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FAQ

What is Kappa Delta Rho?

Formally known as The National Fraternity of Kappa Delta Rho Incorporated (informally known as KDR). Kappa Delta Rho is a national social fraternity founded in 1905 at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont. Our Mission: Kappa Delta Rho is a lifetime Brotherhood dedicated to the continuing character development of its members through Fellowship, Leadership, Scholarship, Service, and Tradition. Our Vision: To create a living organization that actively challenges each member to rise above everyday pursuits, be of good character, and confront the needs of our modern society by placing Honor Before All Things.

Why Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity? What are the benefits of joining?

Kappa Delta Rho is a dynamic Brotherhood of men with a common purpose. Brothers hold tight to the principles implicit in our motto, Honor Before All Things, and in being and acting as a KDR Gentleman. We strive to instill the following tenants in our daily lives:

Fellowship: To a KDR, the term Brotherhood represents the bonds of community and friendship that will last a lifetime. The familial bonds are strong and solidified by participation in our ritual. Membership is for life.

Leadership: KDR chapters offer significant opportunities for Brothers to develop leadership skills. Members set chapter policies and standards, must meet national guidelines and expectations, serve in chapter leadership positions, manage budgets, chair committees, and plan community service and social events. These leadership opportunities help Brothers learn how to motivate others, encourage critical thinking, plan effective programs, resolve conflicts, and develop communication and organizational skills. Becoming a Brother of KDR provides the opportunity for involvement in other areas of fraternity and sorority life such as the Inter-Greek Council, Greek Judicial Board, Order of Omega Honor Society, the Interfraternity Council, Gamma Sigma Alpha Honor Society, chapter intramural teams, and so much more. KDR Brotherhood opens the door to campus leadership and involvement.

Scholarship: KDR is committed to the academic success of her members. Often, chapters provide academic resources for Brothers, including planned study sessions and tutoring. Additionally, many chapters offer financial awards and scholarship programs to encourage scholastic achievement. The KDR Foundation awards over $75,000 annually in scholarship monies for undergraduate and graduate study. KDR is also unique in that we offer an automatic $100 scholarship to new members during the semester in which they join and are initiated as long as the Brother is in good standing and completes the semester with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.

Service: One of the most gratifying parts of being a KDR is the sense of satisfaction and pride that comes with involvement in community service and philanthropic events. Each chapter has its own philanthropic and service events and activities. One commonality, however, is that each KDR chapter annually sponsors events in support of kids as part of our national philanthropy: KDR Kids. Each year, KDR donates thousands of dollars and hours of time to local and national charities through volunteering, fundraising, and other projects.

Tradition: Both undergraduate and alumni KDR Brothers come together to celebrate annual traditions such as Homecoming, Reunion Weekends, the Red Rose Formal, initiations and ritual ceremonies, philanthropic activities, and Greek Week. Mixers, formals, cookouts, theme parties, and other social events provide opportunities to socialize within the organization and to meet other students on campus. Nationally, KDR hosts, the Elmon Williams Leadership Academy, National Convention, Consuls Academy, and alumni events and trips.

What is Recruitment (formerly called "Rush") and how does it work?

Recruitment and the manner in which it occurs can vary greatly from campus to campus. Some schools may have a more formal recruitment period for unaffiliated students interested in joining a fraternity. Others utilize a more informal process that differs from chapter to chapter. Many times a student must register to participate through the school’s Greek Life or Student Affairs office. Whatever the method, membership in KDR is offered by the extension of a bid to potential new member. Acceptance of the bid is the first step, followed by official pledging in the pledge ceremony and the beginning of The Path program, culminating in initiation and followed by additional training on The Path.

How does the new membership process work? What is The Path?

The KDR membership education program is called The Path. It begins immediately following the official pledging of new members and is broken into four stages: Orientation, Kappa, Delta and Rho, with each stage having about a dozen stages. The program is conducted under the guidance on the chapter’s Junior Tribune and Pontifex with the mentoring of a big brother. The Orientation Stage lasts approximately 5 weeks and is followed by initiation. Another 5 weeks of required Kappa Stage training follows with the remaining portions of the Kappa, Delta and Rho stages being optional for all brothers, but offering additional training and education related to our core standards and values. The Path program is delivered electronically, is nearly paperless and environmentally friendly and guides the new Brother to involvement and full participation in the chapter and on a national level.

What about hazing?

Hazing is a serious infraction of KDR policy and of state and federal law. Hazing is defined as any action taken or situation created, whether on or off college grounds, that is harmful or potentially harmful to an individual’s physical, emotional, or psychological well-being, regardless of an individual’s willingness to participate or its bearing on his membership status. Should you see or hear of ANYTHING that might be construed as a violation of the guidelines, please contact your college’s Office of Greek Life and the KDR National Office. Any information you may provide will be taken seriously and investigated fully.

What are the costs involved in joining KDR?

As private organizations, fraternities are self-sufficient entities that require membership dues. Membership dues are set on the local or chapter level and are used to sponsor social events, membership recruitment, programming in support of scholarship and leadership, and philanthropy projects. Financial obligations in terms of chapter dues, housing, or meal plans vary from chapter to chapter. National fees are the same for all chapters and include: a one time pledge fee, a one time initiation fee, and an annual assessment and risk management fee. Most chapters provide their members with several payment plan options and potential new members should speak with the quaestor (treasurer) to discuss these prior to accepting a bid.

What is the time commitment involved with membership in KDR?

The time commitment varies from chapter to chapter, but the first semester is most time intensive as the new member goes through the chapter’s Education Program. The time spent in this program will give your student the opportunity to develop their leadership and time management skills, learn about the history and tradition of the organization, develop friendships with their new member class as well as the rest of the chapter, and allow them to become involved in other activities and organizations. After the initiation into the chapter, expectations will vary. Each chapter has weekly chapter meetings and other mandatory events (philanthropies, service, and initiation) throughout the year, but they are planned well in advance. Students can make their KDR experience as extensive as they like. Some Brothers spend many hours a week with their chapter, participating in intramural athletics, holding an executive office, or attending social functions while others may limit their time to chapter meetings and events. The more time a Brother spends with the members in their organization and at chapter activities, the more benefits a student will receive from their membership. Just like any other activity, the more you put into it, the more you will get out.

What about the stories I see on the evening news about fraternities and sororities around the country?

Nobody likes stereotypes, and over the years, fraternity men have been caricatured, lampooned, and portrayed in an unflattering manner by movies and television. This is not to say that members of the fraternity system have not committed some major offenses. Yet, when the number of students committing these acts is viewed in the context of the fraternal system, they represent less than one-one-hundredth of one percent of the total membership. The media does not play up the positive values of fraternity life because they do not perceive these values to have “entertainment value,” but those ideals are much more characteristic of fraternity life than is the “Animal House” caricature. KDR and The Path program instill a commitment and pride in our organization and in her core values. Unfortunately, since only 2% of the U.S. population is Greek, most people don’t have first-hand experience and stereotypes become the norm. Greek organizations do hold social events, but most of these do not include alcohol. These “social” events include educational programs/workshops, community service events, intramural sports, Parent’s Days, Homecoming, Greek Week and date events in addition to parties and mixers. Today’s fraternity and sorority communities across the nation have adopted a stringent approach to socializing thereby creating a safer, more beneficial environment for its members. There are strict guidelines and procedures concerning the availability of alcohol at chapter events, and these rules are enforced by the national organizations, the University, and by internal chapter standards.

I see that Kappa Delta Rho is a social fraternity. What does that mean?

The social life of fraternity men can be very rich and rewarding, with life-long friendships, lifetime, and the development of social skills which will be useful to any adult. KDR provides activities which sharpen conversation techniques, conflict resolution skills, and promote poise and a sense of social grace. KDR advocates the legal, responsible use of alcohol by members and works to ensure that this responsibility is taken seriously.

What is my role as a parent?

Talk to your son about Kappa Delta Rho and ask questions about the Fraternity system at their college. Make sure your son is aware of their commitments and expectations of membership. Ask questions about their own perception and what they feel KDR will offer them. Allow them to make the best decision for themselves. Once your son decides to join KDR, there will be opportunities for Parent’s Weekend activities, and attending chapter events and activities. Get involved and keep the lines of communication open by taking the time to talk to your so about KDR, their college experience and how you can be of support.

Where did the Fraternity and Sorority system in America come from? How did it develop?

The first general fraternity for which records exist was the Flat Hat Club, organized in 1750 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The members met periodically in an upper room of the Raleigh Tavern, and over a bowl of punch, their laughter reportedly shook the house. Thomas Jefferson, author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States, was a student member of this club. The first Greek-letter society came into being because a student had been refused admission into a William and Mary organization known as PDA. The PDA club was supposedly a literary society but had long lost those purposes. The rejected man was a superior Greek scholar. With four friends, he organized a society of his own, using Greek letters to name it: Phi Beta Kappa. The first meeting of Phi Beta Kappa took place on December 5, 1776. It was a secret meeting, for the faculty of William and Mary at the time did not approve of its students discussing the pressing issues of the day and possibly straying too far from accepted beliefs. So Phi Beta Kappa developed appropriate signals of challenge and recognition. They met weekly at the Apollo room of the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg.

After two years, Phi Beta Kappa felt that other campuses should share in its experiment, that the higher education experience should provide consideration in preparing the student for his future responsibilities by also preparing his social skills. Thus, chapters were founded at several American colleges. As time went on, Phi Beta Kappa became purely intellectual in its aims; its original cardinal principles were “literature, morality and friendship.” During anti-secret movements of the 1830s, Phi Beta Kappa, the society, voluntarily revealed its once secret Greek name, Filosofia Bion Kuberneqes (Philosophia Bios Kybernethes), or “Philosophy (is the) guide to life.” Today, Phi Beta Kappa is a scholastic honorary society that recognizes undergraduate men and women who show superior achievement in academics in more than 184 college campuses across the nation.

The secret grip and ritual, the distinctive badge, and the use of Greek letters — all were used by Phi Beta Kappa and were adopted by subsequent Greek letter fraternities and sororities. However, the most important legacies of Phi Beta Kappa are these: high moral ideals, scholastic advancement, and the friendship of brothers or sisters with each other.

Fraternities and sororities are student organizations whose primary purpose is the personal development of their members, as distinguished from honorary, professional, departmental, and service fraternities. Unlike most other student organizations, membership in a social fraternity or sorority is a lifetime affiliation, and students are not permitted to be initiated into more than one fraternity or sorority.

Fraternities and sororities promote intimate relationship bonds of brotherhood/sisterhood and members typically refer to fellow members as “brothers” or “sisters.” Traditionally, most fraternities and sororities are designated by Greek letters; hence, they are often referred to as “Greek organizations,” “the Greek community,” or simply “Greeks.” Fraternities and sororities typically have rituals and creeds that promote ideals such as friendship, loyalty, academic achievement, intellectual development, service to the community and alma mater, honor and integrity, leadership, and personal responsibility. Many fraternities have an indoctrination and orientation period prior to initiation, and pre-initiated members are commonly referred to as pledges, associates or associate members, candidates, intakes, or new members. Some fraternities and sororities are culturally and/or community based.

Fraternities and sororities may select members according to subjective criteria consistent with college/university nondiscrimination policies. They are entitled to single-gender membership, provided they qualify under the provision of Section 86.14 of the regulations promulgated under Title IX of the U.S. Education Act of 1972, which require that the organizations be exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The content in this section was adapted from material created by the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life at The University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill.

Where can I go to find out more information on Greek Life?

Feel free to contact us for assistance with any KDR related questions, visit the website for Greek Life at your son’s college or visit one of the resource sites listed below for more information:

Kappa Delta Rho

Kappa Delta Rho

Kappa Delta Rho

FAQ

Greek Professional Associations & Governing Bodies

Greek Honor Societies

Other Links

Donate to the
KDR FOUNDATION

Scholarship Application

Kappa Delta Rho

Kappa Delta Rho

Kappa Delta Rho

FAQ

Greek Professional Associations & Governing Bodies

Greek Honor Societies

Other Links

Donate to the KDR FOUNDATION

Scholarship Application

Donate to the
KDR FOUNDATION