton High School DeWitt Clinton High School is a public high school located since 1929 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Opened in 1897 in Lower Manhattan as an all-boys school, it maintained that status for 86 years before becoming co-ed in 1983. From i ...

.Tau Delta Phi Fraternity Quick Facts/History:
accessed 1 Aug 2022. Phi Sigma Beta started as a fraternity for

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

men who were otherwise barred from fraternity life at that time. The group maintained itself as a single unit until when it became necessary to split in into two divisions, eventually three. Matriculating to several colleges, Alex Siegel, Milt Goodfriend, and Max Coyne entered the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, becoming the ''Alpha class'', initiating themselves under the new name of Tau Delta Phi on . That same year, Gus Schieb and Leo Epstein created the ''Beta class'' at the New York School of Dentistry. Maxime Klaye, Samuel Klaye, Ben Gray, and Mac Goldman created the ''Gamma class'' at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

's School of Commerce. These "classes" became the first chapters as the founders moved into the collegiate phase of their lives. The founders are Phi Sigma Beta are: Soon to follow was a string of new chapters formed, beginning with the ''Delta chapter'' at Columbia University in . While the initial focus was on the New York metropolitan area, by interest from men outside of the area sparked the move to become a national organization, with the establishment of ''Epsilon chapter'' at Boston University. The decade saw a steady increase in membership. The "Pyramid" grew and expansion took its course from a regional to a national level. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
By the fraternity had grown to nineteen chapters. In , Tau Delta Phi absorbed several chapters from Omicron Alpha Tau, a smaller Jewish fraternity with similar ideals, also active primarily in the Northeast. These included chapters at

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

, and Cornell.

Recent history

The fraternity notes several "firsts": While formed to provide a fraternal experience for Jewish men, Tau Delta Phi became the first NIC fraternity to integrate by welcoming all races, creeds, ethnicities, and religions (), and was the first to open membership to include transgender, gender fluid, and non-binary members (). Ironically, the integration that Tau Delta Phi pioneered may have been a factor in chapter loss during the 's through 's. That period showed a marked contraction of chapters coinciding with the period's adoption of integration by virtually all if not all, other national fraternities. Tau Delta Phi hired an executive director for the first time in decades, in . Since that time staff and volunteers have spearheaded several expansion projects, aimed to rebuild the fraternity.

Fraternity structure

The grand chapter of Tau Delta Phi Fraternity is the highest power. It convenes at every national convention and governs every aspect of the fraternity. It is composed of the executive council members, two delegates from each chartered chapter, the past living grand consuls, and one delegate from every alumni chapter in good standing. Each chapter has a Chapter House Corporation to evaluate the property needs of each chapter and try to either rent, lease or purchase a chapter house for each chapter. Each House Corporation has its board of directors which are usually composed of fraters from their respective chapters. The Tau Delta Phi Foundation is the

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

arm of the fraternity which seeks to support the educational mission of Tau Delta Phi and offer

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s and grants to fraters of the fraternity.

The executive council

The executive council is the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the fraternity. in between conventions, the Executive Council governs the fraternity. It is composed of all the grand officers and members of the board. The Tau Delta Phi Management Company is a for-profit arm of the fraternity. It manages the finances of and provides support services to each House Corporation and issues a service contract for those services. The executive council of Tau Delta Phi is the supreme legislative authority between conventions. The board is composed of all the grand officers and the members of the board. The executive council is responsible for governing the fraternity and developing strategic plans to meet educational and brotherhood outcomes.

The national office

In 2012, the executive council hired its first full-time professional executive director in three decades. In 2014, the national office hired a graduate assistant and chapter consultant, who can visit chapters and colonies, and provide support for educational programs. The national office is host to the annual leadership conference, The Pyramid Leadership Institute.

Chapters

Notable members

* Len Berman, sportscaster,

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* Colonel Bernard Bernstein, Army financial adviser to Dwight Eisenhower * Dave Calloway, basketball player *

Gilbert Cates Gilbert Cates ( né Katz; June 6, 1934 – October 31, 2011) was an American film director and television producer, director of the Geffen Playhouse, a member of Cates/Doty Productions, and founding dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film an ...

, producer/director * Sammy Davis Jr., entertainer * Kinky Friedman, musician, humorist, novelist, politician *

Donald P. Greenberg Donald Peter Greenberg (born 1934) is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Computer Graphics at Cornell University. Early life Greenberg earned his undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University, where he played on the tennis and soccer ...

, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Computer Graphics at Cornell University * Edward Hurwitz, diplomat * Daniel James III, Lt.Gen.U.S. Air Force, Director of Air National Guard-Pentagon * Floyd Little,

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

inductee *

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, college football coach *

Irving Rapper Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director. Biography Born to a British Jews, Jewish family in London, Rapper emigrated to the United States and became an actor and a stage director on Broadwa ...

, director *

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Rivera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, and political commentator who worked at the Fox News Channel from 2001 to 2023. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He g ...

, broadcast journalist *

David Sarnoff David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was a Russian and American businessman who played an important role in the American history of radio and television. He led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for most of his career in ...

, first general manager of

Radio Corporation of America RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, Founder of NBC *

Stellan Skarsgård Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2003), ''Melancholia' ...

, actor, director *

Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American comedian and actor. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 20 ...

, actor/comedian

Notes

References

External links

Tau Delta Phi Fraternity Official Site
{{Organized Jewish Life in the United States Student organizations established in 1910 Student societies in the United States North American Interfraternity Conference City College of New York Youth organizations based in New York (state) Historically Jewish fraternities in the United States Organizations based in New York City 1910 establishments in New York City Jewish organizations established in 1910