On October 2, 2016, 49 young men recolonized Phi Delta Theta at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The men were officially recognized as Re-Founding Fathers of the Oklahoma Beta Colony, and they now embark on their journey to becoming an installed chapter of Phi Delta Theta. The recolonization ceremony filled the Sequoyah Room of the OSU Student Union with family members, friends and many Phi Delta Theta alumni from the Oklahoma Beta Chapter. Province President Mike Hyatt, Oklahoma State ’66, conducted the ceremony and extended words of advice and encouragement to the new colony members.

Kevin Ireland, Eastern Washington ’16 and Alex Atkinson, Missouri Western ’16, leadership consultants from Phi Delta Theta Headquarters, began recruiting and building the organization in early August. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, they developed the foundation for what will continue to be a successful group of young leaders who will now continue this journey with a strong colony, executive board, and chapter advisory board. As a whole, the colony is very excited and motivated. After receiving their pins and manuals, the group moved outside to take pictures. Once the cameras stopped flashing, the group erupted into a Phi Delt chant that they had learned on their own.

“I was so proud. I showed a couple of them a video of a Phi Delt chant performed at other chapters, but I never heard them say anything else about it. Then out of nowhere they erupted into the chant. That’s when I knew they would be just fine once we left. This group does not need hand holding. Once you point them in the right direction, they are ready to go.” – Leadership Consultant Alex Atkinson

“The best part of the day was getting our name called, receiving our manual, signing our names, and getting pinned. It was also a great experience to see my colony brothers get pinned before and after me.” – Colony Member Miles Yapp

Since late August, the Colony has had many late night meetings and training on how to become the best colony possible. The main focus for the group has been developing the groundwork that will keep their colony in the top-tier of Greek organizations at Oklahoma State University. The group has held three brotherhood events each week and conducted their own recruitment events to bring in more colony members. The Oklahoma Beta Colony is a very diverse group with majors extending from aerospace engineering to theater, as well as extracurricular activities extending from the Cowboy Marching Band to the OSU Cowboy Football Team. The chapter house will be renovated spring 2017 and will be move-in-ready by fall 2017.

Oklahoma Beta was founded December 12, 1946 and has initiated 1,643 members since that day. Currently there are 1,402 living Oklahoma Beta alumni.