The Nu Epsilon Zeta chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi at Northeastern has one of the richest and most unique histories in the Greek community. Originally a part of the Tau Epsilon Phi (TEP) national fraternity, the local chapter ended relations with TEP in 2003, and remained in limbo as an unrecognized local fraternity without a national charter until a sweeping series of events that began unfolding in the fall of 2005.

During the fall semester of 2005 at Northeastern, the Panhellanic Council made up of Northeastern sorority members was approached by a group of alumni from the former local fraternity Nu Epsilon Zeta (NEZ), a local fraternity which had been off campus since the early 2000s. The NEZ alumni, led by then Alumni President Matt Shortsleeve, announced that they had joined forces with the Alpha Delta Phi International, and were looking for prospective candidates to become founding fathers of Northeastern’s newest fraternity on campus – the Nu Epsilon Zeta chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi. The Panhellanic Council was asked if they knew of any interested students, and one such PanHell member did in fact know of a prospective candidate, in fact she knew a whole group of them- “the old TEP guys.”

Shortsleeve was put in touch with then acting Chancellor of the local fraternity, Dave Cohen, and an emergency meeting was scheduled in the old fraternity house at 246 Parker Hill Avenue in late December to discuss the matter. Until that time, the remaining actives in the former TEP fraternity (at the time dwindling down to 17 brothers) had been torn as whether to try to rejoin TEP National, or go a different route. The emergency meeting lasted hours, with each one of the brothers voicing their opinions on the options that were before them. The product of the meeting was an overwhelming 16-1 vote in favor of going forward with the opportunity to join ADP and NEZ. The team of Shortsleeve and ADP chapter expansion coordinator Jay Flynn then met with the remaining former TEP brothers one night in January of 2006 in a side room at Uno’s Chicago Bar & Grill on Huntington Avenue. There over dinner a presentation was made and the pieces began to fall into place.

The new semester saw a handoff in leadership to new Chancellor Jared Spinelli, who kept the ball rolling with ADP and NEZ, while new Vice Chancellor Billy St. John dealt with the University. By the end of summer 2006, the formalities had been accomplished, and things became official. The remaining brothers still tied to TEP were granted their release by the National Intra-fraternity Council (NIC), the last major stumbling block in their way. Soon thereafter, the still-active undergraduate brothers, unrecognized for over two and a half years, were officially pinned as the founding fathers of the Nu Epsilon Zeta chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi on October 6, 2006.

The founding fathers of the NEZ chapter of ADP are: Todd French, Evan Rodriguez, Rory Douglas, Scott Gilmond, Tim Hopper, James Lutz, Jared Spinelli, Josh Stephens, Adam Tabas, Robert Brown, William St. John, Jonathan Yong, Leo Cohen, Matt Stevenson, Brett Tavares, Milby Thorington, and Jeremy Feldman.