National History
About Us
National History
About Us
About KΔP
National History
In the Fall of 1904, Middlebury College had three fraternities on campus: Chi Psi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, and Delta Upsilon. There also existed the Commons Club, a large neutral group of students.
George E. Kimball, President of Commons Club met with Irving T. Coates and John Beecher [two fellow members] to discuss forming a fraternity. They met in Kimball's room, Room 14 of Old Painter Hall (pictured left), on the Middlebury College campus. After several meetings, they approached seven other members of the Commons Club to form the nucleus of a new fraternity: Thomas H. Bartley, Pierce W. Darrow, Benjamin E. Farr, Gideon R. Norton, Gino A. Ratti, Chester M. Walch and Roy D. Wood.
On May 17, 1905, these ten met again in room 14 of Old Painter Hall as the Charter Members of the newly formed Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity. They left school and did not publicly announce the formation of the new Fraternity until the fall.
Beta Gamma Chapter
Beta Gamma Chapter
Founding of The Beta Gamma Chapter
Ideas for the Fraternity began to circulate in the summer of 2003 inside of a small, unrecognized group on the CNU campus. There were five men who participated actively in this organization: Gregory K. Hawkins, John Clifford, Gregory Dale, Matthew A. Haselton, and Berin Fuerst. Hawkins had a friend who attended James Madison University and was a member of the now inactive Lambda Beta Chapter of Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity, Inc. Through Hawkins’ talks with that Brother, the idea of bringing KDR to CNU was born.
When the fall semester of 2003 began, the five friends worked tirelessly to see their plan to establish a KDR Chapter at CNU come to fruition. Through social gatherings like the “Greg Hawkins Freedom Festival” (a moniker referring to his break-up with a long-time girlfriend) held in early October, the KDR movement began picking up momentum. Some interested freshmen became part of a group referred to as the “Magnificent Seven,” a name torn in irony because their excellent quality of character seemingly contradicted their poor academic standing. Other interested men began attending interest meetings held in the Hawkins, Fuerst, and Haselton apartment in the Auburn Chase Apartments complex, located about a mile from CNU campus.
As the number of potential members rose into the high teens, Hawkins began talks with campus officials in order to have KDR recognized on campus. Meanwhile, the movement at CNU was garnering support from the National Fraternity of Kappa Delta Rho. The Provisional Charter was given in February 2004, and the members were inducted into the Fraternity. In only nine months, KDR had gone from an idea casually mentioned between friends to a nationally recognized group of twenty-four men. Early in the spring of 2004, KDR was recognized on campus and began mixing with other Greek organizations and participating in campus events. The Fraternity was riding a wave of excitement, but for those that truly believed in the ideals of KDR, they had no idea of what level they would be tested over the next year.