Theta Delta Chi

Today is a GREAT day to be a Theta Delt!

Thank you to all our donors. If your name is not listed in the honor roll and should be, please let us know so we can correct it in the digital edition. If you have not given in 2023, please consider donating to the Educational Foundation today. You help make our programs and services possible.

The reflection questions also make the new edition an excellent tool for new member education. As a New Member Educator, I can reflect on the questions and show vulnerability with the New Members and allow them to do the same. This is an excellent way to understand our future brother. This is an excellent tool for teaching and growing our new members into future leaders that all Theta Delts have the ability to become. Along with not boring them to death over dates and names, and other trivia, we are focusing more on what it really means to be a Theta Delt as New Members prepare to be brothers.”

– Carter Bertsch, Upsilon Deuteron ‘26

The 17th Edition of the Membership Handbook is now available for download. The PDF is available in the public file section of MyTDX in the Organizational Document folder. The direct link to the handbook is HERE.

The Tempe, Arizona, area provides numerous outdoor and recreational opportunities, including golfing and hiking. The Tempe Mission Palms, the official host hotel for the 176th Annual Convention, features a rooftop, outdoor swimming pool, two jacuzzi spas, courtyard dining, and a fully equipped fitness center.

Book before July 2nd, 2023 to get our special convention rate of $139/night (normally $400/night). This special rate is available two nights before and one night after the convention for conventioneers and guests who want to extend their stay.

While the full slate of activities is still in development, the Convention will feature a welcoming reception, the moving Omega Service, where all Brothers who have passed into the Omega Charge during the past year will be honored, and the always enjoyable Grand Banquet. Remember, you do not need to be an official delegate to attend. Full convention details and registration is available at www.tdxconvention.org.

Encourage your alumni to join you for this AMAZING opportunity to renew in union our social joys!

New Initiative

As a way to help Charges network and learn from each other, the President of the Grand Lodge (PGL) Jim Leuck, Upsilon Deuteron ’09 (Wabash), and Executive Director Brian Bertges, Sigma Triton ’00 (Penn State) have been hosting monthly Zoom calls with all Charge Presidents and Corresponding Secretaries. These calls have focused on the successes Charges are having, problems they face, and strategies they use to move their Charge forward. Resources and programs are shared, and stronger bonds of brotherhood are being built internationally. The attendance is high, and the Presidents are reporting the meetings are helpful.

Another proactive approach from the Grand Lodge to help the undergraduates has launched. Personal & Leadership Development Coaching is now available to individuals who want to improve both personally and as a leader. The one-on-one coaching is a bi-weekly commitment of one hour that focuses on three questions:

• What is going well?
• What needs work?
• What you are going to commit to?

These coaching sessions are a great way to add accountability, increase familiarity with existing resources, and create the impact they want. The results for the individuals and their Charges have been phenomenal so far.

Originally founded in 1996, the Xi Triton Charge at the University at Albany was closed in 1998. After a 15-year hiatus, a group of motivated young men led by Armend Cobovic, Xi Triton ‘14 came together to re-establish the Charge, with the re-chartering occurring in 2013. Since that time, the Charge has seen many ups and downs, and with new leadership appears to be in the ascendancy once again.

After the re-charting in 2013, tremendous growth was seen in the Charge. Not only did the Charge grow in number, but a positive reputation rose with it. It was so strong that they were the only group approved for fall recruitment. Two years in a row, they were chosen Chapter of the Year. During the late 2010s, Greek life and TDX fell on hard times with a suspension in 2019. In Spring 2021, the Charge, under the leadership of Eian Stern, Xi Triton ’21, was granted the ability to recruit a new member class of 6 men, much like our original founders in 1847. Currently, the Charge is up to 20 active members with a new member class of four during Spring 2023. The focus of the Charge has been recruitment rather than rush, which has led to the resurgence of the Charge.

The Charge is establishing a relationship with the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism and they are headed to re-start their Bros UniteD program, a major service project that led to their being named Chapter of the Year in 2016 and 2017. Additionally, the Charge is continuing to grow its relationship with the Greek life office and other Greek organizations. The improvement in how they are perceived is due to their philanthropy, programming, and recruitment efforts. This has differentiated them from other organizations. While many other Greek organizations are unrecognized, Xi Triton is leading the way for what a “responsible social life” and organization can look like.

Moving past previous judicial sanctions and the constraints of COVID, the Charge has set a positive Growth Mindset and a positive vision for their future. They have committed to Improving and reforming in every way.

Aidan Morgan, Xi Triton ‘23 the president of the Charge has set personal goals of leading effectively with love and acceptance, being curious without judgment, and remaining unwavering when met with objection and confrontation.

The Charge has set a goal of working towards Chapter of the Year on the Albany Campus and winning the Victory Cup. As a way to achieve these goals, the Charge has committed to understanding and practicing the Ritual in their daily lives.

When asked what it means to be a Xi Triton in Theta Delta Chi, Brother Keith Widas, Xi Triton ’24 said, “To be a Theta Delt means to stick up for the little guy, to stand by your morals even when no one is standing behind you, to love those who have sworn to brotherhood and help them through their toughest challenges.”

Jake Sanford, Xi Triton ’24 responded, “being a Theta Delt to me means building a bond and lifelong relationship with my brothers. We always push each other to strive and want the best for one another, and knowing that I have a great group of guys who will always have my back is an irreplaceable feeling.”

• Zach Iannacone, Sigma Triton ’24 – Penn State Chapter Executive Officer of the Year
• Matt Colvell, Xi Triton ‘24 – Club Lacrosse, Cyber Defense Organization, Digital Forensics Association
• Cameron Shaeffer, Xi Triton ‘25 – Club Lacrosse
• Keith Widas, Xi Triton ‘24 – Club Lacrosse
• Zack Silverman, Xi Triton ‘24 – Epsilon Delta Psi (Pre-Professional Fraternity for Homeland Security)
• Alex Rubin, Xi Triton ‘24 – Beta Alpha Psi (Pre-Professional Fraternity for Accounting)
• Aidan Morgan, Xi Triton ‘23 – UAlbany Outdoors, NYS Writers Institute

Harrison Salisbury, Tau Deuteron 1929 (Minnesota) pledged during his freshman year and remained an active member of his Charge throughout his academic career. He was a reporter for the Minnesota Daily newspaper from 1927 until 1930. In 1930 he was the Managing Editor of the Newspaper. He was also involved in two other campus organizations, the Gray Friar Society, which was “A Senior fraternity of honor, interested in the general welfare of the University.” He was also a member of Sigma Delta Chi, which later became the Society of Professional Journalists.

After graduating from the University of Minnesota, he became a reporter for the United Press (UP) in various locations around the world and finally landed in Moscow as their correspondent. This led to him joining the foreign staff of the New York Times in 1949 and becoming the Moscow Bureau Chief and a foremost expert on the Soviet Union post-WWII. Eventually, he returned to New York and became the first editor of the New York Times Op-Ed page. In 1973, after leaving the New York Times, he hosted a television series and wrote books and articles. In 1966, after visiting Vietnam, he came out in opposition to the war and took great pressure from the Johnson administration and the hawks in Congress. In 1955 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.

His Pulitzer Award reads: “for his distinguished series of articles, ‘Russia Re-Viewed,’ based on his six years as a Times correspondent in Russia. The perceptive and well-written Salisbury articles made a valuable contribution to the American understanding of what is going on inside Russia. This was principally due to the writer’s wide range of subject matter and depth of background plus a number of illuminating photographs which he took.”

Brother Salisbury was an Eagle Scout and the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award recipient. He also authored 29 books reflecting his depth of knowledge of both the Soviet Union and China.

For more information about the life of Harrison Salisbury, see his Wikipedia page or his listing in Britannica online. For a list of books authored by Bro. Salisbury, see Thrift Books.