Tufts

Building a strong fraternity chapter takes a lot of teamwork. Each member, whether he is a chapter officer or not, has an important role to play on the team. This is especially true for Delta Upsilon’s associate chapters, which are re/starting a chapter from the ground up by creating new processes, events and traditions to build a foundation for success. Thankfully, for DU’s Tufts Chapter, its associate chapter members already knew the value of teamwork as they worked their way toward the chapter’s rechartering. Nearly 90 percent of the associate chapter members are student athletes for Tufts University.

The Tufts Chapter was first installed on Dec. 4, 1886, as the 31st chapter of Delta Upsilon after a group of students—like the Fraternity’s Founders at Williams College—longed for fraternal fellowship but were unhappy with the state of the secret societies already on campus. These men petitioned Delta Upsilon for membership in late spring 1886, then operated as a literary society called the Mathelican Society in the fall as they waited for the DU petition to be granted.

Over the next 133 years, the Tufts Chapter would have a history of recruiting student athletes. For Tufts, and other chapters with many athletes, recruiting teammates is a natural practice as members already spend significant time with one another and know they have similar values, interests and work ethic. When the chapter closed in 2019 due to a series of Loss Prevention Policy violations, many of the members were part of the Tufts football team. As expansion recruitment efforts began January 2022, the football team once again became a popular recruiting ground for the associate chapter. At the time of the chapter’s Reinstallation during the 2023-2024 academic year, 60 members were student athletes (41 football, 13 baseball, 2 soccer, 2 lacrosse, 1 squash and 1 golf.)

The Associate Chapter Ceremony was held on April 24, 2022, and the group continued to excel at recruitment during its time as an associate chapter. It struggled early, however, in other areas tied to the Fraternity’s chartering requirements, largely due to the fact it had so many student athletes. During the football season, most members were left with little extra time to focus on Delta Upsilon activities. Then in the spring, many of the other student athletes found themselves playing a sport in season. As such, Executive Board officers within the Tufts Chapter often change each semester to correspond with brothers’ sports calendars. This teamwork and coordination helped the associate chapter continue to thrive and meet the operational benchmarks for success.

“As campus leaders committed to excellence, our brothers leverage their extensive campus engagement to exemplify outstanding character and leadership,” said Chapter President William Duncanson, Tufts ’25. “We were inspired by [the chapter’s] storied past and the potential to restore its legacy. This vision was driven by a collective commitment to establish a sustainable and impactful presence at Tufts, one that would outlast our own tenure.”

The Tufts Chapter’s Reinstallation Ceremony was held on April 28, 2024, in the Joyce Cummings Center on the Tufts University campus with 79 men being listed as Rechartering Members, 39 of whom were initiated into the Fraternity in conjunction with the event. The Ritual Team consisted of Kevin Cloherty, Tufts ’86, as Master and The Charge speaker; Daniel Dewing, Tufts ’19, as Examiner; and David Radlo, Tufts ’86, as Chaplain. Past International Fraternity President Dr. Bernard Franklin, Kansas State ’75, served as the Reinstallation Officer, and the chapter’s faculty advisor Jack Derby, a professor in the Derby Entrepreneurship Center, also gave remarks.