members celebrating the founding of Phi Delta Theta.
The Wichita State chapter of Phi Delta Theta held its annual Founders Day Dinner on April 26 in Wichita. The event brought together fraternity members from across the country to celebrate the founding of the fraternity, nationally as well as on the WSU campus.
This year's event honored Gino Paluzzi '62, the first person to sign the charter at WSU, and his pledge brother, noted television writer and producer Dean Hargrove '60, who were both instrumental in establishing the Phi Delta Theta chapter on campus.
The WSU fraternity was originally founded as Phi Upsilon Sigma in 1927. In 1959, the house voted to become a chapter of the national Phi Delta Theta organization.
The challenge for Paluzzi, Hargrove and others was daunting. First, they had to meet all the requirements of the national organization. Second, and probably more challenging, they needed the support of the three other Phi Delta Theta chapters in Kansas, at KU, Washburn and KSU. They accomplished this, and today the house is one of the most successful in the nation. To date, more than 1,000 WSU students have become brothers in Phi Delta Theta.
More than 200 alumni, students and guests gathered to honor the members who did so much to establish the house. Emcee Dick Honeyman '61 introduced honorees and officials of the fraternity, while student members of the house enjoyed meeting alumni brothers, many of whom have had highly successful careers.
