These days it might be best known for Star & Crescent’s stellar lunch and dinner options, but Alpha Delta Phi (Alpha Delt) is committed to contributing to much more than the nutrition of the Wesleyan community. Sustaining the minds of the student body comes first with the Alpha Delt Society.

Founded in 1856 as the 18th chapter of Alpha Delta Phi, the society has a long history of public sponsorship of educational activities at Wesleyan University, mainly by means of the Adelphic Educational Fund (AEF). The AEF was established in 1944 by two alumni of the Middletown chapter of Alpha Delt and Wesleyan University. Since then the AEF has served to develop the intellectual and social life of Wesleyan.

AEF has a rich history and a promising future at Wesleyan, looking to fund future educational events as well as actively contributing to the diversity of the Wesleyan student body through the annual AEF Student Grant Program. In the “Introduction” to the Grant-Aid application, the form states that grants are to be given as financial assistance to those students and student groups that contribute to “extracurricular activities…service, [and] leadership.” Grant recipients may be selected from within the Middletown Chapter of Alpha Delt and the Wesleyan community. Several select Alpha Delta Phi alumni oversee this review process, along with Jordan Gratch ’13.

According to Gratch, who has been a member of the society since his spring freshman semester at Wesleyan, any individual or group can apply for sponsorship, but many members also recommend events or applicants to be reviewed for funding. Gratch helps to make sure that the events being sponsored by AEF follow certain guidelines.

There are certain restrictions on the funds because the AEF is a non-profit. Gratch explained that all sponsored events must be free and educational, not just social. As stated by founder Samuel Eells, “[Alpha Delt is] looking to develop [the] whole being…moral, social, and intellectual.”

AEF has and continues to sponsor many event series at Wesleyan, including but not limited to the Film Series, poetry and literature events, and coffee house events. In 2010, AEF brought Harry and the Potters to Wesleyan for a free concert and lecture in the same year. AEF also funded a lecture by Dan Choi, a former American military officer who is now an influential and inspiring LGBTQ activist. Last spring the AEF is said to have sponsored many Wesleyan literary publications that would have suffered without funding.

Now, Alpha Delt members are looking to the future.

“I’ve been in contact with several student group leaders to help fund and sponsor a couple of events this coming year,” Gratch said. “We’ve been trying to get a speaker to come for the international relations conference. Also, hopefully we’ll be bringing DJ Bastille to Wes for a combined lecture and concert event.”

The AEF is a useful, if little known, resource for students and student groups looking for sponsorship in the Wesleyan community. AEF acts as an unsung hero in the academic and social world of Wesleyan; it remains fully supportive of any and all alternative educational opportunities. There are many things to look forward to throughout the year as far as free, fun, educational events. Be sure to keep all eyes and ears open for more information and more events as student groups hit the ground running with the help of AEF.