Delta Sigma Phi history

Delta Sigma Phi was incorporated in New York City on December 2, 1902.

Delta Sigma Pi was founded as a fraternity for business majors in 1907 by four men who met as freshman at New York University’s School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance.

In the two years after the 1914 Convention, Delta Sigma Phi almost doubled in size with the addition of 10 chapters.

In 1915, the first West Coast chapter, Hilgard Chapter at UC Berkeley was installed.

As a testament to the geographic shift of the fraternity, the 1916 convention was held in Chicago, Illinois.

It also was during this time Executive Director A.W. Defenderfer moved the fraternity headquarters to his insurance offices in Washington, DC. Delta Sigma Phi was re-incorporated in Washington, DC in 1929.

By 1944, only 11 of the fraternity's 43 chapters were active.

The Beta Pi Chapter of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity had its beginning in the fall of 1947.

Through the combined efforts of Doctor Bredekamp (Doc) and Francis Wacker, Beta Pi became a chapter March 7th, 1948 A.D.

In a compromise to several southern chapters, the amendments to the constitution were approved at the 1949 convention while language barring the initiation of non-white and non-Christians was inserted into the fraternity ritual.

In the late 1950’s the mortgage on the original house was paid off through a building bond set up by Doc and the ACB. Talk then turned to the possibility of building a new house.

Originally housed in an off campus property near the GT campus on Williams Street, the chapter moved into the current chapter house at 165 Fourth Street in 1954.

Thanks to Doc’s efforts, and his money, the property on which the current house sits was purchased in 1959.

In 1962, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education joined the University of California by requiring the integration of its fraternities and sororities.

In the spring of 1964 construction of the house began and in the fall of that year, the brothers moved in.

The Lambda Phi Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi was founded on 14 May 1988 at California State University, Long Beach.

Though Delta Sigma Phi always had a solid and straightforward mission, a process to define what type man the organization wished to recruit and build started in 2013.

In 2014, the fraternity announced a partnership with Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Omicron Pi to host "Conversations on Race" at institutions where all three organizations have component chapters.

In 2015, our alumni leaders launched the Alpha Gamma Century Campaign, with the goal of raising funds to rebuild the Chapter House on its current location.