{"id":961,"date":"2026-08-27T12:57:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/?p=961"},"modified":"2026-08-27T12:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:57:57","slug":"2026-recruitment-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/2026\/08\/2026-recruitment-update\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Recruitment Update"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-962\" src=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-F-Delta-Growth-300x202.webp\" alt=\"Graph showing Delta&apos;s growth over the past few years grow fourfold\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-F-Delta-Growth-300x202.webp 300w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-F-Delta-Growth-1024x689.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-F-Delta-Growth-768x516.webp 768w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-F-Delta-Growth-1536x1033.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-F-Delta-Growth.webp 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Last December, we previewed the plan. Here\u2019s the result: 19 new brothers in the Beta Iota pledge class, bringing the chapter from 29 to 48, the second consecutive year of effectively doubling in size.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty bids went out on bid day. Twenty were accepted. That number is the headline, but it\u2019s not the most interesting part of the year.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more telling is who Beta Iota is. We were deliberate <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-963\" src=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-J-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-300x245.webp\" alt=\"Group photo of newest pledge class, beta iota\" width=\"300\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-J-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-300x245.webp 300w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-J-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-1024x837.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-J-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-768x628.webp 768w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-J-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class.webp 1334w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>about recruiting across types: athletes, engineers, musicians, orientation leaders, weightlifters, and a couple of guys who don\u2019t fit a single category. Too many fraternities at UVA carry a fixed reputation; we\u2019re building one that doesn\u2019t. The class went on to post a 3.6 GPA average during pledging (higher than the chapter average), and several of them organized study groups that pulled multiple 100% exam scores across the semester. They\u2019re already running for committee seats and shaping where the chapter goes next.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-966\" src=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-K-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-DC-Field-Trip-300x223.webp\" alt=\"Beta Iota pledge class at the Lincoln Memorial\" width=\"300\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-K-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-DC-Field-Trip-300x223.webp 300w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-K-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-DC-Field-Trip-1024x760.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-K-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-DC-Field-Trip-768x570.webp 768w, https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/files\/Image-K-Beta-Iota-Pledge-Class-DC-Field-Trip.webp 1248w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Two factors carried us this year. The first was the house. Walking PNMs through a renovated, professional 125 Chancellor was a recruiting tool we didn\u2019t have two years ago, and several new members cited it directly when accepting bids. The second was the alumni speeches at the third-round dinner. Five Delta alumni traveled in to address PNMs over a plated meal, and the feedback from new members afterward was specific and unprompted. The voice of an alumnus carries weight that a 21-year-old recruitment chair cannot replicate. Thank you to the five of you who showed up.<\/p>\n<p>Planning for the class of 2030 is already underway. Active brothers and rush chairs are working summer leads now. If you know a UVA first-year who would be a good fit for AT\u03a9, please contact our rush chairs <strong>Richard Perry (<abbr title=\"College of Arts &amp; Sciences\">Col<\/abbr> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">class of <\/span>\u201929)<\/strong> at <a href=\"mailto:richardperry20062006@gmail.com\">richardperry20062006@gmail.com<\/a> and <strong>Oliver Hayden (<abbr title=\"McIntire School of Commerce\">Com<\/abbr> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">class of <\/span>\u201929)<\/strong> at <a href=\"mailto:oferd37@gmail.com\">oferd37@gmail.com<\/a>. A name and a phone number are enough.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tucker Meeks (<abbr title=\"School of Engineering and Applied Science\">Engr<\/abbr> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">class of <\/span>\u201927)<\/strong><br \/>\nWorthy Master<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last December, we previewed the plan. Here\u2019s the result: 19 new brothers in the Beta Iota pledge class, bringing the chapter from 29 to 48, the second consecutive year of effectively doubling in size. Twenty bids went out on bid day. Twenty were accepted. That number is the headline, but it\u2019s not the most interesting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-delta-dispatch"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2026 Recruitment Update - Alpha Tau Omega | Delta Chapter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aig.uvaalumni.org\/ato\/2026\/08\/2026-recruitment-update\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kiki McLaughlin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-recruitment-update\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-recruitment-update\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kiki McLaughlin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/56e4d4887754d111218b120270d4033e\"},\"headline\":\"2026 Recruitment Update\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T16:57:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-recruitment-update\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":316,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-recruitment-update\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/files\\\/Image-F-Delta-Growth-300x202.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Delta Dispatch\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-recruitment-update\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aig.uvaalumni.org\\\/ato\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026-recruitment-update\\\/\",\"name\":\"2026 Recruitment Update - 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