Chapter News - Cross and Crescent

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FEATURE
San Diego’s Secret to Success
The Delta-Kappa chapter at the University of San Diego is the largest fraternity on the
campus, carries a 3.19 GPA, and earned the Dean’s Trophy four of the past nine years.
I began my search for the history of our chapter at the University of San Diego
with a conversation with George Spasyk (Michigan 1949), executive vice
president emeritus of our great Fraternity.
“I always enjoyed my travels to the city of San Diego,” he says. “It is a great city
with good atmosphere, a naval station, and the university on the hill. I always
nurtured the hope that one day we could have a chapter there. That
opportunity arose when the Plourds arrived in San Diego.”
Plourds’ Influence
The “Plourds” to whom George refers are Lewis A. Plourd (Butler 1949),
who began his post graduate association with Lambda Chi Alpha as a traveling
secretary, and two of his sons. (As an aside to this story, Lewis Plourd took
George on his first training visit to DePauw University in 1950, when George
joined the staff.) In 1964, Lewis Plourd became a member of the Grand High
Zeta, serving initially as Grand High Kappa followed by two other positions
before being elected as Grand High Alpha in 1970.
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Cross & Crescent June 2010
Jon Williamson (Maryland )
I located Stephen Plourd in San Diego. “I joined Lambda Chi Alpha at
Arizona State and transferred to the University of San Diego. I worked with
my father and brother, Chris, who was in law school at the time, to develop a
chapter. At that time there was one other fraternity on the campus. By 1977,
we had 12 to 15 men interested in starting a fraternity, so a colony was
founded. It was an excellent experience.”
Mark Cordova (1978), president of Centennial Bolt in Colorado, remembers
those early days. “I was in the first class of initiates. The chapter was installed
by the San Diego State University chapter. I had a great experience and I am
grateful to the Fraternity for being part of my formative years that led to
success. My son was initiated into Lambda Chi Alpha at Loyola Marymount
University.”
Another brother from those earliest of days is John Trifiletti (1978). “I
remember the Plourds and their efforts to found the chapter. I had the honor
of serving as the first president, and Jackson Muecke and Tom Cosgrove were
our faculty advisers. The installation dinner was held at the 94th Aero