Delta Sigma Pi's commitment to diversity is reflected in all levels of the organization. From national leadership to individual chapters, our collegiate members and alumni come from all different regions, backgrounds, and walks of life, and we celebrate the different viewpoints and insights our co-ed professional fraternity offers. Diversity is one more reason you'll be proud to be a Deltasig.
A Founding Ideal
Our founders formed Delta Sigma Pi intending to create a brotherhood as diverse as the business world the Fraternity would represent. At the time—more than one hundred years ago—other organizations actively discouraged diversity and operated on policies of exclusion. From the beginning, Delta Sigma Pi stood for something different. Our members have always valued the insight and ideas we gain from our brotherhood, and this founding ideal continues to play a major part in
Delta Sigma Pi's values and mission. The
Delta Sigma Pi Leadership Foundation supports our mission through their financial assistance to our national events and scholarships, open to all members.
America’s First Co-Ed Professional Business Fraternity
In 1975, Delta Sigma Pi became the first co-ed professional business fraternity in the United States. Our historical commitment to diversity made the movement toward gender equality in the business world a natural step for our organization, and we take our position of leadership seriously.
Diversity in Action
Our commitment to diversity is not merely a historical artifact—it's a living part of our organization. We welcome members who meet our professional standards regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status. Each of our members is valued and respected for the unique contribution he or she makes to the organization.
Our legacy of diversity makes us better business leaders and more compassionate members of society—it's one more reason our members are "proud to be a Deltasig."
Organizational Development
- Created a DEI Task Force, currently chaired by Andrew Bare, Indiana-Purdue at Indianapolis, to continue conversations and to provide recommendations to the Board.
- Appointment of Senior Consultant for Chapter Development Jasmin Flores as CO staff lead on DEI issues.
- Collected feedback from brothers on their thoughts, goals and concerns around DEI. We have discussed this feedback with a number of "diversity experts" to help us shape Fraternity goals.
- Earmarking member education dollars in the Fraternity budget for diversity training for staff and development of training for volunteers and chapters.
- Creation of the DEI Education Fund by the Leadership Foundation to provide funding for DEI education and training.
- Partnering with the Professional Fraternity Association (led by the business fraternities) on a multi-year effort that includes extensive analysis and training at staff, leader and chapter levels. A new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training that was created as part of this effort was launched in October 2021.
- Being mindful of and expanding DEI considerations in ongoing communications.
- In addition to ongoing discussions among our staff and Fraternity and Foundation boards, the Board of Directors has discussed DEI initiatives and will meet to discuss updates to our strategic priorities and accountability metrics with DEI a key component of the planned discussion. Part of that discussion is increasing diversity amongst elected leadership.
- Updated the online recruit profile to ask for pronoun (he/him, she/her, they/them, prefer not to answer) instead of gender. This change shows Delta Sigma Pi is more inclusive to students considering joining the organization and serves as a first step towards improvement, as the DEI task force prepares additional future recommendations.
Member Development
- Added a diversity and inclusion training event and action plan under the Accredited CMP Tier.
- The Chapter Services Team has adjusted their support conversations to reflect the Fraternity's commitment to DEI and has also worked with chapters to encourage positive and effective DEI training for chapters.
- Added a Chapter Diversity Assessment as a required item under the Chapter of Recognition CMP Tier (Tier II). This new requirement encourages chapter members to complete the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training.
- Hosted two new DEI sessions at our fall 2020 virtual LEAD, both designed and led by Deltasigs who are DEI experts. (LEAD registrants can view videos of the presentations.)
- Created a 2023 Social Media Content Calendar to assist chapters in social media management and content creation.
Leadership and Staff Development
- Addition of DEI module to Tier 1 of Certified Deltasig Leader (CDL) training. The new module is currently in development.
- Staff-wide and elected leader DEI training. The Central Office staff participated in a half day training session focused on unconscious bias and awareness, led by Miami University and Regional Director of Diversity & Multicultural Services and the Deputy Title IX Coordinator.
Watch the video below to hear from 2018 Deltasig Career Achievement Award recipient and President and CEO of Destination DC Elliott Ferguson talk about the hospitality industry during the COVID pandemic, diversity, equity and inclusion, and the importance of staying involved and building relationships.