October 06, 2010

by Ginny Evans ‘11

Chapter members in front of their house with their awards.

Davidson's Phi Delta Theta fraternity chapter received the Gold Star Award at the annual national convention in Orlando, Fla. The Gold Star Award is presented each year to the top 20 Phi Delta Theta chapters among the 172 nationwide. The award recognizes a chapter's involvement on campus and in the wider community, including budget, roster, athletic involvement, and community service activities.

Along with the Gold Star, the chapter received the Improvement Citation Award, the Recruitment Award, the Ritual Award, and the Community Service Award.

Andrew Wohler ‘11, the chapter's president, was present to receive the award on behalf of the Davidson chapter. Wohler said, "I am very proud of all the work we put in to get this award. It truly was a group effort, with many different house members coming together to complete our Gold Star packet. Now that we have won once, I hope it becomes the standard for the future."

The chapter created an 80-page award application binder that included a statement of intent and descriptions of the fraternity's activities and events during the 2009-10 school year.

The chapter had last received a Gold Star Award in 2005, and had not even applied for the award last year, so brothers were motivated to work hard over the course of last spring semester to create a good application.

The chapter received help and guidance in the application process from John Colier, Southeastern Consultant for the national fraternity; Jim Murphy '78, chapter adviser and Director of Athletics at Davidson; and Charles Upshaw, the Province President. Patterson Court Adviser Andrew Chin also wrote a strong letter of recommendation for the chapter's application.

Things are looking up for the chapter at the beginning of the 2010-11 academic year. They have set new goals with hopes to receive the Patterson Court Men's Organization of the Year Award, and plan to apply again for the Gold Star Award. They are also aiming for Phi Delta Theta's most prestigious annual prize, the Kansas City Award, which is given during the convention to individual chapters based on school size.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,800 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.
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