University of Rochester Delta Psi (Iota Chapter) papers

Delta Psi, a national literary society, was one of the original fraternities of the University of Rochester. Founded at Columbia University in 1847, its Iota Chapter debuted at Rochester in 1851. Delta Psi was characterized by its selectivity, tight secrecy, and emphasis on strong brotherhood. Women were first accepted in 1971, although three of the ten chapters active today remain all-male.

Delta Psi is also known as Saint Anthony Hall or the Order of St. Anthony.

In 1889 the Iota Chapter erected a three-story brick house at 7 North Washington Street, a desirable residential neighborhood. In 1896, however, a resolution passed by the Grand Chapter in Philadelphia withdrew its charter on the grounds that the University of Rochester had declined in quality and was thus unsuitable for a chapter of Delta Psi. The Iota Chapter quickly responded with a petition, signed by nearly all living members in the City of Rochester, arguing that they were an active group, growing in numbers, debt-free and in solid financial condition. They had never sought assistance from the Grand Chapter or been neglectful of their obligations to their sister chapters, and nor were they aware of any misconduct on the part of the Iota Chapter as a whole or its individual members. Still, the resolution was upheld and the Iota Chapter subsequently went defunct for over a century. It was finally reestablished 2010 as a coed chapter.