The Founders Trophy was donated by Judge William R. Bayes, Ohio Wesleyan ’01, in 1929 and is awarded to the most outstanding Phi Delta Theta chapter at a medium-sized institution.
Winner: Kentucky Iota – University of Louisville
2017 marked a major milestone for the Kentucky Iota Chapter at the University of Louisville. Ten years after their installation in 2007, the chapter has continued to grow, excel, and give a proud definition of what it means to be a Phi on the University of Louisville campus.
To celebrate their 10-year anniversary, Kentucky Iota held a dinner at the Muhammad Ali Center in Downtown Louisville to honor alumni and undergraduate brothers alike. The celebration allowed the chapter to connect with more than 200 alumni.
With a chapter average GPA of 3.21, Kentucky Iota has earned a spot among the top three fraternities on campus for the second year in a row.
Kentucky Iota also shows strong participation in the community, and is consistently the top contributor to Project Warm; an outreach program that aids low income residents in lowering power bills during the cold winter months. The chapter also hosted their inaugural Casino Night, which generated over $2,500 for ALS research.
Congratulations to Kentucky Iota at the University of Louisville for winning this year’s Founders Trophy!
Finalist: Indiana Kappa – Ball State University
The brothers of Indiana Kappa at Ball State University understand that learning to lead means learning to serve those around you. To exemplify this, this chapter accumulated more that 1,700 hours of community service in the last academic year among their 73 members, more than 23 hours per member.
Indiana Kappa is also fundamentally involved on campus. This past fall, the brothers partnered with their campus Counseling Center in handing out bracelets inscribed with “you’re not alone” and helped to facilitate a dialogue to end the stigma on mental health. The chapter also hosted several events to facilitate discussion on issues regarding diversity.
This chapter capped off their successful academic year by being awarded Ball State University’s IFC Chapter of the Year Award.
Congratulations to Indiana Kappa at Ball State University for being named a finalist for this year’s Founders Trophy!