Winter 2026 Delta Upsilon Quarterly

Colgate Chapter brothers returned to campus in fall 2025 to a newly renovated chapter house. Its renovation is the first in a series of renovations to fraternity/sorority spaces as part of Colgate University’s Third-Century Plan.

Colgate University, which was founded in 1819, launched the Third-Century Plan in 2019 as an initiative to preserve and grow the university as it moved into its third century of existence. This comprehensive plan includes goals for academic success, as well as the campus’s physical environment. This includes the removal of aging spaces for safer facilities, the revitalization of historic Broad Street housing (which includes several fraternities and sororities) and the creation of new natural corridors to tie the campus together.

The Delta Upsilon house at 66 Broad Street was built in 1930 after a fire destroyed the original property in 1928. DU alumni owned the property until the mid-2000s when the university began purchasing all fraternity/sorority houses on campus. As part of the Third-Century plan, the DU house became the first fraternal property to be updated when construction began in summer 2024.

As part of the renovation, the exterior of the chapter house remained while the interior was reconfigured and expanded. An addition to the house provided space for a new commercial kitchen on the first floor, as well as four additional rooms on the second and third floor to replace sleeping rooms that had been in the basement. Renovations also included a new dining room, living room, library and chapter room. All furniture was also replaced.

Because the house is owned by the university, renovations include some more “residential life” features versus traditional fraternity house features. For example, living and social quarters were separated and require campus ID keycard access. DU member residents are given access to living spaces, while non-residents have access to social spaces, including the use of a new non-resident entrance to the house.

Across the Colgate campus community, there have been mixed opinions among alumni and students on the Third-Century Plan’s renovations. Many dislike the idea of the houses becoming more mixed-use spaces and losing some distinct fraternity/sorority touches. While Delta Upsilon undergraduates and alumni were not generally consulted regarding plans for the renovations, alumni were able to successfully lobby for specific furniture design and even for some composites and fraternity paintings to be added back into the facility. Much of the DU-centered touches were funded by alumni, not the university. This includes the digitization of past chapter composites that can now be displayed on an Apple TV in the house’s library.

As the first fraternity to complete its renovation, DU alumni hope that Delta Upsilon’s experience will help the other fraternal groups in line.

“I hope a lot of the battles we had to fight, and educate Res Life on, will help the other houses as they undergo renovation,” said Tom Dempsey, Colgate ’72.

“I think the school has learned for future renovations on how to make the houses more functional for everyday life and also for social scenes,” added Chapter President Patrick Cramer, Colgate ’27. “On top of that, I think they have a better understanding on how to make the house a home for us instead of just a building where we live.”

Despite the challenges, the chapter is happy to be back into the house after a year away due to the construction. Modern features and increased space have been a bonus for the chapter members who are ready to move forward in the updated space.

“I think the new house will impact our social scene and recruitment as a chapter the most,” Cramer said. “People want to live in the nicest and best house on campus, and that will get more involvement from potential future brothers.”

Photos from Colgate Magazine