Phi Delta Theta has celebrated a huge milestone with their 175th anniversary in 2023! 175 years of memories and brotherhood is a legacy that will never be forgotten and here's some of the men that have helped create a group that strives to be the greatest version of themselves.
Founded on these 3 pillars: Friendship, sound learning, and rectitude. It was these 3 pillars that the “immortal 6” in 1848 at Miami University Campus in Oxford, Ohio during a Midwest winter that these 6 friends breathed life into what we now know as Phi Delta Theta. Phi Delta Theta hasn’t lost sight of the 3 pillars and continues to celebrate each individual’s true self and is still pushing brothers to their truest potential. Even though Phi Delt’s official birthday is December 26th. Founders day is celebrated on March 15th, Robert Morrison’s birthday. Morrison’s commitment to Phi Delta Theta can be seen in the Chapters he opened. He was also the first to sign “The Bond Of Phi Delta Theta”. With such an emphasis on celebrating what is unique about each brother it is no surprise to see some significant names come across the alumni sheets!
Drew Houston – This MIT graduate is the founder/CEO of Dropbox. Before launching his own startup Houston worked on numerous other startups; Bit9, Accolade, and Hubspot. Dropbox has 25 million users nationwide with its numbers growing daily. Houston has always had a flair for knowing how the world works and started writing code in a Boston train station.
Benjamin Harrison – Among noteworthy Phi Delta Thetas is our 23rd President. He attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. This is where he joined Phi Delta Theta which has been said to be how he did most of networking for his career and life.
Photo Credit: Benjamin Harrison
Jeff Weiner – The CEO of LinkedIn, he joined LinkedIn in 2008 and swiftly expanded its global platform to 26 offices around the world. Before he stepped into his role at LinkedIn, he spent time at Grey Lock Partners, Yahoo, and Warner Bros. He also currently sits on the board of directors of Intuit Inc, Donorschoose.org, and Malaria No More. He obtained a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Photo Credit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffweiner08
Lou Gehrig – During his time at Columbia University, Gehrig studied engineering, played fullback on the football team, and joined Phi Delt. In 1923 he joined the New York Yankees. His Hall of Fame career saw him score 1000 runs and knock in that many in 13 consecutive seasons. In 1931 he set the American League Record by having 184 RBI’s, he took home the Triple Crown by leading the league in home runs (43), average (.363), and RBI’s (165). After hanging up his glove Gehrig became the first player in Yankee history to have their Jersey retired.
Photo Credit: https://sports.yahoo.com/major-league-baseball-hold-first-154907412.html
Neil Armstrong – A Purdue Alumni who studied aeronautical engineering. Most notably known for being the First Man on the moon. In his time spent at Purdue he resided in the Phi Delt house and co-directed and wrote musicals. After his time at Purdue, he dove right into becoming an experimental research test pilot. He joined NASA Astronaut Corps as part of the “the new nine” in September 1962. A decision that would change not only his life, but how we all looked at space travel!
Photo Credit: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2012/08/neil-armstrong-1930-2012/100359/
Dave Morin – This entrepreneur didn’t leave behind the idea of community that Phi Delta Theta cultivates after graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder. With the mission of bringing people closer through quality mobile software, he co-Founded Path. Before Path he spent time at Apple & Facebook. He sits on the board of directors of Eventbrite. His passion for philanthropy still shines through as he is on the board of directors of 2 non-profits, United States Ski & Snowboard Association and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
With so many different notable alumni who have blazed paths in so many different fields, it's no surprise to see more than 240, 000 members, with nearly 170 active chapters across the United States & Canada. With an emphasis on becoming the greatest version of yourself, it is easy to see why so many strive to have the honor to wear the Phi Delt azure and argent! Here is to 173 more years of striving to celebrate each other’s unique differences. From all of us at Campus Classics, happy Founder’s Day Phi Delta Theta!