Delta Kappa Epsilon returned to OU for the 2025-26 academic year, over 50 years after the fraternity left campus.
DKE, a fraternity whose alums include six presidents, four vice presidents, over 50 U.S. senators and over 140 House representatives, closed its OU chapter over winter break of the 1973-74 school year during the Vietnam War, according to Ron Sorter, chairman of OU DKE Alumni Communications.
“It was a period of time when fraternities and that sort of thing just weren't cool,” Sorter said. “We also didn’t have as many active alumni in Oklahoma. Most of our people were alumni who were out of state, and that didn’t help us.”
Dennis Clowers, DKE Rho Lambda chapter alumni board member, said the path toward reinstatement began in 2013 when about 10 alumni organized a homecoming reunion that soon drew 30 to 50 members from across the country each year.
“About five or six years ago, we started kicking around the idea of, ‘Why don’t we try to do what we can to bring our chapter back on campus at OU?’” Clowers said.
While the fraternity does not have a house, Kesha Keith, Student Affairs chief strategy officer, wrote in an email to OU Daily on Wednesday evening that housing discussions are still in early stages.
“While many fraternities and sororities on campus have physical facilities, some recognized organizations meet all university requirements and actively contribute to campus life without one,” Keith wrote. “DKE was formally recognized as a full member of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) in Fall 2025.”
Sorter said he hopes to see more students join the fraternity and see its legacy continue at OU.
“It's a great way to find friends for a lifetime, especially when you show up at college and you don't know anyone,” Sorter said. “It's a place to find people who you can grow with and think with”
Carter Clifton, a history first-year and a leading member of the newly-instated chapter, said he was first introduced to DKE during recruitment week at an OU Interfraternity Council meeting.
Clifton said his interest in the fraternity grew during rush week, when he visited fraternities without houses, such as Alpha Sigma Phi, Delta Sigma Phi and Delta Kappa Epsilon.
“That whole connection network really drew me in,” Clifton said.
Keyln Grindstaff, a petroleum engineering freshman and DKE leading member, said that after coming to OU from being a combat veteran in the U.S. Navy, he hopes to attract leaders and hard workers into the fraternity.
“I decided that I wanted to use my leadership skills to start something,” Grindstaff said. “I personally want leaders. I want people (like that) in the classroom, whenever they're in a group discussion, they're the ones leading the group.”
As the new chapter begins to take shape, Grindstaff said the fraternity wants to create its own identity while honoring its traditions.
“The atmosphere for the fraternity has already been set,” Grindstaff said. “You just join the one that you feel like fits you. Ours is unique because we get to set that.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza, Thomas Pablo and Natalie Armour. Chelsea Low, Gretchen Schultz and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
