From 1848 until 1921, operations of the Fraternity existed only through the General Council and various other volunteers working around the continent. The General Council managed the Fraternity for nearly seventy-five years with no main headquarters.

As early as 1915, it was clear that Phi Delta Theta’s continued growth and progress would soon require a central organization that would direct the Fraternity’s development.

From Six at First describes the central office, “The Atlanta Convention, in 1920, made provision for a proper office. Opened October 4, 1921, in the Peoples Bank Building on East Market Street in Indianapolis, it contained a friendly reception room, a workroom, and a comfortable corner office for the secretary. In 1926, the General Council voted to move the central office back to Miami University and Oxford, Ohio. In 1927, a bronze plate designating the ‘General Headquarters of Phi Delta Theta’ was placed over the doorway of a hundred-year-old mansion of 208 East High Street.”

Twenty-one years later, the Fraternity moved across the street to 2 South Campus Avenue. At the centennial convention, the General Council, Paul Beam, Robert J. Miller, and Lovell Elliot laid the cornerstone of the new General Headquarters.

With the foundation of a centralized office, the staff became the robust support
structure of Phi Delta Theta and are the primary mechanism to accomplish the Fraternity’s initiatives.

By our records, more than 250 staff members have served in various roles through the last one hundred years.

The current GHQ staff indicates the broad scope of duties the modern general fraternity workforce performs. There are executive vice presidents, senior vice presidents, and directors. Included are the roles of accounts payable and receivable, a social media coordinator, a graphic designer, an editor, and several writers. A dedicated mail manager distributes important mail and makes sure it goes out as efficiently.

A sophisticated and expert Foundation staff (created in the 1950s) raises money to complement the income from membership dues, all combined to provide scholarships, educational initiatives, and run the greater Fraternity business. Finally, an events coordinator manages the plethora of events hosted by the Fraternity.

For the day-to-day operations of the 190 plus Phi Delt chapters and emerging chapters around the US and Canada, a staff member supports member development and growth through chapter support coordinators, directors of chapter and volunteer support, education, and growth who manages dedicated recruitment specialists.

Read the commemorative article from the Winter 2022 edition of The Scroll.