Western Illinois Chapter Celebrates 50th anniversary

The Western Illinois Chapter of Delta Upsilon celebrated its 50th anniversary with a reunion weekend April 26-28, 2024—exactly 50 years to the date of its Installation weekend in 1974.

Festivities began Friday evening with a reception at the Western Illinois University Alumni House. Then on Saturday, the chapter held a cookout at the chapter house and a formal banquet at Park Place, a banquet hall in downtown Macomb. Before heading home on Sunday, guests were invited back to the chapter house for a light breakfast. While the rain cancelled the scheduled Saturday morning golf outing and afternoon alumni vs. undergraduate softball game, the spirits of the 225 people in attendance could not be dampened.

Special guests during the weekend included Brad John, Iowa ’96, Chairman of the Delta Upsilon International Fraternity Board of Directors; and Amy Spelman, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations at WIU. Scott Padgett, Western Illinois ’96, a meteorologist for CBS News in Dallas, served as emcee for the banquet, where a highlight included the Initiation of Scott Harney, a brother who has been a very active member of the chapter over the years but was actually never initiated as an undergraduate.

The chapter began as a local fraternity named Lambda Tau Beta before becoming part of Delta Upsilon on April 27, 1974. Since that time, the chapter has held an anniversary celebration every five years, along with other events in Macomb and the Chicagoland area. This close-knit alumni community has helped the chapter thrive, particularly in recent years, as it was named the Fraternity’s Most Improved Chapter in 2019 and a Sweepstakes Finalist in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. In conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration, the alumni announced a fundraising campaign for updates to the chapter house, which as of May 23, 2024, has raised more than $42,000.