Kappa Delta Chapter Installs at the University of Texas-El Paso
Carmel, IN - On September 22, 2014 Theta Chi officially colonized the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) with Field Executives Chris Barker and Darien Key presiding. Among the attendees was staff from the Fraternity and Sorority Life Office, members from Alpha Sigma Alpha, and members from Alpha Xi Delta.
Following their colonization the group quickly became a positive force in the community, participating in numerous volunteer service events on and off campus. The brothers worked with the Candlelighters of El Paso and the local Make-A-Wish Foundation Chapter while also organizing blood drives on campus and assisting with Magoffin Middle School Halloween haunted house. Additionally, during the last two years the group participated in Project Move, an initiative to help restore the Insights Museum and clean up Todd Ware Park. A relationship was created with the local USO when the men held a Snacks for Soldiers event, collecting snack donations and presenting them to the Ft. Bliss USO office. They also regularly participated in other organizations’ philanthropy events, being awarded for the most contributions to the Lee and Beulah Moor Children’s Home charity.
In the spring of 2015 the colony was recognized for not only having the highest GPA amongst the Greek community, but amongst all other organizations on campus. In addition to the Gold Star in Academic Achievement, the Fraternity and Sorority Life Office awarded the colony with the Gold Star in Risk Reduction, Philanthropy, and Community Service.
On April 23, 2016 the Kappa Delta Chapter was officially installed at the University of Texas-El Paso. “I’m very proud to have been able to install the Kappa Delta Chapter,” says Chapter Treasurer Carlos Portillo (2017). “I was able to see this group grow from just a handful of colony members to one of the largest organizations on campus.” Then-International Secretary Doug Miller presided the ceremony with Chief Operating Officer Ray Vanlanot and Field Executive Marc Bodine representing the International Headquarters. “This is a great group of guys who are very dedicated to their fraternity and each other,” said Bodine. “It is clear they’ve worked very hard to get where they are today, but there is a lot more work to come.” The group installed as one of the largest Greek organizations on campus, and plans to maintain their size and academic excellence going forward.
Since opening its doors as the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy in 1914, UTEP’s geographic location along the U.S.-Mexico border has enabled generations of students to pursue their goals through higher education in one of the largest binational communities in the world.
Over the past century, the University’s enrollment has grown from 27 mining students to nearly 23,400 undergraduate and graduate students, and that number continues to increase each year.
