The Delphic Fraternity, Inc., also known as Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau (), is a historic
multicultural
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
fraternity originally founded in
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
in 1871 and re-established in 1987. The fraternity can trace its origin back to the ''Delphic Society'' founded in 1850.
History
The Delphic Society was founded on October 13, 1871, at the
Geneseo State
Normal School
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...
(
SUNY Geneseo
The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The colle ...
) in upstate New York. It was a successor organization to the
Delphic Society at Rochester, which had been active until at least December 1866.
With affiliations at other schools, the
college literary society at Geneseo became known as the Delphic Fraternity.
Delphic eventually became a regional
fraternity with chapters at
Oneonta,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
,
Cortland,
New Paltz
New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also wit ...
,
Plattsburgh, and
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...
, New York, and
Mansfield,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The oldest chapter, at
SUNY Cortland
The State University of New York College at Cortland (SUNY Cortland or Cortland State College) is a public college in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
History
The State Un ...
, traces its formation back to the Cortland Academy Debating Club in 1842.
[Bessie L. Park (1960), Cortland - Our Alma Mater: A History of Cortland Normal School and State University of New York Teachers College at Cortland.][ The main archive URL i]
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
By the late 1930s, only the ''Zeta chapter'' at the State Teachers College at New Paltz (
SUNY New Paltz) remained active. In the early 1950s, the chapter became briefly associated with
Sigma Tau Gamma
Sigma Tau Gamma (), commonly known as Sig Tau, is a United States college social fraternity founded on June 28, 1920, at the University of Central Missouri (then known as Central Missouri State Teachers College). The fraternity was founded as a re ...
, a larger national fraternity.
[Velez, P. (2004), The Delphic Fraternity, Inc. - A Historical Perspective]
In 1962, the organization became a legal
not-for-profit membership entity by incorporating in the state of New York as the Delphic Fraternity of New Paltz, Inc. On March 11, 1987, the fraternity was re-established as Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau at SUNY New Paltz.
In 2003, the ''Theta chapter'' at
Binghamton University was founded, becoming the first Delphic chapter established in the 21st century. In 2009, the first Delphic chapter outside of the northeast region was chartered at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
. Known as the ''Kappa chapter'' of Delphic, this chapter is also the
first multicultural fraternity established at UVA.
The Delphic Fraternity, Inc. has one active undergraduate chapter, three active graduate chapters, and three alumni chapters.
Notable alumni
* Henry Albert Dickinson - New York State Assembly member
Henry Albert Dickinson
/ref>
References
External links
Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau FraternityDelphic Fraternity History website
{{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed
Former members of National Multicultural Greek Council
Student organizations established in 1871
Student societies in the United States
1871 establishments in New York (state)