Here at Ursinus, the Delta Rho chapter was founded by Al Fernandes, Joshua Rucci, Sean Conley, Jeffrey Adler, Christopher Hartl, Eli Goldstein, Andrew Petersen, Gregory Striano, Geoffrey Brace, John Mohl, and Joseph Calhoun.
What follows is a brief history of our school and how Delta Rho fits in, written by Geoffrey Brace:
Dr. Henry Augustus Bomberger was an active and producing scholar from his early days as a pastor and a leader of the “low church” party in the German Reformed Church. He founded Ursinus College in 1869 and was the first president of the college until his death in 1890. The Board of Directors of Ursinus College purchased Freeland Seminary, a preparatory school located in what is now known as Collegeville, in 1869. Its two connecting buildings, later called Freeland and Stine Halls, and seven acres and one hundred and thirty nine perches of land were purchased for $20,000.
The founders of Ursinus College established the institution because of disagreements over matters of doctrine with the German Reformed Church at Franklin & Marshall College. Ursinus is named after Zechariah Baer (whose name was later translated to its Latin equivalent: Ursinus). Zechariah Ursinus was one of the most learned theologians and teachers of his time in the second generation of German and Swiss reformers, after Luther, Melanchton, Calvin, and Zwingli. This name was proposed by Dr. Bomberger and was intended to declare the Reformed orthodoxy of the College. The state of Pennsylvania granted the charter to Ursinus in 1869. In 1881, upon the closure of Pennsylvania Female College, a school with a program similar to that of Freeland Seminary, Ursinus College became one of the first colleges to become a co-educational institution. One of the first coeds and women graduates was Minerva Weinberg, daughter of Professor Weinberger, the first dean of the College, whom had been on staff with Freeland Seminary. From its humble beginnings in the late 19th century, Ursinus began to grow by leaps and bounds.
By the 1940’s, Ursinus College owned most of the houses on the Main Street of Collegeville and began expanding on the vast land that the college owned. There were two dormitories that were in existence on campus in the 1940’s, one male and one female. The male dorm consisted of two buildings, Brodbeck and Curtis. The female dormitory consisted of three buildings in a U-shape and was named Beardwood, Paisley, and Stauffer. Also in the 1940’s, Ursinus opened its doors to our wartime heroes who were interested in continuing their education after their time in Europe. Due to this period of time in Ursinus’ history, there is a mural to the V-40 soldiers of the United States Navy in the student center of the college.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Ursinus once again changed. The library that stands on campus now was built in the 1970’s. In addition to the library, two more dormitories were built on campus. A hall was added in between Brodbeck and Curtis that connected the two buildings, which was named Wilkinson Hall. Another men’s hall was created, different than all the others because the layout of the rooms were suites. Another academic building was built during this time, named Thomas Hall, which now houses Biology and Psychology. Ursinus did not change much until the beginning of the 1990’s when renovations on the campus began again. Pfahler Hall of Science was renovated into one of the most modern scientific buildings in the country. In addition to this, Helferrich Hall was renovated completely and a new state-of-the-art field house and weight room was constructed. Finally, under construction now is a new residence hall which will be named North Hall. North Hall will be a four-floor building that will house upperclassman students and have room for 160 beds.
Over the years Ursinus has changed drastically. One thing has not changed. Our school has a very long history of excellence in academics, leadership, and athletics. Now, the Phi Kappa Sigma Delta Rho [Chapter] can add to that long tradition of greatness.