The History of the Delta Eta Chapter

Delta Eta History – Chapter 1

“The founding”

While returning from a trip to St. John's, Michigan in the early spring of 1953, the idea of forming a fraternity was conceived by three men:

Bernard Chabala

Jack Cook

John McGinnis

As the idea of a fraternity gathered strength men were added to the group which would soon be the nucleus of the new fraternity. These men included:

Ronald Braman	William Jesmore	Louis Corsiglia
James Ladd	William Hourigan	Charles McDonald
Karl Ilges	Eugene McGuire	Wendell Jacobson

The men faced heavy odds; a new fraternity had not survived at G.M.I. for longer than three months since 1932. On April 4, 1953, the twelve men of the "nucleus" met in the apartment of Braman, Jesmore, Ladd, and McGuire at the corner of Detroit Street and Fifth Avenue in Flint. The purpose of the meeting was to elect the officers of an Executive Council which would organize and establish the new fraternity. Four men were elected to the Council: William Jesmore, Charles McDonald, Eugene McGuire, and Bernard Chabala as its Chairman.

On April 18, 1953, twenty-one men, all of whom attended General Motors Institute, swore an oath of loyalty and affiliation to an organization which was to call itself Beta Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. The Greek letters "BAE" were chosen from four suggestions as an abbreviation for "Business Administration and Engineering"- the objects of General Motors Institute. A second meaning of "BAE", known only to the membership, was adopted on August 6, 1956. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the apartment of William Hourigan and Charles McDonald at the corner of Detroit and Stockdale Streets in Flint.

Delta Eta History – Chapter 2

"The years of the Lion"

The immediate problem of the young fraternity was to find living quarters. A home, which had originally been a livery stable, was located at 2217 West Court Street in Flint. The house was owned by Mr. Williams, but while the lease was being negotiated, it was sold to a Mr. Jerry Edwards. With a school section change just two weeks away, an entirely new contract had to be drawn up. In the meantime, twenty-three new members had been recruited from the Institute to bring the total membership of Beta Alpha Epsilon to forty-four. The lease was signed and on May 18, 1953, the members moved into their new home.

The house phone numbers were 8-4142 or, if busy, 8-4224. The first membership meeting was held that evening. The fraternity colors of red and white were chosen and the fraternity's basic principle was established: "That every member shall work to his fullest extent for the common benefit of the fraternity."

Furnishing the new house was the immediate problem of the fraternity. To finance the necessary items, an application for a loan of $2400.00 was made to the Genesee Merchants Bank of Flint. As a sign of good faith, the bank requested a collateral of $600. Each member was asked to contribute fifteen dollars to make up the sum. There was complete participation in the request. In a later meeting, the membership voted to make the fifteen dollar contribution an initiation fee. Before the fraternity was assured that the loan was approved, a sofa and matching chair, a floor lamp, and end table, three dining tables and chairs, two steel office desks, a steel four-drawer file, a refrigerator and stove, dishes, and kitchen utensils were purchased. The rooms in the new house were painted immediately and much of the remainder of the furnishings-beds and bedding, card tables on which studying was done, lamps, curtains, linen and towels, chairs, a radio, a mural, and a ping-pong table were donated by the landlord, the members, and friends of Beta Alpha Epsilon.

On the evening of May 26, 1953, Mr. John Chandler, representing the Circuit Court in Flint, presented the membership with a charter, making Beta Alpha Epsilon a legal, non-profit corporation of the state of Michigan. At this meeting, the first election of officers was held.

William Jesmore	A-Section	First President
Jack Palmer	D-Section	Vice President
Floyd DuBois	C-Section	Vice President
Bernard Chabala	A-Section	Comptroller
Lou Corsiglia	A-Section	acting Treasurer
Robert Kuhn	A-Section	Secretary
Jerold Williams	B-Section	Secretary
Wendell Jacobson		House Manager

Actually, the new officers were elected in two separate meetings; one during the third week of A-C Section, and the second during the first week of B-D Section. Later, Jack L. Cook, A-Section, and Roger Boulter, B-Section, became the treasurers.

On July 1, 1953, the members voted and approved the first house constitution. On July 14, 1953, it was decided that every third week Saturday and Sunday the members were required to attend a work weekend. Bill Jesmore and Bernard Chabala were placed on a committee to discuss the creation of a fraternity row at a price of $100,000 per house. Alpha Gamma Upsilon suggested the purchase of a 17-acre lot costing $10,000 on Beecher Road that would hold 10 fraternities.

At the suggestions of Bill Jesmore, in the fall of 1953, Louis Corsiglia and Jack Delany, a member from B-Section were elected the first Pledge Educators. With the help of pledging information supplied by Alpha Gamma Upsilon (see listing), Ernest Nagy became the first pledge of Beta Alpha Epsilon on November 30, 1953. The first "Pledge Day" was February 2, 1954. Ernest Nagy was formally made a member on February 14.

The first four-section meeting convened before the Inter-Fraternity Ball on February 27, 1954. The elections of officers were as follows:

William Jesmore	President
Edward Chaffin	Vice President
Karl Ilges	Vice President
Bernard Chabala	Comptroller
Jack Delanet	Treasurer
William Hourigan	Treasurer
Don Delorme	Secretary
James Ladd	Secretary
John Burley	House Manager
Louis Corsiglia	House Manager
Ronald Braman	Pledge Master
Ernest Nagy	Pledge Master

The Inter-Fraternity Ball which followed the meeting was the first for Beta Alpha Epsilon. The Fraternity plaque, which was made by Ernest Nagy as a pledge project was displayed for the first time. On March 24, 1954, William Jesmore was elected Treasurer of the Inter-Fraternity Council.

March 30, 1954 William Jesmore began looking for a new home. The second home of Beta Alpha Epsilon was a frame residence in the heart of downtown Flint at 321 East Third Street. The home was being handled by Piper Realty Co. The rented structure was four stories high with an attached garage, and the electrical and plumbing facilities had continued from the time the house was built in the early 1900's. The former kitchen was expanded to accommodate a membership of 23 men. Individual rooms were used for study and sleep. The garage was later converted to extra rooms giving the house accommodations for 30 to 40 men. Rent for the home was $225 plus taxes with a five year lease and possession was available on May 18, 1954.

At one time the members had a cook, an assistant cook, and a maid which were paid $35 per week. The first assistant cook, Mrs. Casbdaler, was coming to work late and suggestions were made that she clean the living and dining rooms and make the member's beds.

The period from 1955 to 1959 was one of both triumph and hardship. B.A.E. saw its first Brother elected President of the Executive Council and subsequent Brothers elected to important school positions. The fraternity became a powerful scholastic contender--winning its first, first-place scholarship trophy in 1958-59. James F. Huffman, Faculty Advisor, was made Senior Faculty Advisor on October 28, 1958. In spite of these high spots, the years from 1957-1959 saw a rapid deterioration in the Third Street house. There was a serious lapse in rushing--one houseguest elected to live at B.A.E. in the Fall of 1958. The fraternity was informed that their lease would expire in November, and thereafter, the rent would be doubled.

Delta Eta History – Chapter 3

“The Move to the Estate by the Lake”

Faced with the high cost of living in Flint, four Brothers - Dan Thompson, Sanford Vanderhyde, John Urbanic (who went on to become head of GM Oshawa), and Roy Koskinen (who later became a professor of Automotive Engineering at GMI and a house advisor) began the long search with a Flint realtor toward the purchase of a new home. March 19, 1956 the first mention in a meeting was made of purchasing a new house. Many prospects were researched. The mostly likely prospect of another Court Street home was lost when financing was unable to be obtained. The continued search for a new home led Beta Alpha Epsilon fifteen miles away from GMI to the outskirts of Fenton. There a lovely home, put up for sale by Della D. Gruner, caught their fancy.

The house was built in 1941 by Della and her husband Arthur Gruner. The Gruners were well-to-do and their home was a showplace of Fenton. Being socialites, Arthur and Della made use of their house and grounds for many fancy parties. Their luxuries included an underground sprinkling system and a well landscaped sunken garden with fruit trees, exotic flowers, and an exquisite fountain.

A newsclip from the Fenton Independent dated 16 Oct 1941 read as follows, "Mr. & Mrs. A. M. Gruner, who reside north of Fenton on U.S. 23, had come to Fenton to attend a band concert in the Community. Another son Duane followed them to the concert. Winston, age 13, was at home & evidently started to clean a rifle. When the parents returned home at 9:30, Winston was found with the rifle & cleaning rod lying beside him. Funeral from the Presbyterian Church, Dr. J. Stanley Mitchell officiating. Mr. Gruner is vice president & general manager of The Genesee Tool Co. He & his wife had just recently completed erection of a fine home on the Flint Road and have been residents of Fenton just a short time." Legend has it (from alumni who talked to Mrs. Gruner) that it was believed that the first son committed suicide. The bullet made a clean entry and exit through the boy and lodged itself above the fireplace in the living room, behind the place where the mirror now hangs. Alumni say that the bullet hole could still be seen until the 1972 renovation.

Arthur managed to make a lot of illegal money by embezzling the government with false requisitions during World War II. He had made many contacts in the government and was an influential man. When his second son was called into service, Arthur had a chance to use his influence to keep his son out of the war. Against the strong wishes of his wife, he refused to use his influence. The Gruner's son was killed in the war and Della, putting the blame on her husband, reported his illegal activity to the government. Arthur fled to Europe to evade prosecution and Della was left alone in the Fenton house.

She rented space to GMI students up until the time she put the property up for sale in 1959. Two weeks after the loss of the financing of the possible Court Street House, on June 20, 1959, Brother Koskinen signed a purchase agreement for a $45,000 purchase price, $5,000 down and payments of $400 a month, but the rezoning issue had not yet been resolved. In July, 1959, the officers of B.A.E. met with officials of Fenton, and negotiated a zoning change to permit the establishment of the fraternity's third home. On Saturday, August 17, 1959, B.A.E. moved into its new "Country Estate."

May 22, 1961 BAEF Corp. was founded for the purpose of obtaining insurance for the Beta Bus (nicknamed "Big Red"), not for the protection of the other house property. In 1961 and 1962 the first Membership Room was designated as a room for Beta Members only. It has remained as such to this day.

Delta Eta History – Chapter 4

“The Dragon Years”

Although all fraternities at GMI rejoiced when the school was accredited in the Spring of 1962, few realized the eventual impact on their individual groups. When it was evident, however that former locals were petitioning national and general fraternities for chapter status, the matter was taken up for deliberation by Beta Alpha Epsilon. There were many reasons for affiliation with a national or general fraternity and among these were improved rush contacts, higher prestige, and rush and pledging tools. Other reasons include the possibility of closing by more pressure from nationals at other houses on campus, and allowing GMI students that transfer to other schools a place to go. In the summer of 1962, a survey of colleges in Ohio and western Pennsylvania was taken to determine the success of local groups which had become chapters in National Fraternities.

Encouraged by the results, B.A.E. voted unanimously in March, 1962, to "investigate affiliation with a specific national fraternity." B.A.E. petitioned several major nationals including Alpha Tau Omega (who denied the petition for reasons of distance from campus), Lambda Chi Alpha (who denied the petition for reasons of distance from campus), Omega Epsilon (who denied the petition because they did not want to establish chapters at G.M.I.), and Sigma Alpha Epsilon (who denied the petition because they were looking at another local at G.M.I.). On a motion by President George Riles, the group voted unanimously to "seek affiliation with Beta Theta Pi Fraternity." The chapter advisor of B.A.E. since their inception, Dr. James F. Huffman (a graduate of Northwestern University and later a member of Delta Eta) assisted in petitioning Beta Theta Pi.

The first letter to Mr. J. Moreau Brown, General Secretary, brought a discouraging reply. "I was not aware that General Motors Institute was accredited," he wrote. "And we would question the name 'General Motors' as allied with one of our chapters." More letters were written. Finally, Mr. Phillip Morris, the District Chief of Beta Theta Pi's Seventeenth District, became the first Beta to visit officially the GMI Campus. Favorable impressions were created, but the visit produced no tangible results. David Roy Foust '61 (a Member of B.A.E.) was very instrumental in the organizing and following through the petitioning of Beta Theta Pi. The months passed. Finally, in desperation, a telephone call to Morris brought the suggestion that J. Moreau Brown be invited to visit the GMI Campus. The visit and resulting conferences with school officials and B.A.E. officers would lead Brown to remark a year later, "I have since become one of GMI's most avid supporters..." Beta Alpha Epsilon was on the way to eventual chapter status in Beta Theta Pi.

Insignia of Beta Alpha Epsilon

Coat Of Arms

The coat of arms of B.A.E. is a spade-shaped or triangular white shield. The Chevron is V-shaped, point upward, and is frequently seen on heraldic shields and on the sleeves of military uniforms. This is red. Upon this are three stars (mullets) in gold (or). The crest or piece above the shield is a lion's head in gold facing outward. Below the lion's head is a rope with six sections of alternating red and white with the left most being white. Below the shield is a ribbon scroll bearing the name Beta Alpha Epsilon in upper and lower case greek letters.

Pins

The pin is spade shaped shield with gold trim, divided into two quadrants by a diagonal line running from the upper right to the lower left as one faces the badge. The upper left quadrant is a red enamel while the lower right is a white enamel.

The B.A.E. recognition pin should be worn on the lapel of the suit and should never be given to a girl. The sweater pin had no special place to wear it, except not on a t-shirt.

The membership badge is a silver square with a band of black enamel running horizontally through the center dividing the top and bottom section into equal parts. The top silver stripe contains the member's year of initiation while the center has the crest of B.A.E. in raised silver. Extending through the square is a sword, the top of which is used as a clasp and the bottom of which is used as a mount for an officer's dangle. The badge is worn attached through the clasp to the rope of a silver tie bar.

Colors

The colors of B.A.E. are red and white.

Delta Eta History – chapter 5

"Beta Theta Pi"

Found in the minutes of the meeting following Mr. Brown's visit to the chapter was the following quote, "After lengthy discussion, Br. Gioletti moved that Beta Alpha Epsilon do hereby seek the right to petition Beta Theta Pi Fraternity at its 125th Convention. The motion was seconded by Br. Cheatle. Further discussion followed. Vote - Unanimous, in favor of the motion. Mr. Morris, acting on behalf of the General Secretary, extended to B.A.E. the permission to seek the right to petition Beta Theta Pi General Fraternity." November 7, 1964 the Beta Alpha Epsilon Fraternity was installed as the Delta Eta of Beta Theta Pi. The following gifts were received (as is customary) from other chapters and guests: money, a Bible, two president's badges, a loving cup, two pictures (one of the campanile and one of Pater Knox), a ballot box, and a brass door plate.

November of 1964 saw the first issue of the quarterly chapter newsletter known as The Lion's Roar. The earlier chapter newsletter, founded in November of 1955, was entitled BAEr Facts. This new format was produced in larger quantities with a concerted effort to improve alumni contacts and update current alumni information. Due to lack of CPU time and other problems, original mailing labels took a 3 month period to obtain the IBM cards with each alumni's address. Today The Lion's Roar is still the house's primary means of contact with the alumni which currently stands over 500. At no time in the past, or in the future will the Lion's Roar ever be used as a means of collecting money from alumni. It's sole purpose is as a tool for passing information and generating interest in our alumni base.

May 6, 1967, Beta, in an effort to extend investments and look at the possibilities of other house locations purchased 5 acres of land near Linden and Ballenger (the current location of the Pike house) from Pi Kappa Alpha at the price of $3,000 per acre. A few years later the land was sold back to the Pikes for their further house development.

The new house in Fenton served the Brothers well, but as time passed it became apparent that major renovations would be necessary. The first major job was the refurnishing of the annexes. The building adjacent to the house, which had served as a garage, was turned into two bedrooms complete with two bathrooms. The second major change affected the greater percentage of the main building. In the basement, the kitchen was moved to its present location and a dining and recreational area was finished off. On the first floor, the living and family rooms were recarpeted and new furniture was added. Adjacent to the living room, the porch was enclosed and the "New Room" became a bedroom. To top off the project, aluminum siding was put all over the house.

April 18, 1973, David R. Foust, former president of Beta Alpha Epsilon and the Delta Eta of Beta Theta Pi, was made District Chief over the Delta Eta Chapter. He later went on to become a very respected fraternity leader and General Fraternity Vice-President.

The house was completely rejuvenated for the "Ten Year Celebration" in September, 1974. Joining in with the actives and alumni in the celebration was Col. Richard R. "Misty" Shoop. Topics focused on the progress that had been made in those ten short years inside the Beta Pale.

Delta Eta History – Chapter 6

"The years of growth"

The 1980's saw many good things happen for the fraternity including a rapid change in appearance at the "House across the lake." With a loan from the The Beta Theta Pi Foundation, double-paned thermal windows were purchased to cut the costs of heating. The Fall of 1982 also saw the need, once again, for new carpeting and furniture to be looked into. In the summer months of 1983, the upstairs living area would receive new carpeting, chairs, love seats, couches, end tables, brass lamps, a card table, and an entertainment center built by Ron Marionetti and Stu McFarlane. The transformation of the Fenton Estate was pretty remarkable. The house went from looking like a typical frat house with its out dated vinyl furniture, 70’s shag carpet, red flocked paisley wall paper to one which set the tone for the house to be once again called the Fenton Estate. No other fraternity could have imagined having light blue carpeting, light blue and beige couches, and glass topped end tables.

Besides the physical changes at the chapter’s home near Lake Fenton, the membership had to accommodate many changes that were happening at the school. The first of those changes included the announcement by General Motors Corporation that they would make the college an independent institution. Upon that news the college adopt a change in name. The former General Motor Institute was now called GMI Engineering & Management Institute. This change in name resulted in three years of graduates to have what was then called the “Two Sided Diploma”. Based on discussion with alumni at the time, it was said that the first thing upon announcement of those graduating classes, all members of the class opened their diploma and immediately switched the diploma from the side that said GMI Engineering & Management Institute to the General Motors Institute side. Also during the early 80’s the institute adopted a 12 week school semester from the former 6 week school term. By going private, the chapter went from a chapter full of employees of General Motors Corporation to a chapter that had several different sponsors. The first non-GM member was Rick Neilson in the 1983 A-Section Pledge class.

In addition to the changes with the school and the physical appearance of the chapter house, the Delta Eta Membership also had a major transformation. The membership size on A-Section became dangerously low in the very late 70’s with only eleven members. The membership on A-Section rebounded with a pledge class that numbered 18 men. That pledge class lead the start of a growth period for both A & B Section which culminated with the house membership exceeding 30 members on each section for most of the 80’s. During this same period, the B-Section members became the controlling group of the student operations organization by have three GMTE Directors of Operations and controlling the SOC (Student Orientation Committee) for at least four years.

In the Fall of 1982, Beta Theta Pi's President Peter E. Vandewater visited the chapter and the home near Lake Fenton. The visit produced nothing but compliments and praise for the Delta Eta Chapter's continual performance as a "model chapter." In the summer of 1983 the Delta Eta was the host chapter for the 1983 Convention at the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island. In the week leading up the convention the chapter hosted many Beta alumni who had the opportunity to visit the Delta Eta chapter for the first time on their way to the convention. That was the start of the Delta Eta Chapter becoming a singing fraternity. The initiations of 1984 were the last initiations that did not include the singing thanks to the chapter having to perform the model initiation at the convention.

Pledge Class projects and Senior Three gifts in succeeding years brought additional changes in the house appearance. These projects include the "Beta-que," renovations of the office and phone rooms, creation of the pledge room from attic space, a free-standing, five man, oak loft in Annex A designed by Miles Austin, a new entertain system, tongue and groove paneling in the basement, and even a “Temple in the Woods” which had its own bridge over a chasm that was both deep and wide. The only funny thing about the chasm is that on one side it was deep and the other side was wide. The temple also included three fire pits that allowed the chapter to utilize the Three Fires ceremony that was adopted from the Central Michigan University Chapter.

Besides the physical changes at the chapter, the membership size, and the changes to the corporate sponsorships and the institutes name, the chapter also had to come to terms with the changes to the legal environment and risk management issues that were occurring in regards to Rush and Pledging. Since the legal drinking age was changed from 18 to 21 in very late 70’s, and popular crusades against drunk drivers by MADD and SADD, the campus and local drinking establishments had to strictly enforce the new drinking age.

This had an immediate impact on the chapter through the imposition of Dry Rush by the institute in the mid-80’s. By the late 80’s the cost of insurance for fraternities were becoming an increasingly large issue and Beta Theta Pi adopted a common insurance policy for all chapters that required the adoption of a common risk management policy. Additionally the undergraduate delegates at the 1988 convention in Toronto voted to eliminate all associate and little sister programs due to the liability involved with them. This caused the chapter to discontinue the B- Section Beta Sisters. The former sisters remained extremely close with the chapter for several years and adopted the name Pi Beta Sigma Pi. After a few years, they decided to become a local chapter of Beta Sigma Phi and are still the Beta Sigma Phi that exists in 2007 on campus.

In 1987, Joe Csyani, then president of A-Section, was given the highest honor afforded to an undergraduate member of Beta Theta Pi. He was chosen to give the Undergraduate Address at the 148th Convention in Ashville, North Carolina. His speech was entitled "Diamonds in the Rough" and can be found in the 1987 Beta Theta Pi Convention Issue. The speech was also given at dinners for the GMI Administration and Beta Membership as well as the Toronto Alumni Group. Joe was also part of what is now referred to as the Great Beta Four. Normally in a graduating class there are only about six to eight Scobey Scholars. However, in the class of 1988, there were actually four Beta’s who graduated as Scobey Scholars. They were Joe Csanyi, Craig Milner, and Sister members Terri Lynch who would later join the faculty of the institute and Dana Komin.

Also in 1987, the chapter decided to submit its first application for the coveted Sisson Award. The members had learned about this award at the Regional conclave held at Purdue University located in Lafayette, Indiana. The chapter was represented by no less then eight members who traveled to the conclave in the Beta Van. After the conclave all of them vowed to complete the application and submit it by the deadline on June 1st. The submission team was headed up by A.J. Calkins who would later become a chapter advisor and then the District Chief. The chapter didn’t win the award the first year, but they did win the award for the first time at the 149th Convention in 1988 held in Toronto, Ontario. This was the first of a total of six Sisson Awards that the chapter would receive. The years that the chapter would win awards were 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1998. With the Sisson Awards, the resurgence of the chapter, once again the chapter restarted sending the alumni newsletter titled the Lions Roar. The use of computers greatly enhanced the ability to publish the newsletter and it would be publish on a regular basis until the mid-90’s. The communication links with the alumni were rebuilt to help with the planning for the 25th Anniversary in 1989.

In the summer of 1988, the membership, after retiring the original mortgage, to take out a new mortgage up to $110,000 to finance major house renovations that had become desperately necessary. This would include new wiring, a new furnace, central air conditioning for the main house, zone controls, a fire alarm and suppression system, and totally new kitchen, brought the house up to the fire code standards, added a dormer on the pledge room that increased the capacity of the house by one, and included additional carpet, furniture, and other mechanical upgrades. This project was a great strain for the members during the summer and fall of 1988 but the end result was a much better and safer home. Even though it was difficult on the members, they knew the decision was the right one for the chapter. As the chapter motto states, “with labor comes character”.

1989 was a important year at the Delta Eta of Beta Theta Pi. Not only did the General Fraternity celebrate its sesquicentennial, the Delta Eta Chapter marked the 36th year since the founding of Beta Alpha Epsilon and its 25th year as a part of Beta Theta Pi. To help commemorate this very special occasion the chapter held a Anniversary Weekend. Over 350 alumni attended various parts of the weekend which included informal receptions, a house dedication, an initiation of B.A.E. members into Beta Theta Pi, of course a trip to Waldens to visit Babe, and all culminating in a formal dinner/dance on Saturday night held at the Northbank Center in Flint. At the end of the evening, when wives had left for the hotel rooms, Betas and friends gathered for an informal sing-a-long between all the classes. Never at the Delta Eta chapter has the fraternity spirit, no matter what the age, been more evident. The weekend was also used as a kickoff for a three year Capital Campaign with goals of raising money to help reduce the recent obtain house loan. The goal to raise $90,000 over a three year period. The actual receipts were just over $40,000.

Delta Eta History – Chapter 7

"The years of great change – the 90’s"

The men of Delta Eta once again distinguished themselves in the community. The article attached at the end of this manual was written out of concerns expressed by the community on "Exactly who are those people across from Lake Fenton." The reporter, to spite strong efforts on her part, conceeded, "No matter how much I tried, I could get no one, not the school, not the neighbors, not the police, to say anything bad about the house." The article was first released in the July 17, 1990 issue of the Flint Journal, and was since released on the Associated Press newswire, and appeared coincidentally in the Detroit News, August 8, 1990, 151 years after the founding of Beta Theta Pi!

The Delta Eta Chapter also hosted many distinguished guests to our home in the very late 80’s and early 90’s. These visitors included Pres. B. Hume Morris in 1989, Pres. Gupton Vogt in 1990, and Pres. Burtom Folsom in 1993 as representatives of the General Fraternity. Also in 1991, Beta was one of the first to welcome GMI-EMI's new president Dr. James John.

Once again, however the chapter and the university was dealing with some significant changes. The first involve the cost of education. From the time of the school was made a private institution, the cost of attending increase over 300% from about $2000 in 1980 to over $9000 in 1990 per term. By the end of the 90’s the cost of attending university would be nearly $18,000 per term. During this period General Motors stopped their the majority of their sponsorships and the diversity of the sponsorships ranged from the banking industry, automotive venders, the US Government, UPS, and several other corporations. This also marked the start of the Masters Degree program and a dramatic change in the student body demographics and a change in the overall appeal with the engineering career path. The change in the student demographic make up would later be largely attributed to changes in the cost of the university.

Besides all the changes with the cost of the education, the fraternity world was also going through a general reduction in membership size starting in the mid-90’s. The joiners of the 80’s and generation X/post baby boomers were replaced with the non-joiner grunge rocker group from generation Y. The chapter membership remained strong through the mid-90’s but starting showing reduction by the late 90’s.

Once again, the school was continuing to make changes to the greek system and to their names. In an effort to gain a more direct recognition of the schools support for other industries besides the automotive sector and the strict recognition of only its engineering degrees, the school changed its name in 1995 to Kettering University. The schools name is in recognition of Charles “Boss” Kettering who was an engineer and was the individual with the most patents awarded to a single person. Once again the university had the whole sided diploma issue, but based on discussion with alumni, there was the massive flip as in the mid-80’s since most graduates were not employees of General Motors.

During this same period the requirements for acceptance and starting Kettering also were eased. Freshman were no longer required to have a sponsor before they started school and new freshman were also allowed up to three semesters without sponsorship. Formerly the sponsorship process would filter the student body and ensure a higher then normal quotaint of quality student and leaders. Also during this time, the university changed the recruitment calendar to reduce the length of rush and totally enforced the dry rush requirements. During the 90’s the administration was viewed as somewhat neutral toward the greek system and did nothing to enhance it or to purposely hurt it. The administrations lack of hiring a Greek professional allowed the new policy of a deferred pledging process. The effects of this policy would be most strongly felt in the years after 2000.

Besides the changes that were happening at Kettering, the chapter was also experiencing some changes. The membership decided to forego the use of the Beta Van and disbanded the BAEF Corporation which had been in existence for nearly 35 years as the legal entity for the chapter transportation systems. The 90’s also saw the start of what is known as The Men of Principle Initiation with the General Fraternity in 1997. The chapter did win four Sisson Award in the 1990’s, but the decline in membership was noted in a letter from A.J. Calkins to Jerry Blesch, the General Secretary of Beta Theta Pi in 1999 when the membership size was noted to be at 14 on A-Section and there had been no District Chief visit since Tom Crawford was the District Chief in the mid-90’s.

Besides the decline in membership, several other operational issues for the chapter started in be ignored in the late 90’s. The alumni newsletter The Lions Roar was rarely if ever sent to the alumni, the tax filing wasn’t done for seven years, the incorporation papers for Beta Alpha Epsilon Corporation and BAEF Corporation lasped sometime in the mid to late 90s, the maintenance and replacement of the property were being ignored, and the chapter had stopped funding the investment accounts. The amount in the investment accounts decreased during the period of 1995 to 2005.

Delta Eta History – Chapter 8

"The darkest years of Delta Eta"

The millineum started with A-Section adopting The Men of Principle Initiative. B-Section decided not to partner with the initiative. So there was some new resources available to the chapter as well as RTS (Recruitment Through Scholarship) Grants and leadership opportunities. One thing that the Administrative Office started was to train the new Leadership Consultants at the A-Section Kick-Off retreat since they were the only active chapter in July. The Administration Office sent between five and seven Leadership Consultants to the chapter to hold recruitment seminars and team building events each year for three years. During the early 00’s the membership on both A & B section continued to decline. This was much more noticeable on A-Section since their decline started one to two years before the decline in B-Section. With the university imposing the new deferred pledging system, neither section adapted this change and had pledge classes that were between five and one new members. For two to three years in a row, both sections would start with about eight to nine members but by the time the formal pledging process would start they would lose half of the pledge class and then within the first few weeks of pledging they would lose about half of those that remained.

In 2004 the active membership of the A-Section part of the chapter was down to seven members in the summer term. The District Chief discussed the membership size with the chapter early in the term due to the concern about the size, ability, and dedication of the remaining members to attach a reasonable pledge class. By the tenth week, the chapter hadn’t secured a single commitment from a any man on campus to join the fraternity. After reviewing the situation, A.J. Calkins an alumnus of the chapter from A-Section and the Chief of District 11, he had to inform the A-Section members that the chapter would be closed on A-Section effective at the end of that term since there was only going to be 5 members in the summer of 2005. After a visit to the chapter in the last week of the semester, he noticed evidence from the chapter Rush period of what is known as “the century club”. The century club and the use of it during Rush, and with underage recruits is several violations of the risk management policy. Had it not been for the membership size, the A-Section chapter would have probably been either suspended or closed due to risk management violations.

With the closure of A-Section, B-Section requested that the alumni help the undergraduates with the operation of the house corporation.

Delta Eta History - Chapter 9

"The resurrection"

Chapter 9 coming soon!