Concluding an eight-week expansion project at Portland State University, Oregon Epsilon returns to campus. On Thursday, March 7, Founding Fathers at Portland State were inducted as the Oregon Epsilon Colony by a large contingent of local area alumni, undergraduate brothers from across the state, family, campus faculty, and other student leaders representing various campus organizations.
Oregon Epsilon originally chartered in 1991 on campus and remained a strong, virtuous chapter of Phi Delta Theta for many years. The return of Oregon Epsilon has revitalized an already strong alumni support system in Portland, and local alumni have rallied behind the colony to support their development.
The newly-formed group quickly embraced the Phi Delta Theta values, seeing this revitalization as an opportunity to create a much-needed community of driven, passionate men to accomplish feats they would not be equipped to tackle on their own. They saw this as an opportunity to flourish with the help and society of others.
“Our Founding Fathers are ecstatic about the community that Phi Delt already is and the potential it has for great success on campus for years to come,” stated Expansion Consultant Andrew Norrie. “These men have already created a roadmap to success through 30 day/60 day/90 day/1-year/3-year plan. This shows the incredibly high potential of Oregon Epsilon, and I am confident this group will be successful for years to come.”
Through the motivation to hit the ground running out of colonization, Oregon Epsilon wanted to ensure they had a plan and goals to hit not only short term, but long term as well. This plan includes the adoption of a local ALS family through the LiveLikeLou Foundation’s Adopt and Serve program, lofty recruitment goals and outlook that will have them operating as the largest organization on campus, strengthening brotherhood by continuing diverse weekly brotherhood events and brotherhood groups, and maintaining their position as holder of the highest fraternity GPA on campus.
To guide their future success, the group carefully crafted a vision statement that reads, “We as Phi Delta Theta strive to be the premier leadership organization at Portland State University by cultivating an everlasting brotherhood through the acceptance of individuality and involvement in our community.”
Expansion Consultant Max Hull noted, “Oregon Epsilon’s thirst for individuality and diversity will ensure the power of this message moving forward. That is the beauty of this group; they will always stray away from being a cookie-cutter fraternity, and they will embrace the reason why they all joined Phi Delta Theta – to be a change agent and create what it means to be a fraternity man on campus.”
Overall, the men of the newly established Oregon Epsilon Colony embrace the philosophy of Robert Morrison – “To do what ought to be done, but would not have been done unless I did it, I thought it to be my duty.” They continue to live this out every day by bringing strong values and leadership skills to a campus with an great Phi Delta Theta history.
Phi Delta Theta looks forward to the great things they will accomplish in the future.