Alberta Alpha Chapter at the University of Alberta
Our chapter was established at the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1930. This was to be the very first fraternity on campus and opened the door for the many other Greek societies that would establish themselves and benefit both the campus and the student body for decades to come. In the 85 years since its founding, Alberta Alpha has initiated more than 1100 members and continues to grow and play an active role on campus.
The Alberta Alpha chapter follows the example set by the six Founding Fathers and continues to encourage open mindedness, friendship, brotherhood, the pursuit of higher education, and sound moral rectitude. These ideals that our Founding Fathers fought for in the face of expulsion are not taken for granted and they continue to live on in the brothers of Phi Delta Theta.
Today Alberta Alpha is a very active participant within the campus community. Through community service and active participation in a variety of aspects of student life, from sports, to administration and philanthropy, Phi Delta Theta is and continues to be a positive influence on the university as a whole and on each individual brother. We, as preached over a century and a half ago, continue to encourage our members to think for themselves, for at Phi Delta Theta open minds are expected.
Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity
Phi Delta Theta was founded in 1848 under the leadership of six undergraduate students at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The Fraternity was founded under the guiding ideals of friendship, the cultivation of higher learning, and the preservation of the moral compass.
An important event leading up to the founding of Phi Delta Theta was the Great Snowball Rebellion of 1848. Until this point all fraternities and similar assosiations of like minded students had been forbidden. The students of Miami University, some of whom were to be the founders of Phi Delta Theta, determined that the refusal of the administration to allow young men to form fraternities was an unacceptable oppression. They decided that their personal freedoms and values were more important than the arbitrary moral rules imposed upon them by the administration, and in an act of rebellion blockaded the university administration building with barriers of snow. As a result all those deemed responsible were expelled from the university.
Those that had survived the purge of students from the university continued to fight for their right to associate with whomever they choose and as a result Phi Delta Theta was founded on the day after Christmas, 1848. From there the Fraternity would continue to grow across the United States, entering into Canada at McGill University in 1901.