Delta Tau Delta - University of Oklahoma

Delta Alpha Chapter I Delta Tau Delta Fraternity I University of Oklahoma I Spring 2017 Sooner Delt The Committed to Making Changes for a Bright Future "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night." – Bette Davis T his famous line certainly describes the last few months at our dear, old Delta Shelter. Our beloved Delta Alpha Chapter has experi- enced quite a bit of turbulence, but the chap- ter has survived the storm, and is now back on track to become an even stronger part of the OU Greek community. As I shared in my letter from February 27, the chapter was the subject of an investigation by the university for violations of the school's alcohol policy. In direct and continuous coordination with the university, and with the help of Delta Tau Delta Central Office, a group of dedicated Delt alumni volunteers developed a plan to as- sess the current values of our chapter and to find out which members were willing to embrace our fraternity's ideals. The first action was to conduct a membership re- view. Each member was interviewed by alumni volunteers from Delta Alpha and other chap- ters in order to evaluate each man's personal commitment to Delta Alpha, along with his academic, philanthropic, and financial standing. You will be pleased to know that only a small number of men were expelled after the inter- views were concluded. As it stands today, Delta Alpha's membership remains very strong, with more than 100 members who are committed to upholding our values and traditions. The second action taken by our alumni leaders, with guidance from the Delt Central Office, was the formation of an Alumni Supervisory Com- mittee (ASC). The ASC, headed by Matt Akins '13, will provide direct, continual alumni su- pervision of the chapter. Matt is a former chap- ter president and an outstanding engineer with ONEOK. Matt lives in Yukon, Oklahoma, and is committed to the success of Delta Alpha. The ASC is organized into several subcommittees in the areas of administration, ritual, recruitment, finance, risk management, and philanthropy, with objectives designed to oversee members' contribution in each of these core areas. This oversight will provide the necessary foundation and resources to allow our undergraduates to properly self-govern again soon. We are confi- dent that the newly elected undergraduate execu- tive committee is capable of working with the ASC and keeping the chapter on track. On page 2 you can read the message from Matt Akins detailing the ASC's goals for the chapter and members' quick response to improving their campus and community relations. Needless to say, the House Corporation appreciates having these dedicated Delta Alpha alumni working with us to develop and revitalize the chapter. When the recent crisis arose, these Delt brothers did not hesitate to commit their time and talents to the success of the chapter. It was truly a "More Delt, Less Self" moment in our chapter's history, and I will always be grateful for the way they immediately joined our alumni team. Despite the events that have led to these actions, we believe the university appreciates the way our alumni acted swiftly to remedy the situation that had developed. We also are confident that the University Student Conduct Office will give us the support needed to navigate this transition period. The House Corporation, as well as the newly formed Alumni Supervisory Committee and the Delta Tau Delta Central Office, believe that we have a great group of undergraduate members with character, integrity, and the de- sire to succeed. They are definitely worthy of your support. Ensuring the long-term viability of the chap- ter and the outstanding Delt legacy at OU will take the support and involvement of all alumni, and your House Corporation board is formulat- Alumni Embody More Delt, Less Self Delta Alpha House Corporation President Mike Johnston '88 mjohnston@gobaker.com Vice President Fred Gist '73 jfgist1@gmail.com Treasurer Justin Manning, Delta Omicron '04 justin@te-ray.com Secretary Dan Vann '71 dvann@shieldscreening.com ing plans to help Delta Alpha reach that goal. As we mentioned in The Sooner Delt last fall, the House Corporation has retained the services of a national consulting company and a promi- nent architect to develop a plan for completely transforming the Shelter and making it a clean, safe, comfortable, and technologically advanced home for OU Delts for another 50 years. Com- pletely transforming and updating the Shelter is necessary and, quite frankly, unavoidable. Despite the recent events described previous- ly, we believe strongly in the future of Delta Alpha. In many ways, the review process and the in- volvement of the new group of alumni on the ASC have already made the chapter stronger. For example, we initiated 13 new Delt broth- ers and have added to the rolls of Delta Alpha! We will be working hard with the ASC and the undergraduates to build on this success. We can always use more support. Please contact me or any of our board members if you would like to get involved. Fraternally, Mike Johnston '88 House Corporation President mjohnston@gobaker.com

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