Chapter History
Phi Gamma Delta was invited to expand to the University of Alberta by the Inter Fraternity Council (IFC) in the spring of 1968. Colonization took place in the fall of 1968 with the field secretary, Charles Graham, in charge of development.
The founding colony members met with out FIJI’s who resided in the Edmonton area. Stu St. Clair, Dr. C. Brian Williams, and John Granville all were initiated members from other chapters. Dr. Williams served as their first purple legionnaire and was a professor of Business at the University of Alberta until 1992.
Several colony members rented an apartment in the Avord Arms Building downtown. Meetings were held both there and in the home of Dr. Williams. In the second year, the colony met at the Algonquin Apartment Building which was then across the street from the Law centre. In the spring of 1970, a decision was made to petition the Fraternity at its Ekklesia in Cleveland, Ohio. A rift then occurred within the members of the colony. Ten men decided that they did not want to remain in the chapter. Apparently the international flavor of the Fraternity was not in their liking.
Twelve men were left to forge ahead and petition to charter. Subsequently, the Ekklesia granted the charter to the colony on October 24, 1970, giving birth to the Epsilon Alpha chapter of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. The founding members were:
|
Randall Atkinson |
Brian Gibson |
Art McIntyre |
Ron Pawluk |
|
Roland Cook |
Rob Graesser |
Dan McIntyre |
Duane Schlereth |
|
John Edwards |
Jim Gould |
Cam Murray |
Archie Zariski |
These brothers were dedicated to making our chapter maintain high scholarship and community involvement. Following the chartering of the chapter, development included a graduate relations program and a chapter newsletter, “The North Star FIJI”. To commemorate the charter, the Norris Pig Dinner is held every year on the Saturday closest to the date of installation.
In January of 1971, the chapter managed to secure our first house, located at 11027 - 88 Ave. This house was used until the summer of 1974 at which time the chapter moved to a house at 11033 - 90 Ave. It was a much larger house which could house ten people. Chapter housing greatly improved the Fraternity’s Unity and became a focal point for social functions.
Our chapter grew slowly at first. The early 1980’s marked an era of substantial growth; with continued and increasing graduate support. In 1982 we broke the century mark by initiating our 100th brother. As more men graduated, the strength of the graduate organization grew as well. In the fall of 1982, the Graduate Chapter formed under the leadership of David Hancock into the Alberta FIJI Society (AFS). In 2005, AFS was divided to reflect the growing graduate base of the Upsilon Chi Chapter in Calgary. Our new graduate chapter is now designated the Epsilon Alpha Fiji Society (EAFS), with the current president Chris Tang.
In the fall of 1984, chapter grads led by Cam Murray, Rollie Cook, Dave Hancock, Mike Ford, Chuck Newhouse, and Archie Zariski began planning for a new house. Initially they were met with hostility from the University Administration, but FIJI persistence wore them down. The grads and undergrads raised about $45,000 for the project with the province matching the funds raised by the chapter. The University investd about $75,000 for the cost of renovating the old part of the house. In total, the project cost about $165,000. The net result of the investment, is the house that stands at 11009 - 89 Ave.
Various plans for the future of The House have been discussed. The attic was developed into a library in 1994. In addition, dropping the old basement to the level of the new basement has been proposed. Finally, in 1995 Housing Corporation succeeded in buying a house just off campus. Now, in 2007, we own two houses on 88th Ave in addition to “Fiji 1,” our chapter house.
Epsilon Alpha is the most northerly chapter in Phi Gamma Delta, hence our nickname “The North Star of FIJI”.
In recent years, Epsilon Alpha has become one of the strongest chapters in FIJI. In 1995 and again in 1996, we won the Baker Cup for our social service work. In 2001-2002 we were the runner up for the Condon Cup. On our campus we are the largest chapters and have received countless awards each year. (B conference campus recreation 2001-2002, 2004-2005; Fraternity of the Year 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004; IFC Philanthropy Award 2002-2003, 2003-2004; IFC Interfraternal Award 2002-2003, 2003-2004; and the IFC Interfratneral and Philanthropic Award 2006-2007.) As the Epsilon Alpha chapter of Phi Gamma Delta looks towards the future, we continue to set the standard of excellence for the Greek community.
