About the Academy
The Academy is designed to give new chapter officers a strong foundation in leadership and organizational management skills so they can courageously lead their chapters.
The 2027 Academy will be held January 15-17, 2027 in St. Louis, Missouri at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton.
Registration
Each chapter is expected to send three brothers to Academy each year. We recommend Chapter Presidents and Recruitment Chairmen to attend Academy. However, there is educational programming relevant to all officers and chairmen, as well as Purple Legionnaires, Section Leaders and other graduate advisors.
The registration deadline is Tuesday, December 15 (to guarantee hotel accommodation).
Undergraduates
Every chapter is billed for THREE undergraduate delegates ($550 each for a total of $1,650) to attend the Academy. Additional delegates are encouraged to attend and will be invoiced ($550 each) to the chapter after the event.
Registration Includes:
- All conference materials.
- All meals beginning with Friday’s Opening Dinner and ending with Saturday’s Pig Dinner.
- Shared hotel accommodations (up to four undergrads from the same chapter per double-bedded room) for Friday, January 15, and Saturday, January 16. (Brothers will be required to provide a credit card to the hotel for incidental charges.)
- IHQ makes all hotel room reservations based on registration.
- If you need a room for Thursday, January 14, let us know (your chapter will be billed for extra nights: ~$128/night).
- Undergrads may request additional room(s) so a maximum of two brothers share a room. These are available on a limited (first-come, first-serve) basis. Let us know if you would like to request additional room(s), and your chapter will be billed for the added cost.
Graduates
Purple Legionnaires and Section Leaders are provided complimentary registration. Other graduate advisors/volunteers will be charged a $550 registration fee.
Registration Includes:
- All conference materials.
- All meals beginning with Friday’s Opening Dinner and ending with Saturday’s Pig Dinner.
- Shared hotel accommodations (up to two graduates per double-bedded room) for Friday, January 15, and Saturday, January 16. (Brothers will be required to provide a credit card to the hotel for incidental charges.)
- IHQ makes all hotel room reservations based on registration.
- If you need a room for Thursday, January 14, let us know.
- Grads may request a single room at their own expense (~$64/night – payable to the Union Station Hotel at checkout). (You may make this request when you register.)
Pig Dinner Only
This registration is for local brothers only attending the Pig Dinner on Saturday, January 3. The cost of registration is $115/person.
Please register at the link below:
Register Now!
Schedule
This is a tentative schedule; all times in are in Central Time (CT)
Friday, January 15, 2027
- 12:00 – 6:00 pm: Event Registration; Roster Updates
- 1:15 – 3:45 pm: Chapter Coaching for Built to Lead, Growth & Scholarship
- 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Menu Experience programs
- 4:00 – 5:00 pm: Academy Opening Session; Section Leader Symposium
- 5:00 – 6:00 pm: Vendor Gathering
- 6:30 – 8:00 pm: Opening Dinner
- 8:00 – 10:30 pm: William R. Miller Model Initiation; Provisional Chapter Education
Saturday, January 16, 2027
- 6:45 – 7:30 am: Fun Run
- 7:30 am – 6:30 pm: Event Registration
- 7:30 – 8:30 am: Breakfast
- 8:30 – 9:45 am: Keynote Speaker
- 10:00 am – 12:30 pm: Undergraduate Educational Programs; Advisor Leadership Institute (ALI) for graduate volunteers
- 12:30 – 2:00 pm: Foundation Luncheon
- 2:00 – 4:30 pm: Educational Programs, ALI continue
- 4:45 – 5:45 pm: Chapter Action Planning; Section Leader Zone Meetings
- 6:30 – 8:30 pm: Pig Dinner
- 8:30 – 11:30 pm: Game Night & T-Shirt Exchange
Sunday, January 17, 2027
- All Day: Departures
- 8:30 am – 12:00 pm: Board of Conduct Meetings (chapters will be notified)
Sessions
Friday Sessions
The Friday afternoon sessions include individualized chapter coaching (beginning at 1:15 pm) and Built to Lead’s Menu Experience Series (beginning at 2:00 pm).
If your chapter would like to participate in an individualized coaching session, the Chapter President must indicate so on their registration form.
Saturday Educational Programs
When undergraduate brothers register, they must select their top two program choices (from the options listed below). Brothers will be notified of their assigned session before the Academy.
Recommended for Recording Secretaries.
A strong chapter culture begins with having clear expectations and brothers willing to hold themselves and one another accountable. This session will help you see how to use the Fraternity’s values to set expectations, navigate conflict and practice strategies to intervene to address concerns with brothers.
Recommended for Chapter Presidents. *One brother per chapter should attend this session.
Serving in an executive leadership role comes with a wide range of responsibilities and challenges – some expected, other that test your values, patience and resolve. This track will give leaders the opportunity to learn and apply strategies for analyzing the challenges you encounter. You will also have the opportunity to work with other leaders to see how Phi Gamma Delta’s commitment to Courageous Leadership gives you the tools to address those same challenges.
Recommended for Chapter Treasurers.
Managing organization finances can feel mundane and disconnected from broader leadership within the chapter. However, this fails to recognize the impact that effective financial leadership can play in helping an organization reflect its values and achieve its goals. This session will help you see how to be a stronger chapter leader through implementing values-based budgeting and recognizing the ethical obligation of these leadership roles.
Recommended for Chapter Historians and Built to Lead Chairmen.
Chapter leadership frequently includes educating brothers in both formal ways like Built to Lead programs and informal ways as they advance the chapter’s goals. This part of the responsibility of leadership can be challenging without support. This session will help brothers understand more about how people learn, enhance their facilitation skills and recognize how to more effectively educate their brothers.
Recommended for Recruitment Chairmen.
Recruitment Chairs will work with the Phired Up Team in this session to learn recruitment strategies, tool and best practices for their chapter’s growth system. Participants will learn how to lead a values-based recruitment process focused on building strong recruitment pipelines, developing action plans to drive chapter growth and identifying ways to build meaningful connections with potential leads.
Recommended for Corresponding Secretaries.
How you communicate plays a major role in how others see and engage with the chapter. This session will help you develop a communications plan that identifies the key messages your chapter wants to share, the audiences you want to reach and the best ways to deliver those messages. You will also explore how consistent branding and intentional communication can strengthen the chapter’s reputation through.
Travel
Attendees are responsible for their own travel to/from the Academy and for all parking fees if driving (see below).
- Arrive: Friday, January 15, 2027 (sessions begin at 1:30 pm CT)
- Depart: Anytime on Sunday, January 17, 2027
St. Louis Union Station Hotel:
- Address: 1820 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63103
- Phone: 314-621-5262
Driving Directions & Parking Fees
Visit the hotel’s Maps & Directions page for detailed driving directions.
The Fraternity has negotiated hotel parking rates of $20/day for self-parking or $25/day for valet. The parking fees are your responsibility.
Brothers flying to the Academy should arrive in St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), approximately 15 miles from the Union Station Hotel.
From STL Airport to the Hotel:
- Metrolink: A light rail train system connects both terminals of the airport to the downtown area. From the airport, take the Red Line to the Union Station Metrolink Station. Upon arrival, proceed to 18th Street and right onto Market Street to get to the hotel entrance. Reference these directions.
- The total travel time is 27-30 minutes, and trains depart approximately every 20 minutes. Fare from the airport is $4.00.
- Note: As in any setting, be cautious of your surroundings, especially on public transportation.
- Taxi/Ride-Share Services: There are taxis available outside of baggage claim at the airport or from the lobby of the St. Louis Union Station Hotel. Cab fare is approximately $45 each way. Shared ride services such as Uber or Lyft may also be available. Fares generally are between $40-$50 each way.
Because of the timing and location of our Academy, it is important to be prepared for travel delays. If you are delayed, do not worry. Just get to St. Louis and the Union Station hotel as soon as you can. If you are delayed to the point you will not arrive on your scheduled day, contact Todd Rotgers to adjust your hotel reservation.
Undergraduate Travel Reimbursement
Each chapter receives one reimbursement at a rate of $0.14 per mile for the round-trip mileage from your chapter to St. Louis, Missouri. The reimbursement will be applied to your chapter’s account at the International Headquarters following the Academy. Your chapter’s delegates must attend Academy to receive your reimbursement.
