# Delphic Fraternity

The Delphic Fraternity, Inc., also known as Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau (ΓΣΤ), is an American multicultural fraternity. It was originally founded in New York State in 1871 as a literary society and was re-established in 1987 as a multicultural fraternity. It was a founding member of the National Multicultural Greek Council.

## History

The Delphic Society was founded on October 13, 1871, at the Geneseo Normal and Training School (SUNY Geneseo) in upstate New York. It was a literary debating society. It was a successor organization to the Delphic Society at Rochester, which had been active until at least December 1866.
Its founders were:
* John Beach Abbott
* Charles W. Barney
* Lewis E. Coe
* John N. Drake
* William S. Janes
* William S. Kershner
* Scott L. McNinch
* James M. Milne
* Loring Olmsted
* Frank E. Welles
* Charles S. Wilbur
* Ara Wilkinson
* Frank A. Winne
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, Cortland, New Paltz, Plattsburgh, and Potsdam, New York, and Mansfield, Pennsylvania. The oldest chapter, at SUNY Cortland, traces its formation back to the Cortland Academy Debating Club in 1842.
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, a larger national fraternity. 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.
After fifteen years of dormancy, the fraternity was re-established as Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau at SUNY New Paltz on March 11, 1987. It reformed as a multicultural fraternity. The fraternity recognizes the brothers who reestablished the fraternity as its second set of founders, including:
* Steve Carle
* Jose Carrion
* Gil DeLeon
* Emanuel Egipciaco
* Ventura Lopez
* Michael Rand
* Steve Rappleyea
* Todd Reed
* Eugenio Rodriguez
* Edwin Ruiz
* Jeff Seoul
* Lawrence Troutman
Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau Fraternity became a founding member of the National Multicultural Greek Council in 1998.
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. Known as the Kappa chapter of Delphic, this chapter is also the first multicultural fraternity established at UVA.
The Delphic Fraternity, Inc. has chartered fourteen chapters. As of 2024, it has two active undergraduate chapter and three active graduate chapters. Its national philanthropy is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

## Symbols

The Delphic Fraternity was named for Delphi, Greece. The fraternity's motto is "Friendship, Fellowship, and Fidelity." Its maxim is "Unity AmonGST All."
Its colors are red, white, and royal blue. The fraternity's flowers are the white rose and the red dahlia. Its jewel is the ruby. Its mascot is the dragon. Its nickname is the Delphics.

## Chapters
### Collegiate chapters

In the following list of undergraduate chapters, active chapters are indicated in bold and inactive chapters and institutions are in italics.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Institution | Location | Status |
| Alpha | 1871–1938 | Geneseo Normal School | Geneseo, New York | Inactive |
| Beta | 1889–1910 | Oneota State Normal School | Oneonta, New York | Inactive |
| Gamma | 1897–1918 | Jamaica Training School for Teachers | Queens, New York | Inactive |
| Delta | 1898–1915 | Mansfield Normal School | Mansfield, Pennsylvania | Inactive |
| Epsilon | 1899–1917 | Cortland Normal School | Cortland, New York | Inactive |
| Zeta Alumni | 1899–1951; 1955–1972; March 11, 1987 – 2004 | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, New York | Inactive |
| Eta | 1900–1907 | Plattsburgh State Normal and Training School | Plattsburgh, New York | Inactive |
| Baconian | 1906–1933 | Potsdam Normal School | Potsdam, New York | Inactive |
| Theta | 2003–2010 | Binghamton University | Binghamton, New York | Inactive |
| Kappa | 2009 | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, Virginia | Active |
| Lambda | 2015 | State University of New York at Delhi | Delhi, New York | Active |
* ↑ Chapter formed from the Young Men's Debating Club, established in 1889.
* ↑ The chapter were inactive because of low male enrollment at the college.
* ↑ Chapter closed when fraternities were banned on campus.
* ↑ The chapter formed from a local Young Men's Debating Club, which was founded as the Cortland Academy Debating Club in 1842. It went inactive during World War I.
* ↑ The chapter formed from the merger of two local fraternities: Alpha Pi Nu, established in 1889, and Kappa Delta Alpha, established in 1896.
* ↑ In the early 1950s, the chapter withdrew and became the Alpha Rho chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma, only to revert to a local called Sig Tau when a state law banned national fraternities at state universities.
* ↑ Chapter formed from Alpha Kappa Sigma, an independent literary society that was established in 1900.
* ↑ Chapter formed from the Roger Baconian Society, established in 1870.

### Graduate chapters

In the following list of graduate chapters, active chapters are indicated in bold and inactive chapters are in italics.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Location | Status |
| Tau Alpha | 2014 | New York City, New York | Active |
| Tau Beta | 2014 | Washington, D.C. | Active |
| Tau Gamma | 2019 | Charlotte, North Carolina | Active |

## Notable members

* John Beach Abbott, New York county judge and a State Democratic Leader
* Heinz Ahlmeyer Jr., Lieutenant in the US Marines who died during the Vietnam War and the namesake of a US Post Office
* Rowland L. Davis, New York Supreme Court justice
* Henry Albert Dickinson, New York State Assembly member
* Alfred Harcourt, founder of the Harcourt Publishing Company
* Louis Jay Heath foreign correspondent for United Press International and an organizer of the American Newspaper Guild
* R. Paul Higgins, physician and president of the board of visitors at the Cortland State Teachers College for 24 years
* Clayton R. Lusk, New York State Senate and Acting Lieutenant Governor of New York
* James M. Milne, first principal of the State University of New York at Oneonta
* William James Milne, president of the New York State Normal School at Albany and principal of the Geneseo Normal and Training School
* Charles T. Saxton, New York State Senate and Lieutenant Governor of New York
* David Eugene Smith, mathematician, educator, and editor considered one of the founders of the field of mathematics education
* Harold G. Strait, namesake of a Pennsylvania state highway
* Frank E. Welles, professor at the Geneseo Normal School