Established in 1938, the Xi Delta chapter at Northern Illinois University has grown to become one of Sigma Tau Delta's most active chapters. Our chapter has established a tradition of excellence, having received the 1999-2000 Outstanding Chapter Award and Outstanding Web Site Awards in 2001 and 2004.
However, Xi Delta places as much, if not more, of its emphasis on service. Xi Delta has done service projects for Bowl for Kids' Sake, Habitat for Humanity, and TAILS. We have sponsored a high school team to participate in the Sycamore Spelling Bee and have annually "adopted" a family for Christmas for several years.
In addition to a wide variety of community service, Xi Delta performs a variety of services for the Northern Illinois University English department. We hold book and bake sales every semester, and have a blood drive every spring semester. We have also spearheaded the "Reavis Beautification Project," in which we cleaned up the front of the English building every spring. Another addition is "Sigma Tau in Translation," started in the 2004-2005 academic year by our previous President Kelly Retz, where works of literature are read first in their original language by foreign language faculty and then in their English translation by a Sigma Tau Delta member.