2019/2020 Colonies/Expansions/Charters/Closures

[Polyglot]

Delta Delta Delta announced the suspension of its Phi Rho chapter at the University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA) effective April 30, 2019.

The suspension is for a minimum of four years, and was due to "several years of declining membership numbers, which has led to an inability to sustain chapter operations,” according to the national's press release. Actives who were not graduating have been converted to unaffiliated college members.

“Tri Delta has enjoyed 60 years as a part of the Pacific community. We are working with our loyal alumnae and the university to ensure a successful return to full operations at Pacific so that future generations of Tri Deltas may engage in our sisterhood, dedicated to helping women live, learn and lead – with Purpose – for a lifetime.” -- President Kimberlee Di Fede Sullivan.

Phi Rho was established in 1959. Gamma Theta (UC Santa Barbara), established in 1987, was suspended this month -- it had been announced late last year, also for a minimum of four years, and for the same reason. Likewise Theta Pi (UCLA), established in the 1950s, suspended in 2017, and Epsilon Epsilon (California Polytechnic at San Luis Obispo), which had a very short run, established in 2005 and inactive since 2011.

It is to be hoped that after the equivalent of wandering for forty years in the wilderness, or in this case for four years each, enough for an entire generation of undergraduates to enter graduate and leave, the UCLA, UCSB, and UoP chapters will be reactivated, because they were all victims of the reputational/ranking death-spiral, didn't do anything wrong, and closed down on good terms with their respective university administrations--may Cal Poly SLO make a comeback someday as well.

Why this has been going on in California lately is a subject to ponder (during spare time!). Cal Poly, not a huge campus, still manages to support 11 NPC chapters. Mighty UCLA has 13, and UCSB (sand in their shoes, sunlight in their hair, life's a beach) has 8. Little University of the Pacific in the perma-struggling city of Stockton still has 3. So it's not like no women are interested in Greek life. But these four Cali chapters all bit the dust, alas, for now.