It was a tremendous honor and privilege to serve as President of DKE this past semester, and I very much look forward to another successful semester ahead of us in the fall of 2026. The spring 2026 semester was a truly special time for our fraternity. Despite facing highs and lows — some in and some out of our control — we overcame them all, while continuing to enhance and deepen our brotherhood and friendships. I am extremely excited to see what the future holds for DKE as we have successfully welcomed 28 new members into our 2026 pledge class.
This year’s successful recruitment builds upon the strong foundation established by the 2025 pledge class when we initiated 25 new brothers into Delta Kappa Epsilon. This group has already made an extremely meaningful impact on the house in countless ways. This class includes athletes representing both the lacrosse and squash teams, transfer students who have integrated seamlessly into their respective leadership positions within the fraternity, and some of the most impressive, honorable, and likeable young men I have had the privilege of meeting during my time here on Grounds.
Throughout the spring semester, we continued to excel academically, athletically, and socially. In addition to the significant contributions our members made to the varsity lacrosse and squash teams, our philanthropic events at the ETA house remain defining moments of the year. We partnered with the Will Barrow Memorial for Will Barrow (Col class of ’08) last fall, and “DKE Beach” continues to be a crowd favorite for the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation.
Above all else, we are fortunate to share this experience together as members of this house and continue thriving within the broader University community. I look forward to a strong conclusion to 2026 and remain extremely grateful for the continued support and engagement from our alumni.
Sincerely,
James Shepard (Com class of ’27)