The Magazine of Sigma Chi Special Section 2021

The Transformational Leader program is the first and only accredited leadership experience offered through a fraternity

BEGINNING THE ERA OF THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

Seventy-first Grand Consul Steve Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979, speaks to attendees during the opening session of the 2019 Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. In his opening address, Schuyler welcomed brothers to what he called the Era of the Transformational Leader, foreshadowing the strides Sigma Chi would make in its leadership development programming during the 2019 to 2021 biennium.

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER PROGRAM IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE GREEK-LETTER WORLD.

Sigma Chi brothers and guests of the 83rd Grand Chapter in Scottsdale, Arizona, in June were among the first individuals to witness a watershed moment for our Fraternity: the unveiling of the Transformational Leader program. For the first time in our history, Sigma Chi has a comprehensive leadership development program that is designed to benefit our members in all stages of life. Our brothers’ commitment to our values and support of one another already set them apart on campuses and in the world. Now, the skills they’re developing in our chapters will, too.

The Transformational Leader program is the first of its kind in the Greekletter world. Sigma Chis who complete Transformational Leader program coursework will earn certificates certifying them in skills that will set them a part in the workplace and in the world. They will have opportunities to learn new and valuable skills, such as resiliency, self-management and effective collaboration, develop those skills through practice, then apply their knowledge as they advance their abilities. And, thanks to the work of Sigma Chi Leadership Institute, which is a candidate for accreditation with the Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools, the coursework our members complete to acquire those skills will have been

validated by an accreditor that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Sigma Chi’s ability to bring this offering to our members is the result of a yearslong collaborative effort involving alumni, undergraduates, professional staff members, partner organizations and other groups, including every entity of Sigma Chi. The list of individuals to whom the credit is due is too long to include here but know that every person who delivered on the charge from 70th Grand Consul Tommy Geddings, SOUTH CAROLINA 1985 , at the beginning of his biennium in 2017 to Expect More of themselves and from Sigma Chi is responsible for this achievement. Principal among these groups are the board members and professional staff of the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute. Their dedication, willingness to challenge the idea of what a fraternity can be, and determination to see that vision through are what have made the Transformational Leader possible.

Founder William Lewis Lockwood, MIAMI (OHIO) 1858 , in the early years of our Fraternity advised the members of the newly formed Eta chapter at the University of Mississippi about the types of men they should seek to develop and the standards they should set for themselves: “We should endeavor so to

raise ourselves that to say of a man, ‘He is a Sigma Chi’ shall be synonymous with, ‘He is a liberally educated, high-minded, pure and noble man.’ Such are some of the objects of our Society. The world is in great need of just such men and let all who go out from our chapters be such men.” Lockwood’s advice has since that time served as the benchmark by which we’ve measured our effectiveness. These are the types of men who are Transformational Leaders; they inspire and empower others to innovate and create change that will positively impact the Fraternity and ultimately the world.

SPECIAL ISSUE 2021

The Magazine of Sigma Chi, the official exoteric quarterly publication of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, has been published continuously since 1881. Its mission is to reflect through content the Sigma Chi experience; to instill and sustain pride in the International Fraternity; to educate and entertain its undergraduate members, alumni, parents and others interested in the Fraternity; to maintain a historical record of the activities of the Fraternity and its undergraduate and alumni chapters; and to present current issues affecting the Greek-letter system, the Fraternity and its members.

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Fraternally,

Tim Sanderson, WESTERN 1985

72nd Grand Consul

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@SIGMACHI

This summer, Sigma Chi International Fraternity is taking what it means to be a leader to new heights. Your journey begins soon. Are you ready?

sigmachi

Sigma Chi Fraternity is proud to announce the launch of the groundbreaking Transformational Leader program. The Fraternity is the first Greek-letter organization to offer a leadership development experience that includes coursework that could potentially yield transferable credits and digital badges, thanks to the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute, which is a candidate for accreditation by the Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.

SIGMA CHI FRATERNITY

Registration for the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop is now open! This year’s in-person workshop will be held from July 27 to July 31 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. For more information on this year's event, please visit the link in our bio to check out our event brochure. Tag your chapter's Consul below so that he can sign you up!

New-look Facilitator Academy Seeks to Engage, Expand Delivery of Sigma Chi Leadership Institute Curriculum

//// BY WES HOLTSCLAW, EAST TENNESSEE 2012

As students advance from grade school into secondary school and through their collegiate experience, every program, course or educational credit is earned via the instruction of a certified instructor, professor or guide from an accredited institution.

The leadership certificate modules afforded to Sigma Chi members through the Transformational Leader program delivered by Sigma Chi Leadership Institute (SCLI) will be no different.

Of the many pieces that fit into SCLI’s continued work toward U.S. Department of Education accreditation through the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools, the staffing and training of qualified alumni facilitators and guides to deliver certified curriculum tracks has been amongst the highest of priorities for both the Fraternity and SCLI.

“We’ve upped our game in terms of the quality of content we’re offering undergraduates and [our curriculum has] naturally evolved into this high standard of transformational leadership,” says Sigma Chi Leadership Institute Executive Director Jim Cogdal, BRADLEY 2003, left. “In order to have a high standard of curriculum, you have to have a high standard of people teaching this curriculum. If you don’t have an excellent, solid group of faculty [members] that are certified and experienced throughout their lives, the curriculum is not going to go anywhere.”

In the past, facilitators were trained specifically toward the curriculum of their respective program.

Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit guides were trained via their own immersion into the program while on site for six days. Facilitators under the former workshop model would participate in conference calls leading up to a one-day session on site. Differing training modules followed the Mission 365 recruitment training program and former Journey chapter development program, Crossroads alcohol and drug program and other delivery vehicles provided to undergraduates by alumni volunteers.

With accreditation on the horizon, there became a need for a more cohesive, consistent and robust delivery mechanism to encompass the entirety of the Transformational Leader and certified curriculum launching to Sigma Chi undergraduates across North America.

Over the last year, Fraternity and SCLI leaders worked toward the development and launch of the Sigma Chi Facilitator Academy, which is an elevated experience designed to provide a greater standard of training for existing and new alumni volunteers, as well as check the required boxes during the pivotal accreditation process.

“There’s a standard in itself [during the accreditation process] that requires us to have a higher pedigree of training for our volunteers,” Cogdal says. “In the past our training efforts focused on programmatic curriculum only. Each of our program guides and facilitators were trained a little bit differently depending on their program. It never fit together cohesively as one.

“Now, the Transformational Leader program has encompassed all of our programs. Everything from workshop to Horizons to [Preparation for Brotherhood], each of our certificate curriculum — it all fits together, and we had to do the same with our facilitator training.”

A GREATER PURPOSE

Utilizing the same hybrid educational model (in-person and virtual certification) afforded to undergraduate members, the Sigma Chi Facilitator Academy contains four facilitation tiers to better distinguish faculty members and align training — ranging from the most experienced facilitators and guides to those young or re-engaging alumni seeking to make a difference in the lives of undergraduate members in their province.

“What we’ve done as a Fraternity is make a strategic decision to take our leadership development and educational programming to a level that is [someday soon accredited by a commission recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.] To do that, we had to have a delivery mechanism that’s as sophisticated, as professional, as widely recognized [and] as credible as the curriculum itself,” says Order of Constantine Sig and alumnus member-at-large to the Executive Committee Dan Shaver, TEXAS TECH 1993, above, who is a longtime Horizons session coordinator and served as treasurer for the SCLI board of directors.

• Senior Faculty members possess the highest level of facilitation skills needed to deliver every piece of curriculum within the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute. They will be selected from those who achieve two of three requirements: Obtaining a Ph.D. or master’s degree in their academic pursuits, engaging in the instructional development or as a board member of one or more Sigma Chi programs, or achieving session coordinator training level in Horizons.

• Faculty members will be selected from those who have served as a member of workshop faculty for more than three years with positive feedback, are certified as an experienced Horizons guide or are certified on three or more of Sigma Chi’s educational programs.

• Members of the Associate Faculty track must have attained two of three requirements: Earning certification in and facilitating two or more Sigma Chi programs, serving as a Regional Chapter Support Coordinator within the Fraternity, or having the ability to deliver regional-based retreats to chapters within their geographic province(s).

• The Assistant Faculty track will provide opportunities for young or re-engaged alumni who have served as an undergraduate chapter officer, participated in Horizons, served as undergraduate volunteers on Fraternity committees, served as former Headquarters staff or advance through application screening to learn the SCLI curriculum and serve both the Officer Training Academy and as a mentor with certificates.

Through the Facilitator Academy, Sigma Chi is training present and future facilitators to ensure that regional and chapter-based curriculum is presented consistently and effectively.

The platform also enables SCLI to enforce best presentation practices through a consistent mechanism of preparation, as well as broaden and retain a pool of engaged and qualified individuals through an ongoing evaluation process that ensures the highest quality of output for Sigma Chi members.

“I think the reason why I’m so encouraged by our direction with the Facilitator Academy is that we are putting people in the right roles,” says Shaver. “We are making sure that those people that are teaching the curriculum have the right skills, have the right tools and have the right training to deliver this cuttingedge curriculum.”

Participants learn different roles, expectations and requirements, integrate techniques that help them overcome fear and anxiety, practice giving and receiving authentic and empowering feedback and review content-specific curriculum in their specialized program(s).

Following completion, they will be able to provide an overview of the Transformational Leader program and vision for Sigma Chi and demonstrate proficiency in basic presentation and core facilitation skills amongst both large and small-group scenarios.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE

The full launch of the Transformational Leader program, arguably the Fraternity’s most ambitious leadership effort in history, presents the need for alumni volunteers to engage and deliver certified curriculum through a robust slate of regional and chapter-based programming is greater than ever before.

By instituting a tiered approach to facilitation and opening its doors to both new graduates and alumni seeking to re-engage, Sigma Chi is calling on all qualified and eager alumni brothers who are looking for an opportunity to give back and make a difference.

“We all know that between our 250 chapters and colonies there is a need regionally for those brothers who are looking to get back involved and reconnected,” says Cogdal. “There is a hunger on the undergraduate level for mentors — transformational leaders that may not be in the ranks yet but are leaders in their families, workplaces and communities. We need them.

“We can’t rely on the same core group of alumni as we push forward. Our curriculum is growing and hopefully, through that, our undergraduate body will continue to grow. With that our alumni engagement needs to grow. We look forward to bringing these guys in, educating them on what’s happening in Sigma Chi and giving them opportunities to make an impact on our young brothers.”

Keith Krach

Sigma Chi International Fraternity thanks 64th Grand Consul Keith Krach, PURDUE 1979, and the Krach family for their commitment to supporting transformational leaders through the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop.

WELCOME TO THE ERA OF THE

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

BY JIM COGDAL, BRADLEY 2003, SIGMA CHI LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

One timeless passage in history holds reverence for those who choose to dream. For those who choose to challenge the status quo. For those who expect more of themselves than the world expects of others.

On April 23, 1910, in Paris, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt would deliver what would come to be known famously as “The Man in the Arena” speech, detailing the importance of daring greatly no matter the circumstances or repercussions. While Roosevelt was not a Sigma Chi – he was a Delta Kappa Epsilon, in fact – his words fit perfectly today to describe why Sigma Chi’s initiative to determine its own educational future relied heavily on its own steadfastness and high purposes instead of depending on others.

/// “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs; who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who are the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ///

More than a century later, Roosevelt’s words were actualized in Sigma Chi’s strategy about transforming what it means to be a Fraternity man and elevating the narrative around men’s social fraternities.

Sigma Chi decided to forge its own path to determine its future, making a courageous decision to enter uncharted territory by creating its own leadership institute and, at the time, faced great uncertainty by looking to achieve national accreditation for this new entity – a venture that had never been accomplished within the interfraternal industry. It was a calculated plan that integrated the social skills members learn from the traditional Fraternity experience with an ambitious certification and validation of an accreditation status recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, thus quantifying the Sigma Chi leadership experience. From the highest educator in the land – to be a Sigma Chi is synonymous with being a certified leader.

“No one would argue that we’re not facing a lot of big challenges in the world today and that the pace of change is accelerating. Problems are more complex and interconnected today — we need leaders who can bring diverse teams together to tackle tough new challenges,” says 64th Grand Consul Keith Krach, PURDUE 1979. “This is why I believe we need to help develop the next generation of bold, principled, transformational leaders who can help address our challenges and make sure tomorrow’s world is a better world — for everyone.”

The task to build such a program to address Krach’s requirements of tomorrow’s leaders was a daunting one. Sigma Chi could’ve simply contracted out this venture to develop its product and brand. It could have partnered with a provider to offer

high-quality education at a steep cost. It also could have done nothing that was different from previous decades. Those options are certainly convenient but not necessarily courageous — and courage is in Sigma Chi’s DNA.

To build their own vision of Sigma Chi leadership development was daring. It was bold. It was vintage Sigma Chi. This light of high ambition is exactly why the world expects more of Sigma Chi and why Sigma Chi Leadership Institute was born to deliver Transformational Leadership tools for all Sigma Chi members.

When Sigma Chi was founded by seven young men, they, too, chose the harder path, not the convenient one to fall in line; instead, they opted to create a new organization, a new vision and a new future. In similar fashion, needing a groundbreaking leadership development path to better our members, our chapters and the world, Sigma Chi created Sigma Chi Leadership Institute to ultimately design the Transformational Leader program rooted in the highest level of institutional accreditation in the United States.

“Sigma Chi is a pioneer as a leadership development organization that is preparing young men to learn how to lead authentically and to follow their values with character throughout their lifetimes as they make a difference in the

world through their leadership,” best-selling leadership author, Significant Sig and Order of Constantine Sig Bill George, GEORGIA TECH 1964, says. “There is no better place to learn how to lead, as I did, than in your local chapter, which is a microcosm of the real world.”

THE CREDIT BELONGS TO THE MAN WHO IS ACTUALLY IN THE ARENA …

The leaders of Sigma Chi stepped onto a lonely arena floor in 2017 when the Greek-letter landscape was in disarray and despair. Tragedies related to alcohol and hazing dominated any conversation related to fraternities, and deservedly so. It was in this moment of err and shortcoming within the interfraternal industry that leaders and members of such organizations began reflecting on ways to redefine the true meaning of joining a fraternity.

Sigma Chi’s vision to proactively transform what it means to be a fraternity man through leadership development was a bold one. It meant taking fraternal tradition and infusing it with innovation. The best of Sigma Chi’s leadership development of the past: Horizons, Leadership Training Workshop, Mission 365, the Ritual, Preparation for Brotherhood – all would be integrated into one global, overarching membership development program: the Transformational Leader. From putting on their pledge pin through youth, manhood and old age, Sigma Chi has a leadership strategy for all of its members in all walks of life.

Following its charge from the Fraternity, Sigma Chi Leadership Institute began its journey for accreditation in December 2020 when it was accepted into accreditation candidacy by Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS). Since then, it commenced building worldclass curriculum, operations, service and governance that set a new standard in Greek-letter leadership development.

The goal? For SCLI to create a homegrown product rooted in Sigma Chi values and ideals that elevates the leadership skills of all Sigma Chis, empowering them to impact others positively and cultivate action for the good of themselves, their chapters and communities.

“Sigma Chi’s No. 1 priority is preparing our members for success throughout life, and we take this obligation seriously,” says Sigma Chi International Fraternity Executive Director Mike Church, ILLINOIS 2005. “We decided that the way to do that was to ensure that the offerings we provide in the areas of personal and leadership education are the best available anywhere – that they are truly transformational. We landed on pursuing a path of building an accredited institute to handle this audacious task because we wanted to ensure that our efforts were validated at the highest level available.”

At the 82nd Grand Chapter in Salt Lake City in June 2019, 71st Grand Consul Steven Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979, announced the beginning of the era of the Transformational Leader. He detailed the build and offered a challenge to those yearning to remain unchanged from past traditions.

Equipping Sigma Chi Undergraduates for Success

Sigma Chi’s Transformational Leader program provides students with opportunities to learn skills that will prepare them to be successful in today’s workforce and world.

SELF

• Self-management

• Versatility

• Values-based decision making

• Resiliency

OTHERS

• Leveraging differences

• Team building

• Empowering feedback

• Mentorship ACTION

• Innovation

• Strategic planning

• Problem solving

• Effective communication

COMMUNITY

• Managing change

• Collaboration

• Philanthropy

• People management

“We must evolve when the times demand it,” Schuyler declared with conviction. “And I would rather us lead that evolution than follow it.”

Two years later Schuyler finished his biennium with pride in Scottsdale, Arizona, as the Fraternity unveiled the Transformational Leader program to the 83rd Grand Chapter and history was made.

A Greek-letter program – developed and launched by SCLI, the only Greekaffiliated learning service provider to ever achieve the supreme certification of accreditation candidacy – was unveiled to the world at the second-largest Grand Chapter in the history of the Fraternity.

WHO SPENDS HIMSELF IN A WORTHY CAUSE …

Quite possibly no one within Fraternity stakeholders strives to do the deeds, knows the great devotions or cultivates the great enthusiasms of others like SCLI Chairman and 68th Grand Consul Mike Greenberg, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN 1982. As Grand Consul, he cleared the road for the Preparation for Brotherhood (P4B) pledge education program, which marked the planting of the seed that has since sprouted and become the Transformational Leader program.

Since then, he has led an SCLI board of directors and staff who embody courage, choosing it daily over the comfortable or convenient route. Together, they’ve developed nine leadership certificates and two micro-certificates loaded with leadership competencies that all Sigma Chis can use to elevate their own personal skills and aid others around them.

The pinnacle of the Foundational Leadership Certificate is P4B, which will be the only Greek-letter new member program developed with a third-party validation as notable as accreditation candidacy, and combines with the Ritual for Life newinitiate program to form the core of the entry into the Sigma Chi brotherhood and every member’s experience in SCLI.

Early pilot results show tremendous progress and growth in Sigma Chi new members. Following an eight-chapter pilot in spring 2021, new members experienced at least a 25 percent increase in their ability to communicate effectively with their peers and other students on campus, identify their priorities for their collegiate experience and explore which values are important in their daily lives compared to when they entered P4B.

“Self, Others, Action and Community – those are the key components of Transformational Leadership that can be found in all our leadership certificates,” Greenberg says. “Using these pillars of our leadership model, Sigma Chis in all walks of life can become enduring leaders in their chapters, in their workplaces or in their families. This will soon be offered to all members as soon as they pin that pledge pin on their lapel.”

Already launched and available to members is the Distance Leadership Certificate, Authentic Leadership Certificate (featuring Brother George’s key outcomes from his best-selling books, Discover Your True North and Authentic Leadership), Values-Based Leadership Certificate and the Enduring Leadership Certificate, which features the tried-and-true Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit.

“We must evolve when the times demand it. And I would rather us lead that evolution than follow it.”

- Steven Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979

The entire purpose of a certificate is to offer digestible packages of leadership experiences that result in a Sigma Chi achieving leadership competencies required to lead today and into the future.

And we know they work.

A 2021 Gallup study of Sigma Chi members who engaged in Sigma Chi Leadership Institute curriculum from 2015 to 2020 shows that when it comes to the importance of what members learned in Sigma Chi's leadership programs, at least half of respondents shared that Sigma Chi leadership development programs were important or very important to promotion (63 percent), increased pay (58 percent) or job growth (70 percent) in their careers.

For this reason, Brother Krach sponsored the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop (TLW), now an annual meeting of Transformational Leaders from across North America, so that leadership certificates could continue to develop social skills needed for tomorrow’s workplace.

At the 2021 Krach TLW at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, 592 brothers earned leadership certificates from Sigma Chi Leadership Institute and transformed their personal development.

“When you’re a young man just starting out, really spreading your wings for the first time — that’s the best time to learn leadership,” Krach says. “Sigma Chi has meant so much to me and given so much to me, I can’t help but want to pay it forward to the next generation. And sponsoring workshop — as a place for my younger brothers to build their leadership skills — it’s the perfect way to do that.”

Sixty-eighth Grand Consul and Sigma Chi Leadership Institute Chairman Michael Greenberg, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN 1982, speaks on June 26 to attendees of the 83rd Grand Chapter in Scottsdale, Arizona. Those who attended Grand Chapter this year witnessed the unveiling of Sigma Chi’s Transformational Leader program.

OUR PLACE SHALL NEVER BE WITH THOSE … WHO NEITHER KNOW VICTORY NOR DEFEAT … Sigma Chi went for it.

It wasn’t easy.

Success wasn’t guaranteed.

Sigma Chi laid its cards on the table, leveraged its solid brand in the industry and is being rewarded for daring greatly. It’s been name-dropped in Forbes for this very initiative. It’s gathered the support of leadership wizards like Krach and George. It’s partnered with Purdue University’s Department of Technology, Leadership and Innovation to teach leadership skills so that others – the world –can see the brilliance of its strategy.

Krach, whose resume includes being the youngest-ever vice president of General Motors, leading DocuSign as its chairman and CEO, and serving as Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment in the U.S. government, knows a thing or two about transforming people, industries and ways of thinking.

He served as the Grand Consul of Sigma Chi when the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit was in its infancy and knows that being bold comes with the possibility of falling short – but that cannot overshadow the need for progress. His perspective fits with the Fraternity’s strategy for launching the Transformational Leader program.

Let’s go all in. Because a world without Sigma Chi Transformational Leadership is a larger concern than the challenges and obstacles involved in launching a groundbreaking and brand-new concept within the interfraternal industry.

“I think I’m a little addicted to the adrenaline rush of jumping into water over my head. I call it ‘scary fun,’” Krach always says with a smile. “Don’t get me wrong — every now and then I still end up under the desk in the fetal position. But I realize … the key to personal growth and making an impact is facing your fears and jumping into water over your head. Sometimes, it’s the only way to learn how to swim. Try it. Who knows, you might get addicted to the deep end, too.”

Sigma Chi is in the arena. It wants all of its more than 265,000 living members to join it.

If you’re an alumnus – join the Sigma Chi Facilitator Academy to teach the transformation of tomorrow’s Sigma Chi leaders.

If you’re an undergraduate, enroll into one of the available leadership certificates in Sigma Chi Leadership Institute and use the Transformational Leader program to recruit the next generation of men in the arena for Sigma Chi.

Our Fraternity, our campuses and our communities need such men. Let every man who leaves our chapters be such men.

“The world is crying out for Transformational Leaders,” George adds, “[for those] who lead authentically and follow their purpose with courage to have a positive impact on the world.”

THE MAKEUP OF THE

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

Sigma Chi’s overarching leadership development program for undergraduates and alumni teaches Sigs leadership skills in the categories of self, others, action and community

The Transformational Leader is Sigma Chi International Fraternity’s overarching leadership development program for all undergraduate and alumni members. The program aims to equip Sigma Chis with the needed skills and competencies to transform their careers and chapters. It is available free to all brothers and is taught online as well through life-changing leadership experiences led by certified Sigma Chi Facilitator Academy instructors.

The nine certificates within the program that contain 12 leadership competencies. Certificates are grouped into four categories. Transformational Leader program participants first must learn to manage self before being able to lead others and cultivate action within their community or campus. Below are descriptions for each certificate, as well as a list of courses program participants must complete to earn it.

SELF

FOUNDATIONAL LEADERSHIP: DISCOVERING SELF

LENGTH: 80 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

A foundational leader moves from the theoretical to the practical by analyzing the importance of symbolism within their personal and professional lives. In the Foundational Leadership course, students will embark on a path of self-discovery to build the foundation to become a leader and gain leadership skills that will serve them both personally and professionally. Students will gain an understanding that the growth and development of an organization’s vision, mission and values are integral in establishing foundational leadership qualities. Upon completion of this 80 clock-hour course, students will be able to demonstrate essential life skills that lead to personal fulfillment and

success and recognize distinct leadership possibilities and positions to ensure talent alignment within organizations.

COURSES:

Intro to Transformational Leadership

Preparation for Brotherhood Ritual for Life

Introduction to Officer Roles

The Quest for Resilience*

Articulating the Value-Add of Foundational Leadership

THE QUEST FOR RESILIENCE

*This micro-certificate is 10 clock hours and taught in a hybrid format. An integral part of being a student, as well as navigating life and work, is being able to recognize the potential transformation and growth afforded through change, challenges, stressors and adversity. Highly successful individuals exhibit a remarkable capacity for resilience, which is the ability to recover from and grow through adversity. The Quest for Resilience micro-certificate is designed to help students become more resilient in their educational and personal lives by “bouncing forward” toward a healthier, stronger and better self.

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP: LEADING SELF

LENGTH: 20 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

Authentic leadership is rooted in an ability to recognize and celebrate passion and purpose that leads to transformational change. In the Authentic Leadership course, students will learn how to apply their core values to everyday situations, actions and decisions. Gaining a deeper understanding of themselves through a SOCIAL STYLES™ behavioral assessment and the main elements of emotional intelligence, students will assess their talent and aptitude in relation to various leadership opportunities within their community and their careers. Throughout this 20-clock-hour course, students will strengthen their capacity for selfmanagement, resiliency and versatility, ultimately resulting in a more integrated lifestyle and leadership framework.

COURSES:

Discovering Your True North

Social Styles: Introduction to Self-Perception

Authentic Masculinity

Articulating the Value-Add of Authentic Leadership

VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP: ELEVATING COMMUNITY

LENGTH: 20 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

The heart of values-based leaders exists in their ability to apply principled beliefs and values to the various decisions and obstacles they encounter. In the ValuesBased Leadership course, students will practice making decisions that align with their personal values and ethics. Throughout this 20 clock-hour course, students will gain the knowledge and skills to manage self while growing in their capacity

to be resilient and versatile in complex and challenging situations. Further, students will learn strategies to creating a positive personal brand on social media, as well as integrate best practices in the dimensions of wellness and holistic living.

COURSES:

Values-Based Decision Making (VBDM) – True Brotherhood

VBDM – Drinking Smart

VBDM – Healthy Relationships

VBDM – Developing Your Brand

VBDM – Clear Mind

SOAR 2.0: Leadership Ethics

Articulating the Value-Add of Values-Based Leadership

OTHERS

ENDURING LEADERSHIP: COMPELLING ACTION

LENGTH: 80 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

An enduring leader articulates a clear and compelling vision that is relevant to the needs of today yet responsive to what is on the horizon. In the Enduring Leadership course, students will gain an understanding of the role that individual values and social styles play in promoting effective collaboration and positive organizational change. In this 80 clock-hour immersive, experiential course, students will work closely with small groups and mentors to process feedback, improve their self-reflection skills and practice effective communication. Further, students will become familiar with the stages of group development and learn strategies for building cohesive, mission-oriented teams so that the vision of an organization is not lost in the transition – instead, it endures.

COURSES:

Intro to Enduring Leadership

Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit

SERVANT LEADERSHIP: EMPOWERING OTHERS

LENGTH: 20 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

A Servant Leader’s focus is on the growth and development of others through active listening, empathy, awareness and commitment.

COURSES:

Social Styles 360 Assessment Team Performance

Followership: Serving the Vision Empowering Feedback

Serving My Chapter and Brothers Mentorship and Coaching

Articulating the Value-Add of Servant Leadership

CHARACTER-BASED RECRUITMENT

LENGTH: 10 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

The Character-Based Recruitment micro-certificate is built upon the foundations of Mission 365. It provides students with practical suggestions and tools to elevate their recruitment efforts in the Quest for the Best on campus. Mission 365 consists of a 3.5-hour core curriculum with four additional enhancement modules: Selecting Men of Character, Building Enduring Friendships, Marketing Our Differentiators and The Spirit of Sigma Chi. The four enhancement modules focus on identifying potential new students with remarkable character and talent; building relationships with potential new students; developing the skills to market our educational programs and offerings; and creating welcoming and inclusive campuses that embrace and maximize a diversity of backgrounds.

ACTION

ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP: FACILITATING CHANGE

LENGTH: 20 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

An adaptive leader empowers followers to address complex challenges in life. In the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute’s (SCLI’s) Adaptive Leadership Certificate course, students will gain the knowledge and skills to champion organizational growth and communicate a compelling vision for the future as they help others navigate dynamic environments to produce effective change. Upon completion of this 40 clock-hour course, students will be able to apply their knowledge of adaptive leadership theory as they develop plans and communicate a vision that mobilizes and focuses the efforts of others towards positive change.

COURSES:

Facilitating Change

Conflict and Consensus Crisis Management

Restorative Justice Leadership Transitions

Articulating the Value-Add of Adaptive Leadership

INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP: INSPIRING OTHERS

LENGTH: 40 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

Innovative leadership is grounded in the ability to empower others to move beyond their assumptions and biases to considering alternative ways in address presenting problems or newly emerging realities. In the Innovative Leadership Certificate course, the student will be invited to engage creative problem-solving skills that lead to 21st century imaginative solutions. Upon completion of the

40 clock-hour course, students will learn strategies in reshaping individual and collective paradigms through a growth mindset, mindfulness and curiosity. Furthermore, students will learn how to recruit talent and diversity that align with the mission of their organization or community.

COURSES:

Design Thinking

Innovative Leadership

Communicating Vision

Creative Collaboration

Articulating the Value-Add of Innovative Leadership

COMMUNITY

LEGACY LEADERSHIP: SUSTAINING COMMUNITY

LENGTH: 20 clock hours | Format: Hybrid

A legacy-focused leader displays sustained community and continued investment to an organization, cause or community.

COURSES:

Strategic Planning

Career Development

Articulating the Value-Add of Legacy Leadership

DISTANCE LEADERSHIP: CONNECTING COMMUNITY

LENGTH: 40 clock hours | Format: Online

Distance leadership requires the recognition of unique opportunities that remotebased teams provide to organizations and to each other; thus, leaders must foster meaningful connections between remote team members to the benefit of both the organization and the members. In the Distance Leadership certificate course, students will gain the knowledge and skills to navigate industries reliant on remote work and digital leadership across blended platforms. Students will learn how to manage virtual teams, make the most of virtual communication tools and motivate teams at a distance. Upon completion of this 40 clock-hour course, students will understand the potential benefits and drawbacks of working with remote teams, how to create an environment of mutual respect and strong team dynamics, and the tools available to lead individuals and teams at a distance.

COURSES:

Introduction to Distance Leadership Generate Productivity

Discover Tools and Technologies

Establish Communication Effectiveness

Understand the Role of Diversity Summative Assessment

For more information, please visit: sigmachi.org/transformational-leader

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

To enroll in the Transformational Leader program’s six leadership certificates that are currently launched, email leadership.institute@sigmachi.org

To submit an application to join Sigma Chi Facilitator Academy to teach the Transformational Leader curriculum, email SCLI Executive Director Jim Cogdal, BRADLEY 2003, at jim.cogdal@sigmachi.org.

WHAT SIGS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

“Throughout this past week, I completed curriculum titled Authentic Leadership that gave me insight to the roles that self-awareness, values and behavioral styles play in creating and leading change in [an] organization. … I plan to take the skills and knowledge I have retained back to my campus at the University of Utah in addition to my professional workplace.”

- Harrison Payne, UTAH 2022

“Throughout this [workshop] experience, I came to realize that I face situations each and every day — that I am challenged with a decision and given the opportunity to put our values into practice and make a values-based decision. Learning more about what we believe and the values that we hold as a Sigma Chi has allowed for me to be more invested into my Fraternity as a whole and realize that joining Sigma Chi has been one of the best things that I could have done because of the opportunities it has already provided me and what the future with Sigma Chi will hold.”

- Jack Flynn, DEPAUW 2024

“Even though I graduated from college eight years ago, I serve as an active volunteer in the Sigma Chi Fraternity because I believe in the mission of what we are doing for both undergraduates and alumni members. SCLI and Sigma Chi are continuing to make an impact on me by offering professional development and learning opportunities to become a facilitator at the newly designed Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop by completing coursework to earn the Foundations of Facilitation badge. I do not know of many other Greek-letter organizations that continue to give to their members in meaningful and constructive ways that prepare them to be future leaders regardless of active or alumni membership status.”

- James Heffner, WESTERN CONNECTICUT 2013

“During the session on Values-Based Leadership, I evaluated dilemmas meant to challenge my moral compass and used a decision model to choose the most productive solution and clearly explain my reasoning for this decision. … I strengthened my decision-making skills as well as how to communicate my decisions in a respectful manner.”

- Steven Soli, BELOIT 2022

Jon Huntsman Sr.

Sigma Chi International Fraternity thanks the Huntsman family and the late Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Jon Huntsman Sr., PENNSYLVANIA 1959, for their commitment to supporting transformational leaders through the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit.

New Transformational Leadership program meets personal development needs

//// BY ASHLEY SZATALA

The Fraternity’s overarching leadership model has launched to high praise from inaugural students

Ryan Jeffries, OKLAHOMA STATE 2023, pledged the Fraternity in August 2019, and in his first few weeks as a pledge Jeffries researched what was available at Sigma Chi beyond the chapter level. He filled out a few forms and reached out to Sigma Chi International Fraternity Headquarters about the new Sigma Chi Leadership Institute (SCLI). Little did he know how that early interest in its programming would positively impact him more than a year later.

In February 2021, Jeffries became the first student officially enrolled in SCLI, which just months earlier was formally accepted as a candidate for accreditation by the U.S. Department of Education-recognized Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools; the candidacy acceptance made Sigma Chi the first Greek-letter organization to offer accredited leadership certificate programming to its members. Jeffries also became the first student to enroll in SCLI’s pilot Distance Leadership Certificate, followed by members of his chapter and seven other chapters. That month eight separate chapters also enrolled in the pilot Foundational Leadership Certificate.

The occasion marked the soft launch of the new Transformational Leader program, the Fraternity’s overarching leadership development program for all undergraduate and alumni members formally unveiled on June 26 during the 83rd Grand Chapter in Scottsdale, Arizona. The program aims to equip Sigma Chis with the needed skills and competencies to transform their chapters and careers through participation in nine leadership certificate courses. Feedback from inaugural students has been positive, and SCLI leadership says the program is a key differentiator that meets the personal development needs of brothers at any age and stage of life.

EMBRACING MORAL, ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

The idea for the Transformational Leader program began around 2017 when the Education and Leadership Board was having forward-thinking conversations about leadership development and the future of Sigma Chi International Fraternity. Four pledges across the interfraternal environment had recently died, and the value of Greek-letter life was called into question. Sigma Chi was interested in building chapter leaders and proving its value to higher education partners.

“It was really the vision of creating SCLI and what was going to serve as the bedrock of SCLI’s mission going forward,” says SCLI Executive Director Jim Cogdal, BRADLEY 2003. He explains that the Transformational Leader program morphed from the Leadership Continuum concept, which began in 2016. The program is a group effort between SCLI, the Fraternity, the Foundation and 64th Grand Consul Keith Krach, PURDUE 1979, who sponsors the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop (TLW) that began bearing his name and focus on transformational leadership in 2019.

“It was the reason Brother Krach sponsored Krach TLW back when it was Officer Training because there was a vision moving into the future that the staple of being a Sigma Chi is synonymous with being a transformational leader. A lot of these programs were already being done by our undergraduates prior to SCLI,” Cogdal says. “We’re just taking (the programs) and packaging them in a leadership certificate and providing more value for the brothers going through them. Everything takes time to mature and work its way into fruition, and now here we are.”

The first two certificate programs, Distance Leadership and Foundational Leadership, were launched in spring 2021.

The focus of the Distance Leadership Certificate program is to empower leaders to build productive remote teams rooted in connection, belonging and fidelity to vision and mission. It looks at the challenges and opportunities of remote teams and how people advocate for diversity in terms of time, talent, background and experience. Students also spend time assessing which tools, technologies and platforms they can use for communication, project management, project planning and other purposes.

SCLI Associate Executive Director Bob Rabe, LOYOLA (CHICAGO) 2018, says it was a coincidence that the Distance Leadership Certificate was unveiled during the COVID-19 pandemic when remote working became the norm.

“We knew remote teams were coming (up as a trending work method), and we were ready to launch,” he says. “It enabled us to be responsive and relevant in the moment we found ourselves in.”

The Foundational Leadership Certificate program features familiar courses like the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program and Ritual for Life post-initiation training program, and certificate participants embark on a path of self-discovery to build the foundation of the leader they will become and gain leadership skills that will serve them both personally and professionally. Students also gain an understanding that the growth and development of an organization’s vision, mission and values are integral in establishing foundational leadership qualities, and students also learn strategies that help them become more resilient.

Set to launch summer 2021 for participants of the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit is the Enduring Leadership Certificate, which is centered on the role individual values and social styles play in promoting effective collaboration and positive organizational change. And, for Krach TLW participants, three certificate tracks, each having a group of about 250 students, are available. The first track is the Values-Based Leadership Certificate, which features the familiar Values-Based Decision Making program and will have students practice making decisions that align with their personal values and ethics and learn strategies to create a healthy lifestyle and personal brand. The second is the Authentic Leadership Certificate, which is based on the book Discover Your True North by Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Bill George, GEORGIA TECH 1964, and students will gain a deeper understanding of themselves through a Social Styles behavioral assessment and the main elements of emotional intelligence as well as complete a draft of a personal development plan that will serve as a roadmap to authentic leadership.

The final track contains two micro-certificates. Quest for Resilience is designed to help students become more resilient in their educational and personal lives by gaining the momentum to bounce forward in the face of challenge, change or adversity as well as help students learn strategies that enhance the quality and dynamics of collaboration. Character-Based Recruitment is built upon the foundations of the Mission 365 recruitment training program to provide students with practical suggestions and tools to elevate their recruitment efforts and teach students the skills for effective communication, collaboration, values-based decision-making and innovation.

“When we look at these programs, all of these certificates are focused on empowering our young men to embrace a moral, ethical leadership that is rooted in the values and ideas of Sigma Chi and the cultures and the families they come from,” Rabe says. “We are trying to lift them up and give them those tools so they can not only be successful in their chapters, but also successful as alumni, businessmen, fathers, brothers, friends, the list goes on.”

The certificate courses feature a hybrid learning method of experiential learning, videos, in-person facilitation, online activities and workbook pages. Before completing each certificate, students are taught how to articulate to employers and others the value-add of the certificate earned. Feedback from pilot testing the Distance Leadership and Foundational Leadership certificates has been overwhelmingly positive.

According to Cogdal, 98 percent of Distance Leadership students agreed that the curriculum made them a better person and a better Sigma Chi; 97 percent agreed that they would recommend this certificate to another chapter; and 92 percent reported a considerable increase in remote knowledge compared to when they entered the course. With the Foundational Leadership Certificate courses, students reported a 35 percent increase in their ability to communicate effectively with their

chapter brothers; a 25 percent increase in their ability to critically evaluate their own decisions and actions; and a 29 percent increase in their ability to explore which morals and values are important to them in their daily life.

Inaugural students echo the positive impact the educational courses have already had on their professional and personal lives.

ALREADY APPLYING LESSONS

Teddy Davis, GETTYSBURG 2022, right, was approached in fall 2020 by the chapter’s former scholarship chairman about an educational opportunity in which the chapter could take part. At the time, Davis recalls, the scholarship chairman was unsure if anybody would participate in the Distance Leadership Certificate program. Davis immediately reached out to SCLI to say he was interested.

“I saw this as extremely opportunistic for myself and others, and I made sure the chapter heard me out on this. I [messaged] everybody in the chapter and got messages from people saying, ‘Hey, I want to jump on this, too,’” says Davis, who is now an undergraduate representative on the SCLI Board of Directors.

Likewise, Michael Esson, LOYOLA (CHICAGO) 2022, left, saw the educational opportunities of the Distance Leadership program and signed on to take the spring semester courses.

“In the initial meeting, they made a really good point, and that was once we’re out of quarantine and out of COVID-19, places that are hiring are going to ask you what you did. If you’re able to say I was proactive and took the time to learn how to lead under these circumstances, that’s going to be really attractive on any sort of job application,” Esson says of the appeal.

Both say the lessons they have learned have already been applied in internships and jobs. Most beneficial to Davis has been learning how to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace and making sure everyone feels like they belong. Esson says he’s learned how important understanding someone’s personality and Social Styles can be when communicating and interpreting the communication of others.

One component of the Distance Leadership Certificate program is listening to Sigma Chi alumni discuss their experience as leaders and the leadership lessons they have learned, and that has resonated well with students.

“It’s not just one person saying, ‘Hey, here’s the right way to do this.’ It’s, ‘Hey, let’s discuss this, talk it out and hear another person’s voice.’ To actually be able to apply that to your life, it’s been extremely valuable to me,” Davis says. “I love to see in Sigma Chi how brothers want to see my growth and personal success, and collectively as a chapter and as a Fraternity they want us to grow and succeed at life. I think that’s amazing.”

Jeffries, the first enrollee in the Distance Leadership Certificate program, has experienced firsthand how Sigma Chi alumni see value in the program. In May 2021, he started working at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, energy company and met his boss on his first day. When Jeffries went to shake hands with his boss, he learned that his boss is a Sigma Chi who is familiar with the Oklahoma State undergraduate chapter.

“We go into the office, and he starts introducing me to the team I’m going to be working with. I meet another Sigma Chi, and I’m answering all of these questions about SCLI because our alumni are intrigued with the things we’re doing in Stillwater 20 years after graduating,” Jeffries says. “They told me this is going to be impactful on my career, on all the jobs I’m going to have and on all the teams I’m going to be leading. It’s good to hear that.”

As of this writing, Jeffries planned to continue with the Transformational Leader program by attending the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit in July and earning the Enduring Leadership Certificate.

“I personally will try and get every drop out of the bottle that I can while I’m an undergrad. There’s a lot of other fraternities that try to do something like this. I think it’s so notable that Sigma Chi is the only fraternity that has anything to this degree, and to actually be able to put these certificates in (employers’) hands sets us so far above every other Greek-letter organization,” he says. “It’s really so much more than I thought it was going to be, and I can’t wait to earn my next (certificate) and keep showing those off.”

Who is a ////////////////////////////// transformational leader?

The transformational leader first must learn to manage self before being able to lead others and cultivate action within your community or campus. They follow the Transformational Leadership philosophy: the practice by which leaders inspire and empower others to innovate and create change that will positively impact the Fraternity and ultimately the world.

WHAT COMPRISES THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER PROGRAM?

There are nine certificates within the program that contain 12 leadership competencies. Certificates are grouped into four categories.

/// SELF

Foundational Leadership: Discovering Self

Authentic Leadership: Leading Self

Values-Based Leadership: Aligning Self

/// OTHERS

Servant Leadership: Empowering Others

Enduring Leadership: Compelling Action

/// ACTION

Adaptive Leadership: Facilitating Change

Innovative Leadership: Inspiring Action

/// COMMUNITY

Legacy Leadership: Sustaining Community

Distance Leadership: Connecting Community

/// MICRO-CERTIFICATES

Quest for Resilience

Character-Based Recruitment

WHAT IS THE COST TO ME?

The Transformational Leader program is funded by Sigma Chis through the Sigma Chi Foundation and is free to all brothers.

Bill George

Sigma Chi International Fraternity thanks Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Bill George, GEORGIA TECH 1964, and the George family for their commitment to supporting transformational leaders through Sigma Chi Online.

The Road to the

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

Since the Fraternity’s founding in 1855, the organization has been focused on educating its members to aid their development as values-based leaders. From the creation of the office of Magister and publication of the first pledge manual to the development of an overarching leadership program for all members, Sigma Chi continues to push the envelope with the ways in which it supports its members. This timeline shows how Sigma Chi has arrived at its present moment in time.

1886:

The 16th Grand Chapter adopts a proposed change to the Ritual that provides for the role of the Magister. The amendment introduced many of the elements still used in today’s Ritual, which are aimed at ensuring the initiation experience is an inspirational one.

1947:

Two–hundred fifteen delegates from 82 out of 108 undergraduate chapters attend the inaugural Leadership Training Workshop held from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Subjects covered were recruitment, pledge training, chapter organization, finances, interpretation of the Ritual, campus and alumni relations, and chapter publications. For the most part, these topics were presented by alumni.

1905:

Eighth Grand Historian Fred Perine, ALBION 1898, authors the first edition of the Chapter Handbook, which includes a brief history of the Fraternity and other information relevant to Sigma Chi’s operations.

1929:

A long-needed tool, a system of pledge training is published on Oct. 14, 1929. This pledge manual was authorized by Fraternity leadership at the Estes Park, Colorado, Grand Chapter in 1925, but it was four years later that the committee appointed by 24th Grand Consul Herbert Arms, ILLINOIS 1895, produced the manual.

1998:

Fraternity leaders name the annual Leadership Training Workshop in honor of 29th Grand Consul, Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig L.G. Balfour, INDIANA 1907, giving it the name Balfour Leadership Training Workshop. In its first 50 years, the workshop grew to teach not only Consuls, Quaestors and Magisters the finer points of their roles, but also to include Pro Consuls, Magisters, recruitment chairmen and others in educational sessions.

2000:

After having been piloted the year prior, what is now known as the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit is launched in Snowbird, Utah, bringing 48 undergraduates to the mountains to take part in teambuilding and other experiential exercises as part of “whole-brain” learning exercises. Horizons’ innovative approach to appealing to many learning styles has since been used when creating curriculum for the Fraternity’s other programs. Horizons was also novel because, for the first time, the organization contracted with outside, professional curriculum authors to create a Sigma Chi program.

2003:

Sigma Chi implements Cornerstone, an expanded version of the Stone Mentor Program, which was funded by Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Bob Stone, ILLINOIS 1951. Cornerstone matched alumni mentors with undergraduate chapters; the program ended in 2012 due to lack of funding.

2004:

After a pilot at four chapters, the Mission 365 recruitment training program is launched to teach undergraduates how to recruit men throughout the year who embrace Sigma Chi’s core values.

//// The Fraternity forms an alliance with the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, thanks to the involvement and generosity of Significant Sig Rob Reifschneider, SAN DIEGO STATE 1957. The partnership meant that Sigma Chi would benefit from the educational opportunities provided by the Betty Ford Center.

2008:

Sigma Chi Leadership Institute is formed as an educational entity.

2014:

Recognizing the need to address members’ mental health concerns amid a spike in the number of brothers lost to suicide, the Fraternity launched Sigma Chi Lifeline, a website that housed information regarding emotional well-being topics and a hotline staffed with professionals. This is done in partnership with the Jed Foundation, which provides the resources, and is available thanks to a full endowment in excess of $300,000 from Michael Zibilich, LOUISIANA STATE 1970, who lost his son, Keller Zibilich, LOUISIANA STATE 2015, to suicide in 2012.

2015:

With a $5 million donation from Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Jon Huntsman, PENNSYLVANIA 1959, Sigma Chi renames its Horizons program the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit. Huntsman’s generosity ensures that nearly 2,000 undergraduates can participate in the program through 2025 at no cost to themselves.

//// Seeing a need to create a uniform pledge education program across all chapters and to prevent hazing, the Fraternity launches Sigma Chi U, an online learning platform through which it deployed the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge program. The educational offerings on Sigma Chi U, now called Sigma Chi Online, later expanded to include curricula for all of the organization’s programs.

2016:

The Fraternity deploys its Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program to all undergraduate chapters, providing them with a uniform new member education program for the first time.

2018:

Strong Arms launches within undergraduate chapters to deploy mental health curriculum that each pledge is required to take.

//// The Ritual for Life post-initiation training program launches, providing uniform education to members.

//// Sigma Chi begins to create the Leadership Learning Continuum, which takes a holistic look at the organization’s educational offerings to its members. The goal of the continuum was to gain accreditation and one day offer degrees in leadership education so that an undergraduate who takes part in required programming will graduate college with a degree from his institution and credit from Sigma Chi.

//// Sigma Chi renames the Balfour Leadership Training Workshop to the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop in recognition of a gift from 64th Grand Consul Keith Krach, PURDUE 1979, and begins focusing the event on developing members’ leadership skills and mentoring the next generation of transformational leaders.

2019:

The Sigma Chi Leadership Institute is reorganized and a full-time staff is hired. Sixty-eighth Grand Consul Michael Greenberg, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN 1982, is announced as chairman and Jim Cogdal, BRADLEY 2003, is announced as executive director during the 82nd Grand Chapter in Salt Lake City.

//// Sigma Chi introduces its Values-Based Decision Making program to undergraduate chapters.

//// Sigma Chi introduces the Reach Out app to provide members and nonmembers access to mental wellness resources 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

//// Sigma Chi Leadership Institute partners with Ohio-based Cyanna Education Services and begins the process of becoming an institution licensed by the Illinois Board of Higher Education Private Business and Vocational Schools division, positioning it to become accredited through a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accreditor.

//// Sigma Chi Leadership Institute unveils its Transformational Leadership Certificate program centered around the leadership model of Self, Action, Others and Community that includes stackable certificates.

2020:

Sigma Chi Leadership Institute becomes the first Greek-letteraffiliated institution to achieve state licensing within the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s Private Business and Vocational Schools sector for its leadership education content.

//// Sigma Chi Leadership Institute pivots to offer its leadership education programming virtually to undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes adapting the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program, Mission 365 recruitment training program and Strong Arms mental wellness program for virtual programming. SCLI additionally adapts the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop to be deployed virtually for the first time.

2021:

Sigma Chi Leadership Institute deploys its inaugural Officer Training Academy virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that undergraduate officers’ educational needs are met.

//// Sigma Chi Leadership Institute is accepted as a candidate for accreditation by the Middle States Association-Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools, which is an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

//// Sigma Chi Leadership Institute enrolls Ryan Jeffries, OKLAHOMA STATE 2023, as its first student and Nolan White, DALHOUSIE-ST. MARY’S 2022, as its first Canadian enrollee in the Distance Leadership Certificate.

//// Landon Lathrop, ST. THOMAS 2023, becomes Sigma Chi Leadership Institute’s first graduate, completing the 40 course hours included in the Distance Leadership Certificate in just over two weeks prior to his deployment as part of Operation Spartan Shield. Lathrop is a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard.

//// Sigma Chi Leadership Institute introduces the Transformational Leader program to attendees of the 83rd Grand Chapter. The program is Sigma Chi’s overarching leadership program for undergraduate and alumni members that is designed to benefit members throughout life. Its coursework could potentially yield transferrable credits and digital badges for members through SCLI’s accreditation candidacy with MSA-CESS.

Transformational Awards and Recognition

For more than 20 years, Sigma Chi has delivered award-winning programs on campuses throughout North America

>>> 2021 Brandon Hall Group Bronze Award for Excellence in the Best Unique or Innovative Leadership Program category for the Distance Leadership: Connecting Community certificate course.

>>> 2021 North American Interfraternity Conference Laurel Wreath Award for the Distance Leadership: Connecting Community certificate course.

>>> 2019 Brandon Hall Gold Award for Excellence in Talent Acquisition for the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program.

>>> 2019 North American Interfraternity Conference Laurel Wreath Award for the Strong Arms mental wellness and emotional health program.

>>> 2018 North American Interfraternity Conference Laurel Wreath Award for the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program.

>>> 2018 Horizon Interactive Awards gold award in Training/E-Learning for the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program.

>>> 2015 North American Interfraternity Conference Laurel Wreath Award for the Crossroads drug and alcohol education program.

>>> 2011 North American Interfraternity Conference Laurel Wreath Award for the Mission 365 recruitment training program.

The Sig List

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In 2018, Sigma Chi began to create the Leadership Learning Continuum, which takes a holistic look at the organization’s educational offerings to its members. The goal of the continuum was to gain accreditation and one day offer degrees in leadership education so that an undergraduate who takes part in required programming will graduate college with a degree from his institution and credit from Sigma Chi.

Sigma Chi Leadership Institute was accepted in December 2020 as a candidate for accreditation by the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools, which is an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Sigma Chi Leadership Institute enrolled Ryan Jeffries, OKLAHOMA STATE 2023, as its first student and Nolan White, DALHOUSIEST. MARY’S 2022, as its first Canadian enrollee in the Distance Leadership Certificate.

Landon Lathrop, ST. THOMAS 2023, became Sigma Chi Leadership Institute’s first graduate, completing the 40 course hours included in the Distance Leadership Certificate in just over two weeks prior to his deployment as part of Operation Spartan Shield. Lathrop is a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard.

Sigma Chi Leadership Institute introduced the Transformational Leader program to attendees of the 83rd Grand Chapter in June 2021.

The first five certificate offerings from the Transformational Leader Program were expected to be available by Aug. 1, 2021.

Things to know, notice and tell a brother about Sigma Chi Leadership Institute and the Transformational Leader program

BY THE NUMBERS

Measuring the effectiveness of Sigma Chi’s educational programs and the Distance Leadership: Connecting Community certificate ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

85%

62%

98% of surveyed participants agreed that topics covered in the Distance Leadership: Connecting Community certificate course were relevant to current events in their chapter.

59% of alumni surveyed who have graduated since 2015 credit Sigma Chi leadership programming with providing them skills that later helped them increase their pay.

97% of surveyed participants would recommend the Distance Leadership: Connecting Community certificate course to another chapter. of alumni surveyed who have graduated since 2015 credit Sigma Chi leadership programming with providing them skills that later helped them earn a promotion at work.

of surveyed participants in the Distance Leadership: Connecting Community certificate course agreed that the information made them a better person and a better Sigma Chi.

S I G M A C H I I S T R A N S F O R M I N G T H E G R E E K - L E T T E R