For Brother Jay Ihlenfeld, Purdue ’74, he leads by developing others to lead. As senior vice president, Asia Pacific for 3M, he was responsible for shaping fourteen 3M subsidiaries into high-performing cross-cultural teams. It is no surprise, then, that when Jay was invited to support the Phi Delta Theta Foundation’s Building on the Bond Campaign, he chose to direct his giving toward leadership development through online education.

Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld committed $500,000 to establish the Ihlenfeld University of Online Education. The online university connects Phis across North America as they learn how to lead their chapters and create a community of leaders. Since their gift was made in 2014, the number of Phis who have completed online topical training has increased dramatically.

Phi Delta Theta realizes that education does not only occur in the classroom or at in-person conferences. With this in mind, the Ihlenfeld University for Online Education (PDT U), the Fraternity’s online education platform was developed. Whether it’s completing the Credly-certified Professional Greatness and Personal Greatness badges, Chapter Advisory Board Certification, Phikeia education modules, Chapter Officer Certification, virtual leadership conferences, or on-demand presentations that cover a wide variety of topics, the Fraternity’s goal is to use technology to further educate its membership.