The Road

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From the day you accept your bid to the day you graduate, The Road: The Journey to Excellence will give direction and purpose to create a distinctive Fraternity experience. In 2008, Delta Tau Delta Fraternity launched a member education program for all undergraduate members. In 2014, the program was redeveloped and introduced to the Fraternity. The Road has four sections – new member education, recruitment, Ritual and member education. Chapters are provided clear direction and outlines to lead you through each section of The Road. Chapter programming is complimented with national leadership experiences like Ignite, The Charge and Presidents and Advisors Retreat. The Road is complete with leadership development opportunities for chapter leaders through The Path to Lead and Division Conferences.

The Road

The Journey to Excellenceis an opportunity to transform your chapter.forms closer relationships with your brothers.helps you achieve your personal goals.

Foundation

New member education is the foundation for life-long membership in Delta Tau Delta. The Road provides an outline for a comprehensive eight-meeting program. The goal is to provide new members with a quality experience that is consistent with all new members across the Fraternity. The program is organized into eight meetings as opposed to a weekly structure. This allows chapters to condense the program to a shorter period of time if they choose to or if their campus requires it. The maximum length of time for the new member process is still eight weeks without explicit permission from the director of chapter services one term in advance. The outlines include an overview of what will be covered, homework for the new members, and a step-by-step outline for each meeting. Each meeting begins with an activity and concludes with a gavel pass. In addition to the meetings, there are brotherhood and leadership development activities included in the new member process. Lastly, the manual includes a brotherhood retreat and new member service/philanthropy project to organize outside of the meetings.

The objectives of the Delta Tau Delta New Member Education Program are simple and straightforward.

  • Develop a sense of obligation and loyalty to Delta Tau Delta, your campus and the community.
  • Cultivate and develop leadership skills - including responsibility and accountability.
  • Provide an atmosphere that encourages academic excellence.
  • Challenge each member to reach his full potential by encouraging individual creativity rather than group conformity.
  • Involve initiated brothers in educating and introducing the new members to Delta Tau Delta.

By implementing this program, your chapter will develop committed and passionate members who are loyal and actively participate in all activities, come to chapter meetings, pay dues, and remain active until graduation and beyond. This is the blueprint for a successful chapter. This is the path leading to a life of excellence.

Membership

Developing a strategy and refining your recruitment skills are essential to recruit men for membership numbers. What if your recruitment strategy didn’t just mean more members, but it could improve your chapter GPA, retention of member or even the chapter budget. Recruitment is the lifeblood of the organization and it is vital chapters view it as such.

The Road provides three workshops focused on recruitment education delivered by the director recruitment. After new members are initiated, you will participate in the programs that focus on creating a vision for the chapter, setting standards for membership and learning the process of how to recruit.

Objectives of the Recruitment Education Program:

  • Identify strategies to recruit members to help achieve the chapter vision and goals.
  • Practice communicating the expectations of membership with potential members.
  • Understand the importance and the process of discussing the Mission and Values with a potential new member.
  • Recognize the steps to recruit a man to join Delta Tau Delta.



Begin the journey through the Recruitment Education Program by checking out the following courses in the program:

Ceremonies

The Ritual ceremonies of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity are an instrumental part of your experience as a member. The Ritual and Rite of Iris provide direction on how to live a life of excellence, but when the ceremonies are only performed once a semester it is difficult to understand the meaning and symbolism.

The Ritual education section of The Road utilizes the white book to guide you through everything from the ceremonies to the symbols. After recruitment education, you will participate in monthly conversations about the Ritual and Rite of Iris facilitated by the guide.

Objectives for Ritual Education:

  • Reflect on the meaning and message incorporated in the ceremonies of Delta Tau Delta.
  • Analyze the concept of Ritual and explore application to daily life.
  • Review the history of the Fraternity and the Ritual.
  • Increase the respect and appreciation for the Fraternity and the Ritual.

Design the Journey

From your first new member meeting, you will have a chance to learn about yourself and valuable skills to be successful during college and beyond. After completing the new member, recruitment and Ritual education, you will focus on the member education section of The Road. This section is exciting because you help design the journey. An outline for each academic year is provided to the chapters to give direction to the director of member education for programming. 

Here are some examples:

  • Freshmen members need to learn how to create a personal budget.
  • Sophomore members should take personal interest/strengths measurement to understand potential career options.
  • Juniors should learn about the process of applying to graduate school.
  • Seniors learn about the components of a benefits package and what can be negotiated.

Different than other sections of The Road, you are encouraged to learn this information in a variety of ways. Your chapter may organize a program for the members, you can attend a session on this topic on your campus, you learn about this topic through another program your chapter participates in or you take the initiative to learn about it through a course or online learning. The goal is for chapters to organize five-member education programs a year, but to focus on participating in programs on campus or using creative ways to educate your members.