Delta Sigma Pi welcomes Brad D. Smith as new member

March 4, 2026 The Parthenon

Delta Sigma Pi, the largest professional business fraternity in the world with more than 300,000 members globally, welcomed a special new initiate March 2. In a ceremony held inside the very building that bears his name, Marshall University President Brad D. Smith was inducted as an honorary member of the fraternity.

Despite the steady rain outside, a large crowd gathered inside the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation to witness the occasion. Members of Marshall’s Delta Sigma Pi chapter assembled in the Encova Auditorium for a private induction ceremony reserved for fraternity members at 4 p.m. Shortly afterward, the public joined a reception in the lobby, where Smith addressed attendees moments after becoming an official member.

“Today, I stand before you, not as a president of Marshall, [but] as a brother. You humbled me by including me in this group. I am a boy who was raised by ordinary hands and has [had] the chance to be part of extraordinary circumstances, and now I’m going to do the same thing with you and for you,” Smith said to the crowd.

Marshall’s Delta Sigma Pi chapter, founded in 2002, has initiated more than 250 members and earned nine national chapter recognitions. The co-educational fraternity is built on professional development and ethical leadership. According to its national mission, it is a “professional fraternity organized to foster the study of business in universities; to encourage scholarship, social activity and the association of students for their mutual advancement by research to practice; to promote closer affiliation between the commercial world and students of commerce and to further a higher standard of commercial ethics and culture and the civic and commercial welfare of the community.”

Smith joins a distinguished network of business leaders who have been inducted into Delta Sigma Pi, including Daniel Mandoli, executive of Transformational Healthcare; Alba Castillo Baylin, the vice president of The Coca-Cola Company; and Maxine Clark, the CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshops.

In his remarks, Smith reflected on leadership lessons that have guided his career.

“Over the years, I’ve talked about the 5 P’s, or principles, of leadership that I learned from some of the greatest that I had the chance to work with. They are potential, purpose, people, playbook and paying forward … A leader’s job is not the greatness of thinking. God already took care of that. Our jobs create an environment that greatness can emerge,” Smith said.

His speech centered on themes of hard work, intentional mentorship and protecting untapped potential. Attendees filled the lobby space, listening closely before the reception began.

“Your legacy won’t be your resume; it’ll be the lines of impact and shape for the better,” Smith said.

For members of the fraternity, the induction represented more than a ceremonial milestone. Glen Midkiff,  Delta Sigma Pi member and Marshall’s chief of staff of Academic Affairs, described the organization as transformative for students seeking careers in business.

“We graduate businessmen and women. We have over 207 graduates who have gone on to the workforce, not only in West Virginia, but around the country, that are doing phenomenal, that are CEOs, that are leading their companies in all different areas – marketing, accounting, finance, international business – and so it’s a great opportunity for our students to advance in their careers.”

Midkiff emphasized the fraternity’s broader mission of shaping principled leaders.

“That’s the goal of Delta Sig, is that we graduate great citizens that are focused on service, leadership and helping others,” Midkiff said.

The evening concluded with light refreshments sponsored by the Lewis College of Business Executive Advisory Board as well as conversation among faculty, students and guests, many of whom traveled from out of town for the event.

“This is a celebration for us because I think this is the first time this is happening here. We have our president being inducted and being initiated into Delta Sigma Pi, which is amazing, in a building with his name, which is even more amazing. This is really a unique event. It’s so awesome to be a part of it,” Midkiff said.

As conversations echoed through the lobby of the business school that carries his name, Smith stood not just as a university president, but as a newly initiated brother in an organization built on purpose and professional growth.

In a building dedicated to innovation and opportunity, the ceremony marked more than an induction- it reflected the kind of legacy Smith himself described: not a line on a resume, but a lasting impact.