From the Desk of the Executive Director

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Brothers,

Fraternity membership is one of the most valuable experiences available to college men, providing real-life experiences not taught in the classroom. Delta Upsilon offers a home away from home where young men learn, grow and build friendships that last a lifetime. You yourself likely maintain friendships today that began as a young DU.

Delta Upsilon’s vision is to be the premier men’s fraternity by offering an experience that prepares men for a global society through service, leadership development, friendship and lifelong personal growth. We are well on our way to being that premier men’s fraternity.

The Fraternity has made tremendous progress in the last 10 years, and last year was no exception. In the 2016-2017 academic year, we:

• Recorded our highest number of both associate members and total members in the Fraternity’s history
  
• Had an average chapter size of 58, a new high
  
• Implemented a new Associate Member Education Program
  
• Received the Laurel Wreath Award from the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) for the Membership Outcomes Assessment
  
• Saw our Kansas State Chapter receive an NIC Award of Distinction, recognizing the top five fraternity chapters in North America
  
• Have experienced 93 percent growth in the last 10 years, whereas the industry average was 46 percent
  
• Reopened Old Gold chapters Syracuse (83 members) and Texas (64 members)
  
• Launched a new website (www.deltau.org) on Aug. 1
  
• Received two awards from the Fraternity Communications Association for the DU Quarterly
  

While we are proud of all these accomplishments, I want to highlight two more in-depth.

We completed Year Two of our award-winning Membership Outcomes Assessment with the goal to understand how members experience brotherhood and gauge member and chapter growth. After receiving data from Year One, we enhanced chapter support to target each chapter’s specific needs in ways to shape their environment and foster healthy brotherhood. It also allowed us to fine-tune our educational programming. Year Two data indicates that many of our strategies were effective. We saw more men attend our programs, as well as significant improvement in the areas of hazing, sexual assault, alcohol use, member commitment, service, accountability and belonging. In short, our chapters are creating stronger experiences rooted in personal development and support.

2016-2017 was the first year in which all chapters implemented our new Associate Member Education Program, designed to create a long-lasting connection to the Fraternity and each other. In nearly every construct related to the program, our associate members scored better than the previous year’s freshmen who didn’t utilize the program. Self-esteem, openness to diversity and organizational commitment increased, while alcohol use and hazing tolerance decreased. The data is so positive that we’ve been asked to present our findings and educational framework at industry conferences. Additionally, our Senior Director of Educational Programs was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the No. 1 source of news, information and jobs for college and university faculty and administrators. https://tinyurl.com/DU-Chronicle

Delta Upsilon is a leader among fraternities, and that is thanks to you. You have helped us pave a path to success, and your continued support as role models, advisors, donors and brothers allows us to continue to build better men.

Fraternally,
Justin Kirk, Boise State ’00
Executive Director
Delta Upsilon Fraternity and Educational Foundation