 Phi Delta Alpha ( " Phi Delt " ) was founded in 1884 as the New Hampshire Alpha chapter of Phi Delta Theta , a national fraternity . Early meetings of the fraternity were held in the Tontine Building on Main Street . The meeting location moved to the Currier Building in 1887 when the Tontine Building burned down . Phi Delta Theta began construction on a new house in 1898 , and the building was completed in 1902 , designed by Charles Rich of Lamb & Rich . In January 1960 , the Dartmouth chapter broke away from the national because the national would not allow minorities to pledge the house . The new , local fraternity replaced the last letter in its name with Alpha . In March 2000 , the fraternity was derecognized by the college . One of the primary reasons for the punishment was that four members of Phi Delta Alpha started a fire in the Chi Gamma Epsilon basement next door . Rig . Under the leadership of Gig Faux , class of 1984 , Phi Delta Alpha applied to the college for <unk> in fall 2002 . The first rush class was formed in the winter of 2003 . Current General Electric Chief Executive Officer , Jeffrey <unk> , class of 1978 , is a former president of Phi Delta Alpha . Other influential alumni include current Dartmouth trustees R. Bradford Evans ' 64 and William W. Helman IV ' 80 , former Dartmouth trustee Peter Fahey ' 68 , billionaire oilman Trevor Rees @-@ Jones ' 74 , and Pulitzer winners Nigel Jaquiss ' 84 and Joseph <unk> ' 05 . In January 2010 , a fire damaged the fraternity 's physical plant . No one was harmed , but the house was closed for renovations until June 2010 . 
