Near the beginning of his years at Kenyon, Radclyffe “Rad” Savage ’19 found a place to belong in Delta Tau Delta.
“I first met the Delts at a division party in Leonard my freshman year,” he said. “After getting to know a few of the actives over several instances in this setting, and also outside of Leonard, I realized that Delts were active in different student organizations, knew how to have a good time, and cared deeply about academics and active class participation. I knew that I wanted to be a part of this organization.”
Rad’s shared sense of values attracted him to Delt but also fueled his desire to support the chapter as an alumnus. “I’ve always felt the need to give back to Delts through donations, but now, more than ever, I believe it’s important to take an active role within the Chi Chapter Alumni Association.
“As an active, I knew our alumni existed as an invaluable resource for networking and fostering connections. As an alumnus, I want to help support the chapter to ensure they know that we’re here as a resource, and also to ensure our alumni organization can provide the aid necessary to keep the lodge in good shape so that current and future actives, as well as returning alumni, can enjoy it.”
Rad took on fundraising responsibilities with the alumni association. “My current role involves fundraising alongside Josh Wolfson ’15,” he said. “This will be done with assistance from Elevate, the agency who handles the Chapter’s alumni correspondence. Be on the lookout for a letter campaign in the fall of this year and in the spring of 2027.
“The lodge needs serious maintenance to ensure that it continues to be a place where actives want to gather. The actives are managing a few of these issues, but we need more alumni engagement to assist them,” Rad said. “We’ll be looking to raise money, hopefully associated with a campaign honoring longtime chapter advisor Dr. Robert Burns, who passed away several years ago. Also, we’re five years away from the 150th anniversary of the founding of Chi Chapter on campus.”
In addition to the significant anniversary on the horizon, chapter health was another reason Rad encouraged alumni to reengage.
“The chapter has grown significantly since I was an active seven years ago. Faisal Syed ’XX, the current president, mentioned to several alumni that the chapter has grown to 52 actives, compared to around 30 when I graduated. With this many members in the fraternity, maintaining an active alumni base to support the Chi actives feels more important than ever.
“My hope for the future is open communication between the alumni base and the current undergraduate actives that goes beyond the Byron J. Horn ’XX Memorial Panel,” said Rad. “I want there to be more alumni involvement, whether it’s through giving time or resources, and also more updates from the undergraduates on the state of the chapter, social events, rush week updates, etc., that help foster a connection to an organization that we hold dear.”