Delta Upsilon/Arizona State Reinstalled
Tempe, AZ – On October 24, 2020, Theta Chi Fraternity reinstalled Delta Upsilon Chapter at Arizona State University.
After becoming inactive in 2015, the International Headquarters staff worked with Arizona State University and secured Theta Chi’s return for the fall 2018 semester. During spring 2018, past Director of Recruitment and Expansion Taylor Dahlem worked to finalize details for Theta Chi’s return during the upcoming semester. In August 2018, Field Executives Kofi Ladans and John Schoenle were dispatched to Tempe, AZ, to help restart Delta Upsilon. In just over two months, they were able to amass an interest group of 22 members who were officially recolonized on October 20, 2018.
In order to grow the colony, members became involved in multiple organizations on campus including: AdWorks, ASU Baseball Management, ASU ACHA Hockey, ASU Collegetown, ASU Future Pilots Club, ASU Health & Wellness, AVID, BPC, Club Golf, Club Soccer, CMAA ASU Chapter, Deaf Devils at ASU, DECA, Education for Advocates, Fashion Business Club, FBLA, FMA, Future Farmers of America, Honors Society, House of Sparky Radio for Arizona State, Key Club, MMA Club, Next Generation Service Corp, NHHS, Outdoors Club, Real Estate Club, Robotics Club, ROTC, SAA, SB Nation, Snow Devils, Sports Business Club, Sun Devils Read, Tour Guides, Weightlifting Club, and Young Democrats for America.
In addition to campus involvement, the men also participated in numerous sorority philanthropies and helped to grow their name amongst the Greek life community and won second place in Delta Gamma's, Delta Zeta's, and Sigma Kappa's events.
The colony members worked closely with multiple campus organizations including Devils' Advocates and ChangeMaker and also volunteered at the local Mesa Arizona Feed My Starving Children Foundation and held multiple fundraisers for the USO. They also excelled in the classroom: during Fall 2019, the members maintained a GPA of 3.045.
The path to becoming a chapter did not come without a few bumps in the road. After colonizing, the group size fell to just six members. This group of resolute men came together and decided that failure was not an option and recruited 35 quality new members within six weeks. They adapted internal procedures to build a culture of brotherhood and comradery and set a goal to be reinstalled by spring 2020.
The colony noted their accomplishments and submitted their petition for reinstallation for consideration by the Grand Chapter. Their petition was approved in late February 2020 and the colony was scheduled to reinstall in April 2020. Unfortunately, the ceremony had to be postponed when the ASU campus shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rescheduled for September 2020, the reinstallation was once again postponed due to COVID-19. In staying true to ‘third times the charm,’ the Delta Upsilon Chapter was finally and officially reinstalled on October 24, 2020.
The 41 Rechartering Members are: Samuel Bacino, Connor Bernt (2024), Dylan Breese, Josh Briant (2023), Braeden Buchanan (2023), Sean Campbell (2023), Kehlend Cheatham (2022), Christian Contreras, Mcguire Conway (2023), Egas Cunjuca (2020), Alec Doctor (2022), Ryan Elkins (2024), Kevin Foster (2020), Derick Harshbarger (2022), Joe Herrell (2021), Steven Heys (2023), Ethan Hillman (2023), Chase Houk (2022), Jackson Jacobs (2022), Damian Kaminski (2023), Sam Khaleghi (2023), Chris Kojin (2021), Clay Lemons (2023), Nikolaus Lindgren (2022), Aidan Martinez (2023), Arnav Mathur (2024), Justin McDaniel (2020), James Mejdrich (2020), Michael Moreno (2024), Brandon Ortega (2023), Gabriel Pena (2022), Michael Renteria (2021), Ben Rich (2022), Bradley Roe (2022), Conrad Ruppelius (2023), Christian Shimko (2023), Baxter Steiner (2023), Griffen Sullivan (2022), Harrison Sunde (2022), Alex Terberg (2021), and Vu Tran (2021).
The Reinstallation Ceremony was held at the Doubletree by Hilton Phoenix-Tempe, with International Secretary Chad Strelow serving as the presiding officer. Others in attendance included International Historian Jim McMahon, Director of Chapter Development Mitch Nolan, past International President Mike Maloney, past Chief Housing Officer Rob Defenderfer, Chapter Adviser Devin Cooley (Alpha Rho/Washington 2010), two alumni from Delta Upsilon/Arizona State, Zeta Epsilon/Long Beach State, and five alumni and collegians from Iota Kappa/Northern Arizona.
The reception that followed the ceremony was hosted at the Doubletree as well. Chad Strelow advised the group to keep up the good work while Mike Maloney expressed his gratitude to the men for bringing Delta Upsilon chapter back. Mitch Nolan emphasized that this was just the starting line for the new chapter while Devin Cooley and Chapter President Josh Briant stated how they’re looking forward to the future success of Delta Upsilon.
Delta Upsilon/Arizona State alumni including Walt Davis (1965) and Mike Maloney (1987) were particularly proud. Past International President Maloney said, “I am very proud of our newest brothers at Arizona State University. These brothers showed incredible perseverance as they kept fighting through challenges and obstacles - including the COVID-19 pandemic. They achieved their goal and are prepared for Delta Upsilon Chapter to grow and thrive.” A current board member of The Foundation Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity, Davis shared, “As a 57-year member of Delta Upsilon Chapter, it is certainly good to be back as an active chapter at Arizona State University. Congratulations to all of the new initiated members. None of you will regret your decision to join this wonderful brotherhood.”
International Historian Jim McMahon reflected on the weekend’s festivities: “I was honored to join Brother Strelow to represent the Grand Chapter at the reinstallation of Delta Upsilon Chapter. I was particularly pleased to be joined on the reinstallation team by one of my Zeta Epsilon chapter brothers, Rich Cooley, who is the father of the Delta Upsilon’s Chapter Adviser, Devin Cooley. This is an impressive group of young men who worked hard and pushed through many challenges to bring one of our premier chapters back to life. I join all Theta Chis in congratulating these new brothers, as well as saluting all the alumni volunteers and IHQ professionals who helped make this happy day a reality.”
Key International Headquarters staff members were also impressed with the men of Delta Upsilon. Former Field Executive Kofi Ladans stated, “Excited to see our Delta Upsilon chapter officially back in the desert. A special thanks goes to Mike Maloney and Lori, Rob Defenderfer, Walt Davis, Devin Cooley, and John Schoenle, who was my senior Field Executive on the project. I look forward to the success of this chapter.” Director of Chapter Development Mitch Nolan said, “It was an exciting experience to see Delta Upsilon Chapter reinstalled this semester! Having worked with this group and seen the challenges they’ve overcome for the past two years, I am confident that Delta Upsilon will continue to be a positive impact in the Arizona State community.”
Chapter Adviser Devin Cooley considered the journey of the Rechartering Members as they worked to reinstall Delta Upsilon. “I am extremely proud of all the hard work these men have put into building their chapter. Their tenacity and unwavering dedication to each other is what helped them through the ups and downs over the past two years. This reinstallation marks the beginning of a new legacy for Delta Upsilon, and we look forward to the accomplishments that lay ahead for these new brothers. The help and support from IHQ and local alumni has been amazing throughout this process, big fraternal thank you to everyone that helped make this happen.”
Delta Upsilon Chapter President Josh Briant summarized the exciting day and looked ahead to the future. “On October 24, my brothers and I had the privilege of reinstalling Arizona State’s Theta Chi chapter. This could not have been done without months of hard work and dedication by brothers both on campus and at large, as well as contributions from alumni, whom we are thankful for. Our horizon is bright and our passion is fierce. We are ready to get to work.”
Welcome back and congratulations to our new brothers at Arizona State! Congratulatory notes may be sent to Chapter President Josh Briant.
You can follow the progress of Delta Upsilon Chapter via their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
Founded in 1856, Theta Chi Fraternity is a men’s collegiate fraternity with more than 196,000 initiated members and has established 244 chapters. Leadership development, personal development, and service to alma mater are fundamental to Theta Chi Fraternity’s mission.