David M. Di Rita, E’86

“When I first visited the Lodge, it was clear that Chi Psi was something different,” says David M. Di Rita, E’86, Epsilon Trustee Corporation #2. “The notion of the ‘Gentleman’s Fraternity’ resonated with me.”

Di Rita says that before discovering Chi Psi, he wasn’t sure that he wanted to rush a fraternity. “The prevailing reputation of the experience in the early ’80s was very much based on the ‘Animal House’ archetype,” he says. But as soon as he saw Chi Psi, he knew that it stood apart. “The men I met there reinforced the sense that this was a place I could develop strong friendships, and in which I could find a home during my college years.”

Chi Psi became a defining part of Di Rita’s time at the University of Michigan and went on to influence him after graduation.

“It really established the standards by which I conducted almost all of my adult relationships going forward,” he says. “It deepened my understanding of what it meant to be a ‘friend’ to someone else and the importance of giving of one’s self as the basis of friendship.”

“It permanently linked me to the University in a way I never expected,” Di Rita says. “It gave me a home there for life, and most importantly it connected me to an ever-growing circle of men whom I have had the honor to call my Brothers for my entire life.”

Today, Di Rita is the founder and principal of the Roxbury Group, a Detroit-based real estate development and investment firm. He has over 30 years of real estate and corporate transactional experience. He’s actively involved in the firm’s real estate development work, typically involving challenging and complex projects, utilizing public and private financing. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Detroit Business Improvement Zone and is the President of the Detroit Theatre District Association.

He also says that giving back to Alpha Epsilon is vital. “Simply put, I give back because the experience gave so much to me that I felt I had a duty to ensure that the opportunity for that would exist for generations after me.”

Without Chi Psi, I wouldn’t be the man I am today.