Every year at Yale University during the 1840's, certain members of the sophomore class were elected to two junior societies, Alpha Delta Phi and Psi Upsilon. In the spring of 1844, due to undergraduate politics and a division in the sophomore class, a number of men of high character and scholastic attainment did not receive bids from the two societies. So unfair, in fact, were the selections that some men who did receive bids promptly rejected them.

On Saturday, June 22, 1844, fifteen Yale sophomores, rejecting the status quo, met and formed a new junior society they called Delta Kappa Epsilon. Very quickly DKE became more than just another junior society. Its predecessors' criterion of academic distinction, while still highly respected, was expanded to include the qualities of good fellowship and compatible tastes and interests and thus attracted a wider range of prospective members. More fraternal than its rival societies, DKE proceeded to recruit men who combine "in equal proportions the gentleman, the scholar, and the jolly good fellow" -- criteria that have remained unchanged to this day.

DKE started its first west coast chapter at UC Berkeley in 1876. The Theta Rho chapter was founded at UCLA in 1932. One of the original founding fathers, Doug Laidlaw, is still an active supporter of our chapter. Another famous Alumni that we boast of is current Senator of Alaska and Senate Pro tempore, Ted Stevens.

Theta Rho experienced a revival in the 90s and was reestablished the fall of 2004. In the year since its conception, Theta Rho has made significant impacts on campus leadership and politics. Members have helped lead the On Campus Housing Council (OCHC), the Inter-fraternity Council (IFC), and currently hold a seat on the Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC) and a seat on on the ASUCLA (Associated Students UCLA) Board of Directors. Despite being young, DKE Theta Rho has already gained the respect of IFC and the Pan-Hellenic Council and established itself as an ambitious yet respectable fraternity.

We are proud of our fraternity and the more than 70,000 men who have become our brothers since DKE was founded in 1844. Dekes come from every walk of life. Many have gone on to distinguish themselves in politics, the arts, sciences, sports, education, and the humanities. Five U.S. Presidents have been Dekes, which is more than any other fraternity. The first man to reach the North Pole was a Deke, and a Deke has carried our flag to the moon. In every corner of the world you will meet fellow Dekes, but whatever their background or station in life, all are united by the shared experience of the DKE brotherhood.