LSU leaders, alumni and students broke ground for Delta Tau Delta’s Epsilon Kappa Chapter home on Wednesday.
LSU President Wade Rousse attended and broke ground with fraternity members, expressing his support for the chapter and its plans on campus.
As a Kappa Sigma Fraternity alumnus, Rousse spoke on the lasting impact fraternity brotherhood has had on his life and how he hopes Delta Tau Delta can be a place to foster brotherhood on LSU’s campus.
He also noted how this new project aligns closely with his goals as LSU President.
“My vision is that our Greek system becomes elite, just like our research enterprise is going to be elite, just like our regional dynamic-market driven curriculum will be elite, so that we can provide accessibility to anyone who wants a life-changing education,” Rousse said.
The groundbreaking event followed a full year of planning and fundraising by Delta members and alumni.
Current Delta president, Aidan Sherer, said, “Thanks to the collaboration of our housing corporation and LSU administration, we’ve been able to go from having chapters in Coates 143 to chapters in a 13-million-dollar home we get to call ours.”
The team of contractors assembled to construct the home includes many Delta alumni who hold significant value to their part in the project.
One of these alumni is Art Favre, founder and chairman of the Board of Performance Contractors, who spoke about how his time at Delta shaped his professional life. He mentioned specific skills that were learned while involved in Greek Life at LSU, such as respecting all types of people, negotiating, managing crises and operating within a budget.
“Fraternity life rounds out the college experience,” said Favre. “It fills in the gaps the university misses in the practical life skills necessary to be successful in today’s world, and the pillars of the fraternity life center around the fraternity house.”
Other alumni, like Doug Tate, were involved in the financial planning for the project as well. As Delta Tau Delta fundraising chairman, Tate was involved in ensuring the chapter had the funds to support its ambitions to bring its home back on campus.
“Speaking on behalf of all Delta Tau Delta alumni, we are eternally grateful to LSU for allowing us to come back to this great campus,” said Tate. “We would also not be in this position without the generous donations from the DTD brothers worldwide.”
Gratitude and excitement are also felt by current members of the EK Chapter, as they soon will be able to enjoy a new home on campus.
“Knowing I will be able to experience this house during my final year in college makes it even more meaningful, and I am looking forward to seeing how the brotherhood will continue to expand within this new home,” said Mason Jacobs, Delta Epsilon Kappa director of communications.
Although there is much construction ahead for the Delta Tau Delta project, current members already feel the significance of their work at LSU.
Sherer said, “This will serve as our mark on LSU’s history as we welcome new generations of EK Deltas in the years to come.”
