In 1926, six men rooming together on Mason Street began to contemplate a union under the common bonds of friendship and brotherhood by forming a fraternity. With the help of Mr. Macking – the shop superintendent of General Motors Institute of Technology at the time – these six, along with two other men, formed Alpha Delta Fraternity, one of the first fraternities at General Motors Institute. It was not until 1928, however, that the charter was finally presented to them.

By 1929, the membership had begun to grow and Alpha Delta became affiliated with the Burr Patterson Company of Detroit. With their cooperation, the coat of arms was designed and a motto was chosen.

When the Great Depression devastated the country, Alpha Delta was not immune to its effects. Membership began to drop, but Alpha Delta was still able to remain involved on campus through sports and social events. In late 1935, membership was low enough to consider merging with another fraternity on campus, but the idea was abandoned when a large class of freshmen enrolled.

In May of 1961, the land adjacent to Phi Gamma Delta on Dupont Street became the property of Alpha Delta and building a house became Alpha Delta’s top priority. Early in 1962, Alpha Delta accepted Gibbs, Tomblinson, and Harburn as the architects to design the new house. The first shovel of dirt was turned on August 25th, 1962 and the rest of the year was filled with reports of progress. On the weekend of February 10th, 1963, the Brothers of Alpha Delta moved into their first new home, constructed specially for fraternity life.

Becoming Phi Delta Theta

In June, 1963, Alpha Delta decided to petition to Phi Delta Theta, a prominent international fraternity. During the next two years, much of the Brothers’ fraternal efforts focused on their goal of becoming affiliated with Phi Delta Theta. Six brothers represented Alpha Delta at the Phi Delta Theta Convention in Pasadena, California, from August 31 to September 4, 1964. They set up a booth at the convention displaying the merits of Alpha Delta. The vote was taken on Friday night, September 4, 1964 and it was decided that Alpha Delta was to become the Michigan Delta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta.

On Friday, February 12th, 1965, the eighty charter members of the MI Delta Chapter were initiated. On Saturday, February 13th, Alpha Delta Fraternity was installed as the 128th Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.

In that Time

Since we were installed in Phi Delta Theta we have initiated 165 pledge classes, totaling 1,358 men who have joined our great brotherhood.