Alex Lindley, MISSOURI-COLUMBIA 2015, advocates for increased access to mental health services through the Project Wake WakeUp
Don Copeland, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 1989, wears a mask in front of the Thomas Cowan Bell Memorial Monument located at the Presidio of San Francisco on April 12. Copeland is the warden for the monument. Read more on page 47 about Sigma Chis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ihope this summer issue of The Magazine of Sigma Chi finds all of you safe and practicing wellness protocols as we deal with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Few people could have predicted the daily issues we have confronted since our last Magazine issue was published. Universities have closed their brick-and-mortar facilities and switched to an online educational model. Our chapter houses have closed temporarily while house corporations deal with the financial challenges associated with interruptions to their cashflows. Our brothers have faced their own challenges associated with being furloughed or laid off from employment. Throughout these difficult times, our brothers, undergraduates and alumni alike have shown the resiliency of the human spirit, which we will showcase in this issue.
Special thanks are in order for the members of Sigma Chi’s Membership Development Continuum. Under the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute umbrella, they have responded quickly to adapt the Strong Arms mental wellness program to meet our members’ needs and provide them with resources to address feelings of depression and isolation caused by the pandemic. This information and other helpful tips are available to all members, our university partners and friends at sigmachi.org/strong-arms-covid. It is important to stress, and these resources show that you are never alone in Sigma Chi. In this Magazine issue, you will find stories
of Sigs helping in the fight against COVID-19, as well as those who are working to expand public access to mental health services more broadly. It is my hope that you will find these stories as refreshing and enlightening as I have.
As many of you know, I have recently returned to my role as your 71st Grand Consul after a monthslong hiatus due to a medical emergency I suffered in late November 2019. Throughout our lives, we have seen or heard stories of brothers rallying around another brother in a crisis. I could never have imagined how powerful those strong arms would be in my personal struggle. Brothers and Sigma Chi special partners alike reached out to my wife, Valerie, and me daily to provide support and well wishes. Facebook posts and personal greetings poured in, including notes from undergraduate chapters. The Executive Committee, led by our Grand Pro Consul Tim Sanderson, WESTERN ONTARIO 1985, and Executive Director Michael Church, ILLINOIS 2005, made sure the business of Sigma Chi continued in my absence. I can never thank my Sigma Chi family enough for making sure that I was being cared for and that those personal messages were finding their way to me. When I returned, I did so with such a warm spirit of, “Welcome back.” I will always treasure this support, and it inspires me to reciprocate in whatever fashion I can.
Let this be a threshold moment for the Sigma Chi International Fraternity. When the world was confronted with its biggest medical challenge in the last 100 years, Sigma Chi members stepped up, exhibited strength of character and showed the compassion our seven Founders would have been proud of.
Guard Well,
Steven
Schuyler
ARIZONA 1979
71st Grand Consul
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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© 2020 Sigma Chi Fraternity | The Magazine of Sigma Chi (USPS325500) is issued quarterly by Sigma Chi Fraternity International Headquarters 1714 Hinman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201
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HOW TO RECEIVE THE MAGAZINE | Undergraduate members: Undergraduate members receive a digital copy of The Magazine through payment of semiannual dues through their chapter. Individual copies are emailed to each undergraduate, and five chapter copies are sent via postal mail to the chapter editor or the chapter house. Recent graduates: The Fraternity gives each recent graduate a one-year complimentary membership in the Life Loyal Sig program. Benefits of this membership include four digital issues of TheMagazine At the end of the year, recent graduates may continue to receive The Magazine through the alumni options. Alumni: Alumni receive The Magazine by contributing to the Life Loyal Sig annual fund program. Persons contributing $1-99 annually receive a digital version of The Magazine, and those contributing $100+ annually receive a paper copy. For either of these, phone subscription sales at (847) 869-3655 or visit sigmachi.org/lifeloyal. A single copy of the current issue of The Magazine is $8.75 and can be purchased by contacting subscription sales. Past issues are $10.25 each.
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Summer issue: March 15 Fall issue: May 1 Winter issue: Sept. 1 Spring issue: Dec. 15
POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL
Some of my fondest memories as a Sigma Chi are those moments following a chapter meeting during which a brother has shared a personal problem or issue with the group and the support he receives afterward from his brothers. Having been on both sides of this scenario, I can tell you that such interactions are what make belonging to a Greek-letter organization like Sigma Chi unique. They provide members with social and networking opportunities like any membership organization, but it’s this system of lifelong support that is at the heart of Sigma Chi’s mission and what qualifies it as a brotherhood.
That’s why, when asked why I choose to remain involved with the Fraternity as an alumnus, this is the reason I give and the example I often use. Belonging to a support system like Sigma Chi fosters resilience, which in turn promotes positive mental health and emotional wellbeing.
In this issue of The Magazine of Sigma Chi, you’ll find the story of a young Sig who is taking an active role in mental health advocacy and increasing support services for others following the deaths of two of his friends to suicide. He and members of the nonprofit group he cofounded to further this goal are committed to telling the stories of those who are the frontlines of mental health treatment and suicide prevention through a documentary film.
Similarly, the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute and members of the International Fraternity’s Membership Development Continuum are committed to having conversations with Fraternity members about mental health — and to giving them strategies and resources to support it.
Sharing stories that demonstrate the support network Sigma Chi provides to its members become even more important during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic — and the social distancing required to slow its spread — has brought everyday life as much of the world knows it to a halt and, at the very least, has brought uncertainty to many aspects of life.
You’ll find coverage of a small percentage of the things we’ve learned our members are doing in the fight against COVID-19 in this issue. From medical professionals on the frontlines and engineers who are designing life-saving medical equipment to parents finding creative solutions to homeschooling for young children, our members have been busy during a time when much of the world has slowed down. We will continue bringing you this coverage in future issues of The Magazine and through sigmachi.org.
We hope that you enjoy the issue.
Sincerely,
Ryan Liskey MARQUETTE 2010 Editor
Basketball Hall of Fame — Congrats to Significant Sig Coach Eddie Sutton, OKLAHOMA STATE 1958, on being inducted into the 2020 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame. In his career, he ranks in the top 10 among NCAA Division I coaches in all-time victories.
Mental Health — The Sigma Chi Reach Out App now has mental health resources available for current and former service members. The app is free and confidential, and does not require login information. The app ensures that every person has strong arms around them. Never alone, reach out.
Happy International Badge Day! Where has your badge taken you? Featured here is a Herff Jones special edition badge that the Fraternity will give to its 350,000th initiate in the coming weeks. Who do you think the lucky new brother will be?
BY ASHLEY SZATALA //////////////////
Henry Louie, KETTERING 2002, studied power engineering, a subfield of electrical engineering, throughout his undergraduate and post-graduate schooling. However, it wasn’t until he earned his doctoral degree and started teaching at Seattle University (SU) in 2008 that he learned a huge segment of the global population doesn’t have access to electricity. In 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, the International Energy Agency reported that 940 million people worldwide lacked access.
SU is a Jesuit university, and staff are encouraged to explore how their expertise intersects with humanity at the most basic level. In his first year at SU, Louie worked with students to design a simple hand-cranked generator that people in rural areas without electricity could use.
“I traveled to Zambia for the first time and was mentored on the basics of appropriate design and humanitarian engineering,” he says. “I was hooked. It was important to me to apply my expertise in a way that directly helped people.”
That initial experience of providing electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa helped inspire Louie to co-found KiloWatts for Humanity in 2015. The nonprofit organization provides renewable energy solutions in less-economically developed communities; in turn, the access to electricity fosters the development of businesses. For his work with KiloWatts for Humanity, Louie has been named the summer quarter Mark V. Anderson Character-in-ActionTM Leadership Award recipient.
Louie says it’s difficult for those with reliable electricity to imagine what life is like without it.
“Your day starts at sunrise and ends at sunset. There’s no evening time to work or socialize. Without electricity, simple tasks are much more difficult,” he explains. “You can’t pump water. You don’t feel safe walking outside in the dark or in your own home. You don’t have a radio to be informed. You have no idea what your president looks like. You have limited access to entertainment and communication. You spend a large portion of your money on using primitive fuels like wood, dried dung or candles for lighting and heat.”
Louie experienced the situation, called energy poverty, firsthand when he was selected as a Fulbright Scholar in 2015. He lived in Zambia for a year, taught at Copperbelt University in Kitwe and worked to bring solar-powered electricity to rural communities.
“The country was experiencing load shedding, which meant that for eight hours each day, people, even those of us living in large cities, did not have electricity,” Louie says. “I ended up forming a research group to explore how this lack of electricity impacted how people lived — switching to using charcoal to cook, candles for light, buying smaller quantities of food because refrigerators were unable to keep food cold, etc.”
TV and several tablets
to
Also in 2015, Louie, faculty and staff at SU and volunteers had begun taking on increasingly ambitious electrification projects in developing countries and decided to form a nonprofit, KiloWatts for Humanity, to continue their work.
KiloWatts for Humanity partners with local nonprofit organizations to identify communities in need and install microgrids, or energy kiosks, that are typically powered by solar or wind energy. The technical, economic, environmental and social aspects of a community are all considered, Louie says, adding that local nonprofit partners are essential because they know the communities, customs and people. After identifying possible communities in need, surveys and data are collected to see if the services provided by a microgrid system align with the needs of the community and if the community can support it.
“We take a community-powered, sustainable approach to solving energy poverty. The community where the [energy] kiosk is installed is empowered to determine what their needs and ideas are for creating a sustainable, revenuegenerating business, or businesses, that will benefit the whole community,” says Jenna Isakson, a co-founder of KiloWatts for Humanity. “By creating sustainable businesses, our [local] partner and the community can maintain the microgrid for years to come and ideally continue to expand their services to meet more of the community's needs.”
KiloWatts for Humanity has done several projects in Zambia as well as in Kenya and the Philippines. For example, in Chalokwa, Zambia, volunteers installed solar panels to provide localized air conditioning, and the energy kiosk the panels power serves as a grocery store for the community and charges a laptop used by the local primary school. In Cheeba, Zambia, solar panels power an energy kiosk that provides electricity for freezers, mobile phone and battery charging, a barbershop and a small grocery store. Up next for KiloWatts for Humanity is working to electrify the drought-stricken village of Kanchomba, Zambia.
Louie says people’s reaction to having electricity is indescribable.
“It is always a big occasion. People will often say that they feel modern now that they have light at home. In some villages, they put on large community events to celebrate the opening of the system, such as dancing, food and drink,” he says.
“Coming back to visit a community at night and seeing electric light where there was none before is an amazing feeling. I struggle to describe it with words.”
Isakson says Louie’s passion for tackling energy poverty and the community of students and volunteers he has drawn to this cause is what initially drew Isakson to getting involved with KiloWatts for Humanity nearly seven years ago.
“He is so knowledgeable on the topic, the solutions, and speaks about it with such animation and urgency that he motivates me, and so many of our volunteers, to continuing doing just that — volunteering to end energy poverty,” she says. “Henry is an inspiring educator and leader. He puts in many hours throughout the year to see these off-grid solar microgrids come to fruition and to inspire the next generation of leaders to use their expertise for social good.”
Louie credits Sigma Chi as helping mold the leader and volunteer he is today.
“I actually keep a copy of The Norman Shield in my office. I served as Magister and then Pro Consul at my chapter. I credit my time as Magister with solidifying my goal to be a professor. I loved learning and loved teaching,” he says. “Through Sigma Chi, I was exposed to volunteerism and service. I gained valuable leadership experience that translates well into leading a volunteer-based organization.”
A person with good character shows trustworthiness, respect and fairness to others, as well as responsibility and citizenship. Those members who go out of their way to help others and those who overcome obstacles and lead with integrity are good candidates for the Mark V. Anderson Character-in-Action™ Leadership Award.
Sigma Chi introduced the award to recognize the selfless acts of brothers. A formal recognition by the Fraternity allows non-members to appreciate the scope of the organization. For information about the award, see sigmachi.org/character
Sigma Chi International Fraternity is proud to announce the 2020 inductees into the Order of Constantine. Induction into the order is the Fraternity’s highest honor. It is bestowed upon Sigs who have devoted 20 or more years of service to Sigma Chi.
Astley is Grand Praetor of the South Florida province. He also has been the editor and vice president of communications for the alumni chapters in Naples and Fort Myers, Florida, for which he produces the groups’ joint newsletter, and has created and maintained their website. Astley additionally has advised undergraduate members in his area on chapter communications matters, working closely with Quaestors and Tribunes to assist with planning reunions and organizing fundraising events. He also has been a member of alumni chapters in Tampa, Florida; Miami; and New York City and has been an advisor to the Florida Gulf Coast and Miami (Florida) chapters.
program and brotherhood accountability board. Nominators say he has encouraged undergraduate members’ involvement with student government and other campus organizations. He also has sponsored and helped the chapter organize barbecue and crawfish boil events to engage alumni and encourage their involvement. Belt additionally served as president of the Texas A&M-College Station chapter’s house corporation.
Bibo served the Fraternity as a Grand Trustee from 2015 to 2017. He has been a member of the Texas-Austin chapter’s house corporation board of directors since 1997 and has been its president since 2005. He also has received two Grand Consul’s Citations for his work assisting with chapter reinstallations at the University of Texas-Austin and Baylor University in 2009 and 2016, respectively, and has continued serving the Texas-Austin chapter as chairman of its scholarship selection committee, which contributes more than $15,000 annually in undergraduate scholarships. Bibo additionally is a certified Ritual Peer and member of the Austin, Texas, alumni chapter.
Belt has been chapter advisor for the Texas A&M-College Station undergraduate chapter since 2012. Since that time, he has assisted the chapter in reestablishing its sweetheart
Connell is assistant Grand Praetor for the Southern California province and has been a facilitator at the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop and former Balfour Leadership Training Work-shop. He also was chapter advisor to the former Fraternity chapter at the University of California-San Bernardino from 2005 to 2016 and assisted with the Cal. State-San Marcos chapter installation in 2015. He regularly facilitates Fraternity educational programs to the chapters in his province and is credited with helping to start the Inland Empire Alumni Chapter. He was named the Southern California province chapter advisor of the year in 2016 and received the Seven Lights Alumni Award in 2017.
Cooter has been a member of the East Tennessee chapter’s house corporation since 2003 and a key contributor to organizing the chapter’s 35th, 40th, 45th and 50th anniversary celebrations. He also has assisted with the chapter’s recruitment and initiation events since 1998. Cooter additionally served as East Tennessee’s chapter advisor from 1998 to 2002, during which time the chapter won a Peterson Significant Chapter Award each year. He also participated in alumni planning sessions with East Tennessee
State University administrators that included topics such as ways to enhance to the school’s Greek-letter community and improve housing, among others.
Davis has been a member of the San Jose State chapter’s house corporation board since 1994 and is credited with being a significant asset in supporting its house renovation from 2012 to 2013. The chapter named him its outstanding alumnus of the year in 2014 for his efforts. Davis also helped reorganize the chapter’s Thomas Cowan Bell Scholastic Foundation and has advised the chapter on financial matters. Davis has additionally represented the chapter at Grand Chapter and Balfour Leadership Training Workshop events, and served on the San Jose Alumni Chapter’s executive board from 1987 to 1990.
Hagan is a founding member of the Fraternity’s South Florida undergraduate chapter and has at times served as its chapter advisor. He also is credited with helping the chapter establish its first chapter house and has been a member of the chapter’s house corporation, vice chairman of its scholarship foundation and has assisted with its initiation ceremonies for more than 15 years, among other roles. Hagan additionally organized the chapter’s 25th and 40th anniversary celebration events and received a Grand Consul’s Citation in 2019 for his work on the latter event. He also is a member of the Tampa Bay Alumni Association.
Hampton has been president of the East Tennessee chapter’s house corporation since 1995 and has organized its annual golf tournament fundraising event since 1997. He has served on the planning committees for the chapter’s 35th, 40th, 45th and 50th anniversary celebrations. He additionally has organized many alumni and undergraduate workdays to clean and repair the East Tennessee chapter house prior to the start of each academic year. Hampton also has been a member of membership review committees at the chapter when the times have demanded it. He received the Fraternity’s Seven Lights Alumni Award in 2011.
Hornback’s efforts to return the chapter to campus included implementing a plan for its financial stability, leading communications efforts to alumni and raising more than $1 million for chapter house improvements and creating a scholarship fund, among others. He also attends and supports Cincinnati Alumni Chapter events and was named the group’s CincySig of the Year in 2018 for his efforts to recruit other Miami (Ohio) Fraternity alumni. Hornback also is a Significant Sig.
Juchem is the alumni Magister for the Fraternity’s colony at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He previously served as chapter advisor to the undergraduate chapters at the University of Denver and the University of Northern Colorado. He also has been a member of the Rocky Mountain province’s advisory committee since 1999 and has been a member of numerous membership review teams assisting the Fraternity’s Chapter and Member Accountability Committee (CAMAC). He additionally has served as a facilitator at numerous Fraternity leadership training workshops, including the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop and former Balfour Leadership Training Workshop and province conferences.
Kendall has been a member of the Mississippi State chapter’s house corporation for more than 50 years and has served as its president. He also has been chairman of the chapter’s capital campaign and has been instrumental in raising funds for chapter house improvements and the development of the Tom Bell Memorial Fund. Kendall additionally guides the Mississippi State undergraduates’ efforts to maintain an alumni database and in producing the chapter’s The Steel Jacket Sig newsletter. He is credited with starting the annual Alumni All Sig Day Homecoming event at Mississippi State to connect undergraduates with alumni. Kendall is a Significant Sig.
Hornback has been a member of the Miami (Ohio) chapter’s house corporation for more than 20 years and has served as its president.
During the chapter’s closure from 2012 to 2017,
Kotz has been Grand Praetor of the Southwestern province since 2012, is a certified Ritual Peer and is a member of the Membership Review committee. He also has been a faculty member at the Fraternity’s annual summer leadership training workshops since 2002. Kotz was the
recipient of the Fraternity’s Seven Lights Alumni Award in 2018, the Southwestern Province Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2008 and the Beta Xi Spirit of Sigma Chi Award in 2007. He is a member of the University of New Mexico undergraduate chapter’s advisory board and helped with the recolonization and reinstallation of the chapter in 2008.
Palmer is Grand Praetor of the Los Angeles Coastal province, an Education and Leadership Board committee member and a Membership Review committee member. He also has been a facilitator at the annual summer leadership training workshop since 2013. Palmer was president of the Dallas Alumni Chapter from 2009 to 2011 and received the Jay E. Minton Best Alumni Chapter Officer Award in 2012. In addition, he served as chairman of the alumni chapter’s golf tournament fundraiser from 2008 to 2010. Nominators said Palmer has a high sense of honor, integrity and dedication to the Fraternity’s values.
chapter a Thomas Cowan Bell Chapter. Peers noted that Paulowsky emphasizes the importance of the Ritual when talking to undergraduates and is an example of the Ritual in action.
Powers is a member of the house corporation board for the undergraduate chapter at the University of Texas-Austin. Previously, he was the house corporation president for 10 years and was instrumental in helping to fundraise for the remodeling of the chapter house in 1996. When the undergraduate chapter was suspended in the late 1990s, Powers worked closely with the university and Sigma Chi International Fraternity Headquarters to recolonize the chapter and get it reinstated on campus. Powers also has been president of the Austin, Texas, Alumni Chapter and was key in organizing its annual banquet fundraiser to help support undergraduate chapters in the Central Texas province.
Neill has been involved with the Washington State University undergraduate house corporation for the past 40 years. He started out as the house corporation president in 1979, and due to bylaws requiring the position to be a rotating office, Neill moved into other positions within the house corporation. He began serving as financial advisor in 1993 and became president again in 2000 and 2019. Neill was instrumental in helping undergraduates find housing after the demolition of their house in the early 2000s. He helped negotiate the purchase of a new house and led efforts to fundraise and build the current chapter house.
Paulowsky is the house corporation president for the undergraduate chapter at New Mexico State University and previously was its chapter advisor for seven years. He is credited with helping get the chapter reinstalled on campus in 2009 and for securing a chapter house for the undergraduate brothers at that time. Nominators said Paulowsky always helps ensure that recruitment and initiation run smoothly, and he prioritizes alumni involvement. He was instrumental in making the undergraduate
Pye has dedicated significant time in the past decade helping to rebuild the undergraduate chapter at Ripon College. He routinely has made more than a four-hour drive from Minneapolis to Ripon, Wisconsin, to work with chapter members and leadership, alumni and college administration. Nominators said Pye has reestablished positive working relationships with the college; implemented policy changes and guided interventions to stop property damage to the members’ living units; facilitated the financial support and inclusion of alumni; and helped the chapter develop policies for risk management, judicial processes and scholarship.
Silvers professionally is a teacher, and he applies that same mentoring attitude in his work as a Sig alumnus. For the past 17 years he has been a faculty member at the Fraternity’s summer leadership training workshops and regularly follows up with the undergraduates he mentors following the event. Silvers is the current Clarksville, Tennessee, alumni chapter president, served as chapter advisor at Austin Peay State University for nine years and currently is the chapter advisor at Murray State University. Nominators said he makes an impact on all, and always makes sure brothers understand what it is like to live our values every day.
Westrich began his service to the Fraternity in 1984 by raising $14,000 through selling hamburgers at a St. Louis Fourth of July celebration in order to secure the St. Louis University undergraduate chapter’s charter; only $3,000 was needed. Nominators said that moment is exemplary of the type of Sig Westrich is today. Currently he is chapter advisor for his undergraduate chapter and active with the St. Louis Alumni Chapter. Westrich helped found in the 1990s the Sigma Chi Scramble for Kids golf tournament to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network and has hosted for more than a decade the annual Sid Weber Barbecue alumni event.
Williams has been Grand Praetor for the Rocky Mountain province since 2011. He has served on several committees, including the Governing Laws, Governmental Affairs and Legal Affairs committees. Williams is chairman of the Jordan Initiative Operating Board. In addition, he has been a Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit facilitator and has
participated in leadership training workshops. He was instrumental in the recolonization efforts at Colorado University. Williams was an undergraduate representative to the Executive Committee while studying at Drake University, and while in law school at Villanova University, he was assistant chapter advisor for the University of Pennsylvania undergraduate chapter.
Wrightington has been chapter advisor of the University of Louisville undergraduate chapter since 1995 and was recognized with the Erwin L. LeClerg Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award in 2012. Under his guidance, the chapter has won the Peterson Significant Chapter Award annually since 1999. According to his nominators, Wrightington provides values-based consistency each year, and undergraduates cited him as a role model who assists them beyond the responsibilities of a chapter advisor. As a student, Wrightington was a finalist for the 1991 International Balfour Award.
BY WES HOLTSCLAW, EAST TENNESSEE
In 1975, a young attorney arrived in Phoenix to discover a sense of opportunity not found in many regions throughout the country at that time.
The hard-earned success of individuals like Significant Sig Mike Kennedy, DUKE 1972, at right, over the four-plus decades that have followed are a key reason why the Phoenix and Scottsdale region in Arizona has become a land of opportunity and one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States.
“If you wanted to work, develop relationships, develop something, you wouldn’t have to stand in line behind someone,” Kennedy says. “There was opportunity, and those that wanted to step to the forefront and try to succeed, you could do it.”
For more than 100 years, Sigma Chi alumni have found individual success stories in the region. Whether it’s in aerospace or construction, cutting-edge law enforcement technology or politics, Sigs have emerged as leaders in business, community and philanthropic efforts.
There’s the great weather, the golf, the southwestern culture and heritage. There’s also a sense of camaraderie in the region, which has allowed the Phoenix Alumni Chapter to enjoy more than 100 years of activity.
“It’s definitely an attractive place for guys from Minnesota, like myself, or Chicago or Michigan,” says alumni chapter president George Grombacher, VALPARAISO 2001. “The weather is obviously great. But we’re the fastestgrowing city in the United States, and it’s still a very, very affordable place to live. Businesses are moving here all of the time, so there’s a ton of opportunity.”
While many brothers congregate to the area from regional schools, such as nearby Arizona State University; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona; University of Arizona; and Northern Arizona University, many other brothers have followed opportunities to the area.
“We have a really rich history,” Grombacher says. “We’ve been around over 100 years. We have really strong undergraduate chapters nearby and generations of
alumni that are from Arizona or Phoenix, but Arizona is a destination state, and we have people moving here all the time.
“Out of our alumni chapter, at least a third, if not half, of our alumni brothers are from other chapters, myself included. For me, one of my favorite things is meeting Sigs from all over the country with different experiences.”
On the second Wednesday of each month, as many as 50 alumni from the Phoenix metropolitan area meet for a dinner highlighted by guest speakers from around the region.
On any given month, the gathering includes luminaries such as Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Stephen McNamee, CINCINNATI 1964, who is a Senior U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona, as well as local business owners such as Jeff Carlberg, NEW MEXICO 1984, at left, who is owner of the Il Bosco Pizza restaurant in Scottsdale.
Along with its regular alumni dinners, the Phoenix chapter holds an annual summer golf outing in June, monthly social hours and has held such events as wild game dinners, networking events and behind-the-scenes outings at some Sig-owned businesses in the area.
“For me, one of my favorite things is meeting Sigs from all over the country with different experiences.”
George Grombacher, VALPARAISO 2001
“We’re always looking to engage,” Grombacher says. “We have brothers that are retired. We have brothers who are family guys, like myself, whose time is limited. We’ve got brothers who are right out of college and young guys that are starting their careers.”
One of the more prominent activities, however, is a mentorship program with the nearby Arizona State chapter that began in 2002.
“The alumni chapter stepped up, and we had a lot of guys get that program started, and it has been carried on to where it is today. We can all benefit from mentorship,” Grombacher says. “With such a dynamic and diverse cross section of alumni that we have here in Phoenix, it just makes sense for us to engage with the undergraduates and give them the benefit of experience we have.”
The impact of Sigma Chis in and around the Phoenix area provides a Significant Sig list that spans across multiple generations and industries.
Politically, Phoenix claims the Sig that arguably has made the biggest national impact of any other member outside of President Grover Cleveland, MICHIGAN 1893: the late U.S. senator and former presidential candidate Significant Sig Barry Goldwater, ARIZONA 1932
When it comes to sports, one of two Sigma Chi head coaches in the NFL, Significant Sig Kliff Kingsbury, TEXAS TECH 2002, leads the Arizona Cardinals football team.
Significant Sig Jim Palmer, ARIZONA STATE 1967, turned heads as a pitcher at Scottsdale High School and began a championship, Cy Young Award-winning professional career with the Baltimore Orioles after playing collegiately with Arizona State University.
The late Significant Sig Eddie Lynch, ARIZONA 1957, was a longtime partner of the Phoenix Suns ownership group and member of the Phoenix Thunderbirds, a special events committee that benefits the local community with the proceeds of its athletic events.
Kennedy and partner Mike Gallagher cultivated a love for community and sports into the Gallagher and Kennedy firm, which at one time represented every major sports franchise in Phoenix. Kennedy is president of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, past chairman of the Phoenix Open and led the Arizona Super Bowl Committee.
There’s also men such as Significant Sig Robert Hobbs, ARIZONA STATE 1963, whose Naumann Hobbs Material Handling company is one of Arizona’s largest privately-owned companies, and Significant Sig David Larcher, ARIZONA STATE 1982, a founding principal of the Vestar retail real estate company that has been responsible for some of the largest retail projects in the southwest.
“Sigma Chi is a great training ground. It does a lot to make you stronger.”
Significant
Sig Rick Smith, HARVARD 1992
Significant Sig Tom Lewis, KENTUCKY 1971, at right, made a name for himself through homebuilding with the T.W. Lewis company but impacts undergraduate students every year through support of the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University, the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and the Lewis Honors College at his alma mater. The honors college was named after Lewis in 2015 following a $23 million gift — the largest in the school’s history.
“Everything I learned in college, I attributed Sigma Chi to,” Lewis says. “I wasn’t ready to learn engineering. I wasn’t ready to learn business. What I was able to learn was how to be a leader. I took on leadership roles in the Fraternity and campuswide … a lot of planning, organizing, motivating and control. That’s what business is, and that’s what I learned at Sigma Chi doing those type of things.”
One of the most respected international leaders in aerospace technology, Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Bob Johnson, MIAMI (OHIO) 1969, at right, chairman of Spirit AeroSystems and past chairman of the Sigma Chi Foundation, served on the Arizona State University board while leading the Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace as CEO and chairman.
Significant Sig Rick Smith, HARVARD 1992, at right, a founder of the Harvard chapter, helped develop the electrical weapon Taser with a goal of eliminating gun violence following the deaths of two friends. Through Tasers, bodycams and investigative technology, his company, Axon, has become a worldwide leader in preventative policing.
“Sigma Chi is a great training ground,” Smith says. “It does a lot to make you stronger. You can be vulnerable with other guys, let the guard down a little bit, and focus on building lifelong relationships. It’s created the foundation for my strongest lifelong friendships.”
Barry Goldwater Memorial Park
Barry Goldwater Memorial Park, which honors the late Significant Sig Senator and former presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, ARIZONA 1932, highlights the personal and political life of the Arizona legend who served in the U.S. Senate for three decades.
The park, dedicated in 2004, features a life-like statue of Goldwater sculpted by Arizona artist Joe Beeler and is landscaped with desert plantings, water fixtures and a pedestrian path inscribed with noteworthy quotes and plaques marking milestones from Goldwater’s life and career.
6401 N. Tantum Park, Paradise Valley, Arizona
Each January, hundreds of thousands of spectators make their way to the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course for the annual Waste Management Phoenix Open, often voted by PGA golfers as one of their favorite events on the annual circuit.
The Phoenix Open has been operated by the Thunderbirds since its inception. Featuring several Sigma Chis, the Thunderbirds organization is a special events committee that benefits the local community with the proceeds of its athletic events.
Thunderbirds member and past president Significant Sig Mike Kennedy, DUKE 1972, chaired the Phoenix Open in 1994 and has chaired the Thunderbird International Junior at Grayhawk Golf Club since 2000.
wmphoenixopen.com, Scottsdale, Arizona
Located next to the Handlebar J rib house and saloon, Il Bosco Pizza was established in 2012 by golf instructor Bill Forrest and quickly became a favorite of the Scottsdale community.
Il Bosco was named by Phoenix Magazine as one of the best pizzerias in America in 2017. Following Forrest’s death in 2018, Jeff Carlberg, NEW MEXICO 1984, below, and a partner purchased the restaurant with the goals of expansion and preserving the original spot’s success.
Il Bosco and Handlebar J have gone hand in hand since the former’s addition to the area. Both spots feature live outdoor music three nights a week. Formerly known as Wild Bill’s, Handlebar J is where Waylon Jennings began his solo career following the death of bandmate Buddy Holly in 1959. The venue has hosted everyone from Dick Van Dyke, Matthew McConoughey and Jennings to the late Significant Sig Buster Crabbe, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 1931, and more.
7120 E. Becker Lane, Scottsdale, Arizona, ilboscopizza.com
Four Peaks Brewing and Brewpub
In 1996, Jim Scussel, WISCONSIN 1989, and three friends converted a former ice factory and recording studio, which hosted the likes of the Gin Blossoms and Stevie Nicks, into Four Peaks Brewing Company.
Four Peaks is the winner of numerous awards at the annual Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup. The company’s Scottish-style ale, Kilt Lifter, and 8th Street pale ale lead its offerings.
Four Peaks has four locations, including the original 8th Street Pub in Tempe, where the menu features a variety of sandwiches, wraps, salads, burgers and pizzas.
1340 E 8th St. #104, Tempe, Arizona, fourpeaks.com
Twenty-two Sigs in Hilton Head, South Carolina, recently celebrated the achievement of alumni association status during a March 9 luncheon in Harbour Town. Leading the effort to achieve alumni chapter status, from left, are John Gottlieb, KENTUCKY 1966; Kimmel Arn, MIAMI (OHIO) 1979; Significant Sig Chuck Duvall, CORNELL 1958; and Ron Bradley, GEORGIA TECH 1960
Americus, Georgia, alumni chapter members and Georgia Southwestern undergraduate brothers celebrate on Feb. 22 with Ronnie Nix, GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN 1971, pictured third from left. Nix is Georgia Southwestern State University’s 2020 Aeolian Alumni Award recipient. This award is given annually to an outstanding alumnus who has distinguished her or himself in their profession as well as in their community. Nix also is a founding member of the Georgia Southwestern chapter.
Sigs celebrate the initiation of Mitchell Anderson, BALL STATE 2023, on Nov. 23 at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. From left are Dick Sanburn, BALL STATE 1983; his son, Connor Sanburn, BALL STATE 2021; his uncle, Jerry Neiman, BALL STATE 1980; Anderson; his father, Alan Anderson, BALL STATE 1984; Dave Potter, BALL STATE 1984; and his son, Stephen Potter, CINCINNATTI 2019
Alumni from the Fraternity’s chapter at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, celebrate the group’s 160th anniversary on Oct. 19, 2019. More than 60 alumni from all generations attended the event.
Cole Thompson, COLORADO COLLEGE 2018, left, leads his father, Corby Thompson, PURDUE 1981, center, and his brother, Cooper Thompson, PURDUE
, right, on a Mount Rainier excursion in July 2019 in Washington. They are pictured heading down Disappointment Cleaver, which is a popular route to the mountain
Family, friends and brothers celebrated the 90th birthday of Dr. George Yard, ARIZONA 1952, on Feb. 28. Yard was instrumental in helping establish the Northern Arizona undergraduate chapter and the Flagstaff, Arizona, alumni chapter. The alumni chapter honored Yard by naming a spring semester scholarship after him.
Southern California Sigs enjoy the Inland, California, Alumni Chapter’s annual Sigtoberfest event in October 2019.
Members of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, alumni chapter volunteer at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma’s Day of Caring on Oct. 4, 2019.
Chris Parks, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 1991, and Jarod Tanksley, TENNESSEECHATTANOOGA 1992, reconnect at the Nashville, Tennessee, Alumni Chapter luncheon in January at Sportsman's Grille in Brentwood, Tennessee.
7/1/80 Anchorage, Alaska alumni chapter, celebrates 40 years
7/1/30 Montreal, Quebec, alumni chapter, celebrates 90 years
7/1/30 Fort Myers/Lee County, Florida, Alumni Chapter, celebrates 15 years
9/1/15 Palm Beach, Florida, alumni chapter, celebrates 105 years
9/18/15 Omaha, Nebraska, alumni chapter, celebrates 105 years
9/21/25 Salt Lake City alumni chapter, celebrates 95 years
Anniversaries are listed every five years.
Anchorage, Alaska, alumni chapter Sigs pose in front of an American flag and flagpole they obtained for an Anchorage senior center in 1983. Thanks to their efforts, the alumni chapter received the Donald B. Ward Alumni Chapter Community Service Award that year.
We are all Sigma Chis. We choose to be Life Loyal.
The new Life Loyal Sig program provides members with an opportunity to provide additional monthly and annual support to the growth and success of our Fraternity. Combined with the Sigma Chi Foundation’s existing White Cross Trust donor society, eight levels of annual giving provide alumni greater access to Sigma Chi.
Becoming a Life Loyal Sig is as simple as contributing monthly or annually to support Sigma Chi. Giving at any level qualifies because we can all chose to be
Life Loyal. All annual members receive Sigma Chi’s full slate of communications, including TheMagazineofSigmaChi, and supporting at higher levels provides even more exclusive opportunities.
As of June 1, 2020, and since the new program’s introduction on July 1, 2019, 1,409 brothers have chosen to become Life Loyal Sigs in support of Sigma Chi. Learn more and become a Life Loyal Sig today at sigmachi.org/lifeloyal.
Wake Up documentary film director Nate Townsend, left, and executive producers Alex Lindley, MISSOURICOLUMBIA 2015, middle, and Danny Kerth are shown. Lindley and Kerth also are cofounders of the Project Wake Up mental health awareness and suicide prevention advocacy group behind the film. Project Wake Up’s mission is to advocate for expanded mental health resources and to eradicate the stigmas surrounding mental illness.
Carolyn Dolan and Ryan Candice to suicide, Alex Lindley, MISSOURI-COLUMBIA 2015, and other students at the University of Missouri turned their grief into action and in 2014 formed Project Wake Up, a nonprofit organization that advocates for expanded mental health resources to eradicate the stigmas surrounding mental illness.
Since then, the group has fundraised for and produced a documentary film, called Wake Up, with Los Angeles-based filmmaker and Missouri native Nate Townsend. The film depicts those who are on the frontlines of suicide prevention. Their goal through the film is to get others talking about mental illness and difficult topics like suicide — and ultimately to change how mental health is legislated, funded and perceived by the public. Those efforts have been successful so far, as the film and Project Wake Up have earned the support of medical experts and lawmakers who are able to help.
The Sigma Chi Leadership Institute and members of the International Fraternity’s Membership Development Continuum are likewise committed to beginning conversations with Fraternity members about mental health. They’re also giving them strategies and resources to support it. These resources include the Strong Arms mental health awareness program, which is part of the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program; the Reach Out app that provides immediate mental health resources to persons in need; and the upcoming Quest for Resiliency and Living Well programs.
We hope that you enjoy reading about Lindley and the Project Wake Up team’s efforts, as well as how the Fraternity is supporting its members’ mental wellness in this issue of The Magazine of Sigma Chi
Through the ambitious
Up organization and Wake
documentary film, Alex Lindley, MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
, uses the stories of Keller Zibilich, LOUISIANA
, and others to
//// BY WES HOLTSCLAW, EAST TENNESSEE 2012 ////
ne year ago, Alex Lindley, MISSOURI-COLUMBIA 2015, sat on a leather couch in St. Louis and reflected on a four-and-a-half-year journey of loss, discovery and inspiration to erase the stigmas surrounding suicide and mental health. On July 27, 2019, the WakeUp documentary film that he and members of an advocacy group called Project Wake Up helped produce was set to make its debut.
“It’s not any secret that mental illness is something that is not treated like physical illness,” Lindley says. “If you know somebody who has cancer, you're going to do whatever you can to support them, you're going to be willing and able to do it and certainly help them in any way that they can to get treatment.
“That's unfortunately not the case with many people who suffer from mental illness.”
In 2012, Lindley unexpectedly lost one of his friends, Carolyn Dolan, to suicide. Just two years later, his best friend, Ryan Candice, who dated Dolan in high school, was playing basketball and began suffering from severe vertigo after a hard fall on the court.
His anxiety and dizziness worsened, and after attempts to treat it failed, Candice stopped wanting to socialize. He died by suicide on June 19, 2014. Looking back, Lindley says there were warning signs, but he describes Candice’s death as a shock to family and friends and says that it changed the lives of those close to him forever.
“[Carolyn] was the first time that I had really had a tragic loss, certainly the first time I experienced any friend or family member taking their lives,” Lindley says. “I didn't know really how to talk about it. That stigma was there, and quite frankly, I was one of the people who was stigmatizing it.
“I didn't want to talk about the fact that Caroline took her own life, that she was mentally ill. My friends and I didn’t grieve properly. And when that happens twice, you look at yourself as a guy who’s not yet 22 years old and has given two eulogies to best friends who died by suicide.
“Luckily for me, my reaction to the situation was one of inspiration to try to turn things around [and] give the deaths meaning. Quite frankly, [it was in order] to get myself and my friends through it.”
Lindley enlisted the help of his friends to take action. Enough was enough. And Project Wake Up, an entity whose goal of eradicating the stigmas surrounding mental illness and suicide, was born.
In September 2014, just three months after Candice’s death, the group of friends decided to make a documentary about his life and legacy, and they raised more than $10,000 in one night through a crowdfunding campaign.
When donations plateaued between $30,000 and $40,000, Lindley approached fellow Missouri native and a budding filmmaker in Los Angeles, Nate Townsend, to help with the film after learning of him through a Project Wake Up team member. There was one problem, however: A project of the scope Lindley and his friends dreamed of would require roughly $200,000 in order to produce. Townsend and Lindley developed a plan.
“When Alex first approached us and had $30,000, he wanted to make a feature film but didn't understand the cost of such a project,” Townsend says. “My suggestion was that we would use that $30,000 to make a short film about the foundation, about their mission, about Ryan and their plans to make something bigger and then use that film to gain some traction to fundraise.”
The first video, a 13-minute documentary trailer released in 2015, and its follow-up, Wounds, a public service announcement comparing mental illness to physical injuries, opened eyes.
Once Project Wake Up received 501(c)3 status in 2015, the group’s fundraising events generated more interest and donations in a way that made its members’ vision of a documentary film depicting the landscape of mental health in the United States a reality.
There were visits to mental health experts, leaders and organizations; congressional leaders including Dr. Thomas Joiner, a leading expert on suicide; congressmen Tim Murphy and Joe Kennedy; and Dr. Julie Cerel, president of the American Association of Suicidology, among others. Over the course of these meetings, the Project Wake Up team uncovered areas of society that were among the most severely impacted by suicide and mental health stigmas and how they, specifically, could benefit from such a project.
“What was incredibly profound was the fact that of all the conversations I had, it was not a hard sell to have [people] become involved in the film,” Lindley says. “In a great sense, there’s just not anything like this film out there.”
Upon Project Wake Up’s launch in 2014, Lindley also received support from an array of brothers from the Fraternity’s former chapter at the University of Missouri, including Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Jay Shields, 1976; Significant Sig John Qualy, 1970; Michael Costello, 1974; and Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Larry McMullen, 1954, among others.
“He called five numbers before he died. Two were hospitals in Atlanta, and two [were] mental health places that were closed because it was Saturday, and another [was a] hospital in Baton Rouge. He was trying to find help; he just didn't know where to go for it.”
Gayle Zibilich
In June 2015, Lindley joined Fraternity members in San Diego for Sigma Chi’s 80th Grand Chapter event and met with many of the organization’s leaders to share Candice’s story and his passion for this project.
During those conversations, the same family’s name seemed to come up over and over again. “Every time I discussed my project, the typical response was, ‘Have you heard of Michael and Gayle Zibilich and Keller’s story?’”
Michael Zibilich, LOUISIANA STATE 1970, and his wife, Gayle, had been active within the Sigma Chi and collegiate communities and helped launch the Fraternity’s first suicide prevention and mental health resource, Sigma Chi Lifeline, following the death of their son Keller Zibilich, LOUISIANA STATE 2015, in 2012. While Lindley was unable to connect with the Zibilich family during the Grand Chapter event, he received their contact information and reached out with a voicemail.
While in Los Angeles visiting Townsend after the event, Lindley went for a hike to clear his mind on what would’ve been Candice’s birthday. Upon his return, he received a phone call from Michael Zibilich.
The two spoke for more than an hour. They discussed Ryan and Keller. They discussed the natural feelings of sorrow and anger experienced in tragedy. The similarities between Lindley’s best friend and Zibilich’s son resonated deep within both men.
“We bonded instantly over that experience,” Lindley says. “Three years later, when we are pulling together our stories [for the film], we wanted to find a story that complimented Ryan’s — the last guy you’d ever expect [to be dealing with mental health issues or contemplating suicide]. And a lightbulb goes off. I knew that story already.”
Keller Zibilich had it all. He was often described by friends and family as a charming, handsome young man who was popular on campus and within the Sigma Chi chapter at Louisiana State University.
Upon his arrival to campus as a freshman in 2011, he became his pledge class president. Everything was seemingly right in his world.
Order of Constantine Sig Rickey Heroman, LOUISIANA STATE 1976, was Zibilich’s alumni big brother at the Louisiana State chapter.
“I was involved as a Grand Praetor or advisor for years, and I would put Keller in the top five kids I’ve ever dealt with,” Heroman says. “He was a natural leader. He was comfortable in any situation. Whenever he talked to somebody, the other person walked away feeling good about themselves.”
What people, including his parents, Michael and Gayle, didn’t know was that Keller hid his anxiety behind his motivation to succeed. In April 2012, he became depressed after a tough conversation with his girlfriend at the time.
On April 21, 2012, he died by suicide.
“He called five numbers before he died. Two were hospitals in Atlanta, and two [were] mental health places that were closed because it was Saturday, and another [was a] hospital in Baton Rouge,” his mother, Gayle, says. “He was trying to find help; he just didn't know where to go for it.”
Much like Candice, Keller’s death was a shock to those who knew him.
And, like Lindley and his friends with Candice, Michael and Gayle Zibilich became motivated to keep their son’s memory alive and make sure no other Sigma Chis or college students would be without the resources necessary to combat mental health issues.
In 2014, in partnership with the Zibilich family, the Sigma Chi Foundation and the JED Foundation, the Fraternity introduced the Keller Zibilich Lifeline online mental health resource website to all members — making mental health resources immediately available for any Sig at any time.
In the years since, the Zibilich family has worked to raise money and collaborate with the Foundation and the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute team on the new Strong Arms mental health program and Reach Out app, each maximizing Sigma Chi’s outreach in the mental health realm.
While collaborating on stories to feature in the Wake Up documentary, Keller’s story provided a perfect tie-in to the story of Candice and unsuspected tragedies among college-aged individuals.
The Wake Up film crew interviewed the Zibiliches over a week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2018, and followed Michael as he shared Keller’s story with the Fraternity chapter at Tulane University and a larger audience of college-aged students.
“Clearly [Keller’s death], it's a terrible price to pay, but the price has been paid,” Michael Zibilich says. “He is no longer here, but he can save lives in his memory and through this process. We are dedicated that his life is not going to be in vain. When I stand up and speak I say, ‘I have no sons or daughters, we have no sons or a daughter to speak to but you right now, and you are our paramount focus right at this moment, to keep you healthy and safe [and] to give you an awareness so that you can step out of that darkness with courage and seek help and say ‘I'm not alone.’”
Keller’s story is one of four major themes reflected in the film. The others:
• A look at firearms and, in particular, how Utah, a state with one of the highest rates of suicide in the nation, as well as Harvard professors and leaders in the mental health field are working hand-in-hand with firearms organizations to reduce suicides.
• Photographer, LGBT rights activist and suicidologist Dese’Rae Stage’s efforts in the LGBT community traveling the country, photographing and sharing the stories of suicide attempt survivors.
• The story of the American veteran. Through leading clinician and executive director of the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah, Dr. Craig Bryan, and the stories of two veterans — a Vietnam veteran and veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom — the film looks at a clinic in Park City, Utah, that is helping veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health issues.
From the beginning, however, Candice’s story is used to set up the film and establish its message.
“His story is kind of what we use as a launching off point to say, ‘This is who we are. This is why we're here,’” Lindley says. “After Ryan passed away, we wanted to show people what we’re doing about it, how to prevent the issue and show the people that are really on the front lines of suicide prevention.”
The mission now for Lindley and Wake Up is a national premiere and international streaming deal that shares these important stories, lessens the stigma for mental health and encourages those with a mental illness or those who might be considering suicide to take the appropriate steps to seek help.
Since the documentary’s inaugural private screening in St. Louis in July 2019, Lindley and his team have shown the film in private screenings to standing ovations across the United States while also raising additional funds to support the Project Wake Up organization and its mission to get people talking to each other about mental health. During the process, the film has been endorsed by the National Association for Behavioral Health, Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School for Public Health, and Active Minds, the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness for students.
Unfortunately, planned premieres at film festivals in New York and Newport Beach, California, have been postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’d always thought getting this out there at a film festival would be the next logical step to approaching a streaming platform,” Lindley says. “Now we’re unsure when, or if, we will get that opportunity. It’s a wait and see.”
Whether it’s this summer, this fall or next winter, Lindley and Project Wake Up are committed to this cause and getting their film to the masses. If this film can educate, get people talking and prevent individuals like Carolyn Dolan, Ryan Candice or Keller Zibilich from tragedy, the initial mission has served its purpose.
“It is paramount to our mission that this film does exactly that, that it starts a conversation,” Lindley adds. “That is our main goal. This is a film that, hopefully, people can watch and leave saying, ‘We should be talking to one another about this issue.’”
BY ASHLEY SZATALA /////////////////////
Sigma Chi curriculum and the Reach Out app promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention measures
Jesse Trout, AUSTIN PEAY 2006, is deeply involved with Sigma Chi International Fraternity’s mental health support initiatives. As chairman of the Membership Development Continuum, which helps develop and promote the Fraternity’s mental health support resources and helps shape and refine educational curriculum, Trout often hears about the mental health crises of undergraduate and alumni brothers.
“We’ve lost no fewer than six brothers, a mix of undergrads and alumni, to suicide since we got home from the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop last August,” he says.
Grand Tribune and Order of Constantine Sig Mark Quiner, WYOMING 1978, says the No. 1 killer of undergraduate members is suicide. When it does happen, he makes sure to make himself available to the chapter and the deceased’s friends and family.
“Unfortunately, mental health sometimes takes a backseat to other issues,” he explains. “Undergraduates today are facing challenges that are vastly different from the challenges of just a few decades ago.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased concerns about mental health.
“We are seeing unprecedented stress levels across the globe. Those who were having mental health issues before, they might have some tools and coping skills to work with their baseline mental health issues, but this is taking it to a heightened level,” says Allie Colina, associate director of curriculum and development. “And for those who have not experienced mental health issues before, this might be the first time that they’re dealing with anxiety or panic attacks and don’t have any of those initial coping skills. We’re seeing a mass increase everywhere for medical attention and medical help, but the need for tele-mental health and online counseling services also has skyrocketed.”
Sigma Chi can’t offer mental health services, but it can offer tools to help support members’ mental health.
The Fraternity has packaged its Strong Arms mental health awareness curriculum in the Preparation for Brotherhood (P4B) pledge education program, which ensures that all pledges and new members will learn about mental health awareness and suicide prevention measures. In addition, the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute is moving up its launch of a new Quest for Resiliency program, to be unveiled as a pilot test this fall, and a new Living Well program, to be available no later than 2021. A mainstay source for immediate mental health resources is the free Reach Out app.
“What’s unique about Sigma Chi [compared to other nonprofit organizations] is that we decided to bring a lot of [mental health programming] in-house and build uniquely for our membership using our values at the center of them,” Colina says. “So, they’re very tailored to the Sigma Chi experience, and hopefully that makes them more accessible and relevant.”
Strong Arms launched in fall 2018 and was developed in partnership with the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to promote emotional health and prevent suicide among young people. Topics covered in the program include staying
connected and spiritual; the importance of self-care; dealing with a crisis; seeking Strong Arms and receiving help from others; and encountering challenges and using resiliency. Strong Arms was the Greek-letter world’s first dedicated learning resource to address these necessary subjects, and it was awarded the 2019 Laurel Wreath Award for Outstanding Education in the North American Interfraternity Conference.
Similarly, the Quest for Resiliency program will teach skills and tools that are relevant for all people in all times of their lives, not just in times of crisis, Colina says. “There are so many alumni who say, ‘When bad things happened in my life, it was the strong arms of my brothers that got me through them,’” she explains. “A resilient person is someone who understands the benefits of having a social support system and is willing to reach out for help. Resiliency is often confused with, ‘I have to be strong and stable on my own,’ and it’s about shifting that to understanding that resilience means you can be with others and need others.”
The Living Well curriculum will be part of the Values-Based Decision Making program and focus specifically on wellness. It will explain how the eight dimensions of wellness are interconnected and how each can bolster an individual’s well-being. The course will instruct students through activities that encourage them to ultimately develop a personalized self-care action plan that they can use as needed to continue Living Well.
The Reach Out app is a constant across all three mental health programs and ensures that members and others have all of the resources necessary in times of need. It connects users with both on-campus and community resources, such as helplines, counseling services, emergency responders, rape crisis centers, legal aid services and medical care providers. In total, it contains 40,000 different resources for more than 2,500 locations in the United States and Canada, including all campuses with a Sigma Chi chapter.
“As we are not equipped to provide these services ourselves, this is our best and most efficient method of operating [to provide mental health support],” Trout says. “Since we rolled [the app] out at workshop in August, we have gotten many reports of members utilizing it personally as well as being able to get friends, partners or social guests connected with resources in times of need,” he adds. “More and more folks are reaching out for help because they are becoming more willing to recognize their personal struggles as having roots in mental health challenges.”
Quiner agrees.
“Oftentimes people don’t like to talk about mental health struggles, so it’s difficult to determine the impact of resources we offer. But just because they’re not talking about them doesn’t mean they’re not using them,” he says. “It’s still important to have these resources. There’s a lot of hurting people, and Sigma Chi will keep trying new things to be a resource to those who need it.”
More information on the Strong Arms program can be found by emailing leadership.programs@sigmachi.org,
The brothers of Sigma Chi are committed to the health and well-being of our brothers, our neighbors, our communities and our world. As our Fraternity has grown over the decades, our notion of health has expanded and evolved along with our knowledge of the human condition. One of the dimensions of that, which we have long struggled to understand and adequately support, is that of the mental and emotional health of our brothers. As the medical profession has come to a greater level of knowledge, understanding and capacity to support such health, we too have been able to more fully grasp the breadth of the challenges facing our brothers throughout youth, manhood and advanced age.
In recognition of the ever-growing mental health support needs that are both spoken and unexpressed amongst our rolls, the Fraternity has sought to provide avenues through which our brothers can find skilled, professional help and support. Our most effective and comprehensive weapon in this fight is the Reach Out app, which is made for smartphone or tablet technology and available for download in the App Store for all Apple devices and in the Play Store for Android devices.
This free application has ready-made access at the push of a button to a wealth of resources, which are available 24/7 and are anonymous and accessible at zero cost for users. It is available for access and use by anyone — they do not have to be brothers or pledges, nor do they have to be male, Greek-letter-affiliated or college students.
While you may never find yourself in need of these resources, the odds are strongly in favor of you being in the immediate vicinity of someone who will need them at some point in the future. This is a wonderful way for us to be of service to our fellow humans in need.
For any who don’t have smartphones or tablets, here are some toll-free numbers that you can access 24/7/365. We encourage you to plug them into your phone and save them as a contact, or write them down in a planner or other place where you have ready access:
Jesse
Trout, AUSTIN PEAY 2006,
explains how the Reach Out app ensures that mental health support resources are readily available
• National Suicide Prevention hotline: 1-800-273-8255
• Talk One2One telephone counseling: 1-800-756-3124
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] helpline: 1-800-487-4889
It is our hope that no brother will find himself in a position of needing support and be unable to access it, and we are committed to doing everything in our means to prevent this from happening. You are never alone.
In Hoc Signo Vinces,
Jesse Trout, AUSTIN PEAY 2006
Chairman of the Membership Development Continuum
Sigma Chi International Fraternity
CHAPTER STATS KEY
Our chapters, by the numbers: 2020 Graduates
Current Members
All-time Initiates
*AsofMay1,2020
ALABAMA Iota Iota
30 192 2,667
The chapter has had a great spring 2020 semester. We are excited to raise money for our annual Derby Days philanthropic event, and we hoped to raise over $50,000 this year. We were on our way to that goal as of writing.
~ James Nielson, 2021
ALBION Alpha Pi 6 23 1,944
The chapter has become a more productive and disciplined group over the last year. Specifically, we have doubled our community service hours, increased the productivity of our philanthropic events and began pledging six new candidates for initiation.
~ Scott Wistinghausen, 2020
ALMA Theta Nu 13 24 503
We had a successful winter recruitment with seven new pledges and a 100percent bid-acceptance rate. We are excited for our newest pledge class and what these fine young men will contribute to the future of the chapter. Sigma Chi also was the largest fraternity chapter on Alma’s campus this year by 15 members.
~ Connor Hart, 2022
ARKANSAS STATE Theta Chi 10 67 683
Last fall, the chapter initiated the most brothers, 21, that it has in four years. The chapter is also well on its way to raising $20,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. As of this writing, we were looking toward a promising spring semester.
~ Nate Wetzel, 2022
AUBURN Gamma Sigma 4 70 2,445
Our chapter initiated 26 new brothers during the fall semester and four new members in the spring semester. Our intramural teams have continued to excel by winning the flag football championship for the second year in a row and finishing second in basketball. At the time of this writing, we looked forward to closing the academic year on a good note just as we did last year.
~ Connor Rose, 2022
AUSTIN PEAY Eta Xi 3 19 796
Our chapter is exceeding all expectations academically. Our brothers are continuing to stand out among their peers compared to other Greek-letter organizations on our campus. Our success includes continuing to have an above-average GPA and striving for academic excellence.
~ Matthew Sims, 2022
BALL STATE Epsilon Omega 20 71 1,812
Members have had a busy semester. One of the highlights was helping elect one of our brothers to the student government presidency. Also, we have started accreditation goals with Ball State for our new executive committee and are working hard to build relations with our campus and community.
~ Jonathan McCoy, 2023
BAYLOR Eta Omega 32 92 1,112
The chapter continues to grow in members, as we have just taken a new class of 24 men of upstanding character. As a chapter, we have decided to focus the rest of this year on our efforts for philanthropy by making Derby Days bigger and better than ever before at Baylor.
~ Peyton Hodges, 2022
BENTLEY Lambda Upsilon 6 44 199
The chapter has been successful in our charitable efforts this academic year. Our Derby Days fundraiser raised over
$1,100. We are participating in Relay for Life, where we raised over $1,000 for the American Cancer Society. For current fundraising efforts for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, we have set a goal of $25,000.
~ Alexander Kinsella, 2022
BINGHAMTON Mu Gamma 16 73 123
The chapter's most significant accomplishment from the fall 2019 semester was Derby Days. We raised more money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute than we ever have before, and we increased our involvement with both the campus and community. All of our brothers helped to create an impactful, rewarding and fun event for our entire chapter.
~ Andrew Mattiello, 2022
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN Chi Chi 11 48 485
During the fall semester, our chapter initiated nine new brothers and achieved
a 3.2 GPA, representing the second highest grades amongst fraternities on campus. Andrew McMahon, 2019, received the International Balfour Award, marking yet another major accomplishment in his academic career. We also had brothers study in Europe, Australia and Africa near the end of the term.
~ Cole Kirkpatrick, 2021
BOWLING GREEN Delta Kappa 6 59 1,602
During the fall 2019 semester, our chapter's most significant accomplishment was raising $1,500 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute at our annual Sigtoberfest. We recruited six new members during the spring semester and set a $20,000 fundraising goal for our Derby Days philanthropic event. As of this writing, we were working on a shirt design and selling wristbands to start raising money.
~ Josh Filips, 2020
BRADLEY Delta Rho
8 67 1,557
The brothers have achieved another outstanding academic semester. Our new executive officers have been working hard to continue the excellent growth our chapter has shown. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and the temporary closure of our university, we will still be attempting to hold Derby Days when possible.
~ Austin Moca, 2022
BRIDGEWATER STATE Theta Zeta
8 27 427
The chapter recently sent four brothers to attend a Ritual Peer training session at University of New Hampshire to gain a deeper understanding of the Ritual. Having these brothers obtain the rank of Ritual Peer gives the chapter seven official Ritual Peers for the benefit of teaching and assisting the brothers on correctly performing and valuing the Ritual.
~ Darius Desnoes, 2022
BRITISH COLUMBIA-SIMON
FRASER Delta Omicron
20 95 1,184
The chapter has continued to excel in academics and professional development. Our chapter GPA increased for the third straight year. Two of our brothers were elected into campus leadership positions, and brothers have secured various internships around Canada.
~ Chris Gooding, 2020
BROCK Mu Zeta
7 37 59
The chapter welcomed six esteemed initiates this winter semester. A large group of our original founders proudly graduate at the end of the term. We thank Consul Andrew Scott, 2020, for his exemplary leadership. Dennis Kennedy, 2021, headed a successful Derby Days philanthropic event using new initiatives and partners in our pursuit to be the generation to end cancer.
~ Jonathon Fedorko, 2021
BUCKNELL Kappa
28 93 2, 642
Over the past two years, we made the jump from our Derby Days philanthropic event raising just $4,000 to $40,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Due to COVID-19 and the Bucknell administration's decision to close the campus, we will try to fundraise as much as possible online. Alumni can donate to the chapter at kappachaptersigmachi@gmail.com.
~ Lucas Alcaraz, 2020
BUTLER Rho
28 130 2,083
The brothers once again had a 100-percent retention rate for bids given and bids accepted. On Feb. 29, we welcomed 26 talented, exceptional young men into our brotherhood. Introducing them to our philanthropic efforts, we also hosted a sponsorship gala for individuals and companies that donated significant amounts to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
~ Jared Kohn, 2022
CAL. STATE-SAN MARCOS
Mu Beta
8 48 142
With the current climate in our nation, the chapter is thinking creatively to conduct business throughout this semester. Unfortunately, our Derby Days philanthropic event week is cancelled, but we are working to move to a social media campaign. We still are planning to initiate our newest class. Our executive board is working hard to keep our brotherhood strong as we adjust.
~ Matt Rodriguez, 2022
CALIFORNIA-DAVIS Theta Omicron 20 67 699
The chapter finished with the fall 2019 academic term by earning the highest average GPA of all fraternities at the University of California, Davis. We were proud of this accomplishment and hoped to carry that momentum throughout the next academic term.
~ Oliver Hannaoui, 2022
CALIFORNIA-MERCED Lambda Delta 3 28 202
The year started off like no other, and we continue to strive to be the leaders on our campus. We initiated 11 new brothers who are already proving themselves to be valuable assets within our chapter. Lastly, we raised over $6,200 for Derby Days, even with the University of California-wide closure, which cut our week short.
~ Cuauhtemoc Hernandez Moya, 2020
CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA Zeta Kappa 23 68 1,189
Since our chapter's move to a new chapter house, we have steadily improved nearly all aspects of our chapter, including recruitment, social relations and community impact. We plan on continuing this trend and using our momentum to make Derby Days a more prominent event on our campus and beyond.
~ Ryan Elliott, 2022
CARNEGIE MELLON Lambda Pi 10 48 175
The chapter proudly welcomed four new initiates into our brotherhood on Feb. 29. This semester also saw a new executive board and thousands of donuts sold for philanthropy. While Carnegie Mellon has transitioned to online instruction, the chapter has kept the bonds of our fellowship strong and looks forward to our healthy return to Pittsburgh.
~ Maxwell Plottel, 2023
CENTRE Zeta Zeta 16 50 1,497
Our brothers were enthusiastic about the spring semester at the time of this writing. We made it a chapter goal to excel in academics and strive for the most in our philanthropic endeavors. More than quarter of our brothers just returned from their respective study abroad opportunities in London and Mérida, Yucatan.
~ Collin Wells, 2020
CHARLESTON Iota Epsilon 11 63 561
The chapter is looking forward to Derby Days this spring as we strive to raise $25,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. We are up to 63 members and are growing with a spring pledge class of four members. Finally, our relationship with the school and community is strong, and we plan to continue that.
~ William Denney, 2023
CINCINNATI Zeta Psi 9 96 2,580
The chapter had a great spring semester. Our chapter finished with approximately a 3.3 overall GPA, ranking us sixth out of 25 fraternities on campus. We’re staying actively involved with many brothers holding leadership positions on campus and in the surrounding community. We are looking forward to a great rest of the year.
~ Matthew Peterson, 2020
CLARION Theta Alpha 2 10 409
We moved the chapter toward more sustainable practices during the 2019 to 2020 academic year and continued our tradition of initiating high-quality brothers.
~ David Ashbaugh, 2020
COLUMBIA Nu Nu 13 63 1,637
This past fall, we initiated 10 new brothers into our brotherhood. This spring, we hosted the Hudson Valley province conference and received brothers from throughout the province as well as alumni facilitators from across the country. In the spring, we were working to surpass last year’s Derby Days philanthropic event fundraising total, which was one of the most successful in chapter history.
~ Hank White, 2021
CONNECTICUT Gamma Omega 26 79 1,218
The chapter demonstrated great altruism and spirit at University of Connecticut's HuskyTHON by raising nearly $40,000 for Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Nearly half of the chapter's exceptional brothers were fully engaged for the entirety of the 18 hours. The event was genuinely memorable, and we have made great improvement in fundraising and participation every year.
~ Garrett Noonan, 2020
CUMBERLAND Nu 1 16 123
The chapter accomplished a lot this past fall, but our most significant accomplishment was our ability to build many wonderful and beneficial relationships with university staff and other organizations on campus.
~ Tyler McGowan, 2022
DENVER Delta Iota 14 78 1,253
The chapter is currently thriving with the addition of 22 new members in the fall and the tireless work put in by the recently transitioned executive board. We are coming off a successful Province Day, where there was a heavy focus on mental health. As of this writing, we were preparing for our
Derby Days philanthropic event and hoped to raise $25,000.
~ Disser Wallace, 2023
DEPAUL Lambda Omega 11 55 158
Our chapter just initiated one of our biggest pledge classes of 19 new brothers, which has grown our chapter to one of its largest sizes in our brief history. We are excited to see these men become our brothers and future leaders of our chapter.
~ Thomas Pye, 2022
DEPAUW Xi 8 61 2,050
The chapter’s greatest accomplishment during the fall semester was the recruitment of 20 new members.
Our campus had a fairly low number of people go through recruitment this past semester, and we were pleased with the house-wide participation throughout the recruitment process, which resulted in one of the biggest recruitment classes on our campus.
~ Mark Driggs, 2021
DRAKE Theta Gamma 4 17 574
Since the 2019 Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop, our chapter has been focusing on several
three new brothers. Our Derby Days philanthropic event was around the corner as of this writing. We had many things planned, such as a golf scramble, raffles, Soak a Sig and more. In addition, we made nominations for our Derby Darlin’ and chapter sweetheart.
~ Mason Thacker, 2022
ELON Theta Omega
8 51 638
This past semester has been a very successful one for the chapter. We have been focusing on fulfilling our philanthropy with the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and our miracle child, Noah. We held a fundraiser for Noah at a restaurant on campus where proceeds were collected directly toward finding Noah a cure.
development plans by focusing primarily on recruitment and philanthropy. Along the way, we have met with several brothers from across the country to help us strategize and prepare our members for success for years to come.
~ Leo Robinson, 2023
DUKE Beta Lambda 13 49 1,813
We are thrilled to say we raised more than $5,300 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute via our fall Derby Days philanthropic event. Our recruitment this year also went well, culminating in 10 new brothers being initiated this spring.
~ Benjamin Leonard, 2020
EAST TENNESSEE Zeta Omega 6 69 856
The chapter took a pledge class of eight promising young men during the spring semester. As of this writing, were prepping for Derby Days philanthropic event that was scheduled from March 23 to March 27 and looked forward to a great week of philanthropy.
~ Matthew Byrd, 2022
EASTERN KENTUCKY Eta Alpha 7 49 936
The start of the year has been exciting for the chapter. On Feb. 22, we initiated
~ Cam MacMaster, 2022
EMBRY-RIDDLE (DAYTONA BEACH)
Eta Iota 15 62 929
This spring the chapter initiated four new brothers. The chapter has been working hard to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute while continuing to show our presence on campus. We are excited and looking forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary next March. As always, we’d like to thank the alumni for all they do.
~ Ryan Johnson, 2022
EMORY Beta Chi
12 53 2,294
The chapter, along with its weekly chapter and executive board meetings, issued 28 bids for our spring pledge class, of which 21 accepted. In addition to our continued Huntsman Cancer Institute philanthropy, Emory University has been closed for the remainder of the spring semester due to the COVID-19 crisis, and classes have moved online.
~ Cam Campili, 2022
FLORIDA Gamma Theta 28 144 3,429
The chapter had a strong start to the spring semester by welcoming three new brothers into our chapter and maintaining our Ritual certification. Unfortunately, many of our future plans have been disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak. However, we are moving forward with our new house efforts and tentatively arranging alumni events for early summer.
~ Jack Ward, 2021
FLORIDA ATLANTIC Lambda Tau 15 56 223
The spring 2020 semester started strong with us handing out 16 bids. Big thanks to Gunnar Raich, 2021, for running the most successful Derby Days to date. We set a new chapter record of donating $25,000 to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. We’re hosting the Florida Quad province conference, with 120 Sigs coming to Florida Atlantic University. Gian Campanon, 2020, won the Province Balfour Award.
~ Marco Griesi, 2022
FLORIDA GULF COAST Lambda Zeta 4 68 306
After an amazing fall semester, with an impressive fall pledge class, we were able to raise over $20,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute with our Derby Days. Our chapter also received three awards from our school's Interfraternity Council: Best Overall Chapter, Civic Engagement Award and the Philanthropic Impact Award. Our Consul, Oney Pino, 2020, won the Living Values Award from the IFC along with a scholarship. Our chapter also won Tri Delta's fundraising week, Dolphin Daze.
~ Jacob Clark, 2022
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL Lambda Iota 6 44 302
Ranked No. 2 in GPA with a 3.08 and winning every intramural sport for the 2019 year, our chapter is in amazing shape. We currently have the biggest spring pledge class this chapter has
seen in years and expect the same for next fall. Derby Darling Pageant has raised $10,000 and has not started.
~ William Cabase, 2023
FLORIDA SOUTHERN Epsilon Sigma
3 28 800
This semester we added seven new pledges through our first deferred recruitment. Our chapter has also had to postpone its Derby Days philanthropic event, formal and initiation due to COVID-19.
~ Deyon Miller, 2021
FORT HAYS Zeta Tau 5 31 629
The chapter has experienced a successful spring semester thus far. We have been able to raise $2,500 for philanthropy, and our Shave-A-Sig event was a huge success. We also initiated five members. The chapter is preparing to move online for the rest of the semester, and as of now all operations have been suspended due to COVID-19.
~ Jon Beck, 2019
FURMAN Iota Nu
17 65 700
The chapter had a great recruitment, as we initiated 13 new members whom we have high hopes for continuing the improvement of our chapter. Sam Ybarra, 2022, won $10,000 for his business, Spectrum Living, in the Furman Pitch Competition. With our Derby Days philanthropic event approaching at the time of this writing, the chapter was excited to hopefully raise $20,000 for the third year.
~ Garrett Hensley, 2022
GEORGETOWN Mu Theta
3 37 39
During last semester, we successfully initiated more than 30 brothers and installed the Mu Theta chapter of Sigma Chi. The colony had been working for more than two years to make the installment a reality, and it paid off. We held an installment banquet the same weekend. Sigs from all different locations attended and celebrated with us.
~ John O'Connor, 2023
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN Eta Theta 6 33 717
Fall 2019 was successful for our chapter. We initiated 14 new brothers, with three taking executive council positions in their first year. We raised our chapter GPA by almost half a point from last spring. Our biggest accomplishment was having one of our brothers start an annual Interfraternity Council food drive that brought in over $1,000 worth of food to our university's food pantry.
~ Zac Faircloth, 2023
GEORGIA TECH Beta Psi 8 86 2,291
The brothers achieved a GPA of 3.54, and we had seven pledges earn a 4.0. We have had a great semester and were looking forward to our upcoming Derby Days philanthropic event at the time of this writing.
~ Davis Palmie, 2021
GETTYSBURG Theta
20 65 1,697
The chapter continues to excel and demonstrate the characteristics of a high-functioning organization. Most notably, one of our primary focuses has been on institutionalizing a commitment to diversity by requiring brothers to attend campus cultural club meetings and by fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment among the brotherhood.
~ Giacomo Coppola, 2022
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY Sigma Sigma 12 40 997
The chapter had a great fall semester filled with brotherhood and camaraderie. As of this writing, the boys were hunkered down for a strong spring semester and looked forward to accomplishing new goals.
~ Peter Allocca, 2021
HILLSDALE Alpha Kappa 7 38 665
The chapter is proud to display the Peterson Significant Chapter Award on its mantle. After a fall that included a second successful open house for Hillsdale's special needs community,
an interactive Derby Days event and a cumulative 3.25 GPA, our chapter proudly lived up to its commitments to philanthropy and scholarship and looks forward continuing that tradition.
~ Ryan Goff, 2020
HOBART Alpha Alpha 9 29 1,601
The chapter is proud to be a participant of the new Role of the 21st Century Greek Readers College at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Since the fall semester, the class has fostered thoughtful and open conversations of Greek-letter life and has led to positive collaboration between HWS Greeks and the campus.
~ Maxwell Harris, 2021
IDAHO Gamma Eta 13 61 1,655
Our chapter initiated four new optimistic freshmen during the spring semester. Chapter elections went as smoothly as ever, and our house has new leaders to guide into the upcoming school year. As of spring 2020, we finally reached our fundraising goal of $20,000 for our Derby Days philanthropic event.
~ Kyler Skinner, 2023
ILLINOIS Kappa Kappa 3 97 2,872
This school year has proven to be one of the best in our chapter’s history. There are many active brothers working to improve the chapter, like those who volunteered at the Eastern Illinois Food Bank. Additionally, we received the first place Outstanding Scholarship Award from the University of Illinois Interfraternity Council.
~ Alex Kapusta, 2022
INDIANA (PENNSYLVANIA) Eta Omicron 7 45 709
We have continued to support the Haven Project, a bystander intervention program, by co-hosting multiple programming events on campus. The two most notable events are Escalation, an eye-opening film about the risk signs of dating violence, and
"Toxic Masculinity," a presentation that shows how truly honorable men can be allies to both women and men.
~ Matthew Carns, 2022
IOWA Alpha Eta 20 85 2,129
Our brothers have been patient and diligent when it comes to our status. We have been deepening relationships, serving the community and building brotherhood. We have dedicated our spring semester to our values in effort to maintain the mission of our Fraternity.
~ John Hoffman, 2022
JOHNS HOPKINS Kappa Upsilon 7 24 206
The chapter raised a record-breaking $951 from its Haunted House philanthropy event, with all proceeds donated to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Zachary Pocchia, 2020, was named the recipient of the Eastern Province Balfour Award.
~ Pocchia
KANSAS Alpha Xi 3 74 2,992
Since October 2019, the chapter has undergone a complete bylaw revision to align our chapter's goals and visions with both the University of Kansas Interfraternity Council and the International Fraternity's policies and constitutions. These revisions have allowed the chapter to mitigate risk while also prioritizing friendship, justice and learning.
~ Harrison Frazier, 2021
KANSAS STATE Delta Upsilon 10 82 1,496
The chapter became the first Greek-letter organization on campus to be hired by Kansas State University athletics. Our brothers gave up their Saturday tailgates to work security at football games. We also celebrated our 70th anniversary of Sigma Chi at KSU last fall. Our chapter had a great semester and looks forward to even more positive progress in the future.
~ Matt Firnhaber, 2021
KENT STATE Zeta Lambda 5 58 944
The chapter had some recent house renovations in the fall 2019 semester. Some of these renovations included a new bathroom and washer and dryer. With generous donations from our alumni, we have been able to plan many other housing renovations, and we are looking to make the house more appealing for brothers in the future.
~ Zachary Clark, 2021
KETTERING Zeta Theta A 4 34 135
The chapter has accomplished a significant amount over our 2019 summer term. We were able to hand out over 20 bids and received a majority back. Additionally, we raised over $8,000 that term. Our historically most profitable event, "Make Me Pretty," also made over $1,200 in less than one hour, all for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
~ Jacob Squibb, 2020
LOUISVILLE Iota Lambda 17 110 822
Last fall, the chapter initiated 36 brothers. This was the most out of any organization on campus. We were able to raise over $4,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and collect 4,684 blankets for persons experiencing homelessness in Louisville through our other philanthropy, Wrap Up Louisville.
~ Rolandson Le, 2020
MAINE Rho Rho 2 15 1,740
Beyond recruitment and chapter functionality, setting the framework for improved alumni relations was our strongest accomplishment from the fall 2019 semester. Their revived support has relieved many burdens on the active chapter already this spring, and we anticipate it will continue for the long-term future.
~ Roger Holt, 2021
MASSACHUSETTS-AMHERST
Mu Epsilon
19 71 99
The chapter has continued to grow in size and quality. We increased membership from 64 active brothers last year to 72 this year, with a pledge class of 13 set to be initiated soon. Each initiate has been a valuable addition to our chapter and has been deemed worthy of representing the Sigma Chi International Fraternity.
~ Jack McGinn, 2023
MEMPHIS Epsilon Kappa
16 68 1,146
After having a stellar fall semester raising $22,428 through its Derby Days philanthropic event, the chapter transitioned into spring 2020 with momentum. Our spring recruitment period proved successful after signing 10 new recruits, more than any other organization on campus. We have continued to build leaders of men with multiple brothers securing key leadership positions in several other student organizations.
~ Keyarash Hatamzadeh, 2022
MIAMI (FLORIDA) Gamma Phi
28 96 2,014
Thirty-six new members were initiated into Gamma Phi. As a chapter, we have strived for philanthropic change and have raised over $65,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute, joining the $50,000 club for the first time in Gamma Phi history. We are currently working on becoming more involved in our community and with other Sigma Chi chapters.
~ Brendan Meagher, 2022
MIAMI (OHIO) Alpha
29 121 2,794
The chapter has had a fantastic start to the spring. On Feb. 29, Alpha initiated 40 new members to become brothers of Sigma Chi. An outstanding group of young men, they show signs of a bright future. In addition, Hunter Meacham, 2020, was awarded the Southern Ohio province Balfour Award as the region’s most outstanding graduating senior.
~ Brendan Madson, 2021
MICHIGAN Theta Theta
22 110 2,586
The chapter has had an exciting few months with increased philanthropic activity and continued success in the classroom. After a successful Winterfest fundraiser and intramural sports season, we continued our weekly volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Spring break was a time to relax and recharge, as many members visited our brothers abroad.
~ Evan Glatt, 2022
MIDDLE TENNESSEE Eta Gamma
5 53 986
The chapter made significant achievements this fall. Eta Gamma was privileged to initiate its largest pledge class of 29. The chapter house, which remains the only fraternity house on Greek Row, began renovations and will be occupied in fall 2020. During this time, the chapter has built new bonds with our alumni and the founders of our chapter.
~ Steven Perry, 2020
MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO
Kappa Tau
8 23 188
Brotherhood and new member integration have never been stronger at the chapter. New members feel like old, and recent graduates have stayed involved. This incredible friendship is not just due to constant stewardship, but also a financial hardship that struck early in the semester, requiring us to pull together. With brotherhood strong, a chapter can endure any hardship.
~ James O'Reilly, 2020
MISSISSIPPI Eta
40 239 3,582
The chapter is most proud of our continued growth with Derby Days. On top of our $50,000 goal, our Derby Days chairmen have already hosted two additional events to contribute to fundraising. These annual improvements have served as a quintessence to the chapter as to how to exemplify the standards of Sigma Chi.
~ Benjamin Cosby, 2021
MISSISSIPPI STATE Gamma Upsilon
37 232 3,102
It’s another great year to be a part of our chapter. The chapter has excelled on many platforms, including GPA, philanthropy and much more. Mississippi State University Fraternity and Sorority Life awarded Gamma Upsilon the “2020 Greek Collaboration Award” at this year’s Ritter Awards. It’s another great example of Sigma Chi taking leadership in today’s Greekletter community.
~ Jonathan Boone, 2021
MISSOURI S & T Theta Eta
9 42 478
In fall of 2019, our chapter achieved the highest average GPA of any Greek-letter organization on campus. This was above the all-male, all-student and all-fraternity average GPA.
~ Chad Robertson, 2023
MISSOURI STATE Eta Kappa
6 55 971
Our chapter’s most significant accomplishment during the 2019 to 2020 academic year was bringing back our Derby Days philanthropic event. In just three days, we were able to raise over $3,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
~ Brayden Venatta, 2022
MONTANA STATE Beta Rho 14 85 2,539
Our chapter was privileged to host the Big Sky province workshop in Bozeman. At the workshop, we were joined by Grand Quaestor Ryan Temby, RUTGERS 1990, and were honored with the Chapter of the Year award. Our commitment to the betterment of our community has culminated in our brothers raising $19,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and 1,000 hours of community service.
~ Brandon Baier, 2021
NEBRASKA Alpha Epsilon 8 103 2,266
The chapter’s most significant accomplishment from the fall 2019 academic year would be closing in on the $20,000 club for the Huntsman
Challenge. We've had a lot of effort from our house and others who have been affected by cancer, and we couldn't be prouder to say we'll be in that club by the end of the year.
~ Colin Crayne, 2020
NEW HAVEN Lambda Epsilon 12 54 290
In the fall 2019 semester, we held a successful and campus-engaging Derby Days philanthropic event week. Afterward, at this year's province conference, the chapter was happy to announce our milestone of donating $100,000 to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. We are extremely proud of our work toward being the generation to end cancer.
~ Gavin McGray, 2021
NEW MEXICO Beta Xi 12 60 2,109
We restructured our financial policy and have improved our relations on campus. We have partnered up with Dance Marathon to host an event fundraising for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and our local Children's Hospital. We are proud to have 26 new brothers from our fall and spring pledge classes this year. Lastly, we won our eighth Greek Week title in 10 years.
~ Steven Ashby, 2023
NORTH CAROLINA-CHAPEL HILL Alpha Tau 21 92 1,971
This spring semester, the chapter welcomed a new executive committee and received five awards from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Our chapter has also been making great strides in risk management, alumni relations and Ritual certification. Finally, we wish our 22 graduating seniors all the best as they embark on a new stage in life.
~ Brendan Carr, 2021
NORTH CAROLINA-CHARLOTTE Mu Alpha 71 148
While the university moves toward an online-only class schedule, we have
been fortunate to have no cases of COVID-19 within the chapter. We have been working diligently to reschedule major philanthropic events like Derby Days to the fall semester.
~ Will French, 2020
NORTH DAKOTA Beta Zeta 7 76 2110
The chapter received multiple academic awards this semester: highest fraternity GPA, highest new member GPA and exceeded the all-Greek-letter GPA average. We’re hoping for another good finish for spring 2020.
~ Cole Lathrop, 2019
NORTH DAKOTA STATE Gamma Tau 2 13 1,320
The chapter has been working on our campus involvement by encouraging members to be involved in other organizations outside of Sigma Chi to create a greater name for our chapter. Otherwise, we have been focusing all our efforts on recruitment this year and the upcoming year by using our strong brotherhood and great alumni relations.
~ Justin Shamberg, 2023
NORTHWESTERN Omega 23 113 2,451
The chapter welcomed the largest pledge class in chapter history with 34 new actives initiated on Feb. 15. This class represents 13 states and two foreign countries. The chapter was honored to have Lt. Taylor Bugart Jr., 2012, selected as one of the flyover pilots before the Super Bowl. Burgart is a Northwestern Naval ROTC graduate.
~ Gustav Enger, 2022
OHIO Delta Pi 4 78 1,586
With challenging times in fall 2019, the chapter, under a new executive board, looks to continue past success and continue to thrive. We are also doing everything we can to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and wish all of our brothers good health in the months to come.
~ Sam Halloran, 2022
Active undergraduate chapters: 236
Active alumni chapters: 120
Total living members: 261,776
Current undergraduates: 16,208
Total all-time intiates: 350,047
OHIO STATE Alpha Gamma
11 126 2,935
The chapter's most significant accomplishment from the fall 2019 academic term was becoming more actively involved in the community and around the university as a whole. We are proud of both the community service and philanthropy we were involved in during the fall.
~ Andrew Hummer, 2021
OKLAHOMA Beta Kappa
17 135 2,927
During the fall 2019 academic term, our chapter achieved a 3.01 GPA across all members in Sigma Chi, which was a significant increase from the previous term.
~ Charlie Reuss, 2022
OKLAHOMA STATE Gamma Delta 22 114 2,663
In the past few semesters, our chapter has put an emphasis on academic achievement. In the fall 2019 semester, our efforts were rewarded as we achieved a 3.33 GPA and placed fourth among fraternities. We have also made tremendous strides in our philanthropy efforts with new fundraising ideas and energy.
~ Jared Kuykendall, 2021
OREGON STATE Beta Pi
14 125 1,917
The chapter initiated its 2,000th member this term. We are extremely honored to
undergraduates had been diligently working on schoolwork, Derby Days fundraising and more. This year at the Indiana State Day, the chapter was thrilled to have senior Wesley Middleton, 2019, receive the Province Balfour Award for the Northern Indiana province in recognition of his outstanding performance in school and abilities as a leader.
~ David Kratzman, 2021
R.I.T. Lambda Kappa 8 50 165
be able to honor our chapter's history with this huge milestone. Our executive team continues to work tirelessly to maintain and improve the success of our chapter.
~ Cam O'Brien, 2022
PACIFIC Kappa Sigma 9 38 386
The chapter’s most significant accomplishments this semester were its philanthropic gains and new members. From our annual Aerospike and Sigmaghetti philanthropy events, we raised more than $1,700 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
As a chapter, we acquired four quality brothers. With these two accomplishments, we plan to continue to fulfill Sigma Chi’s objectives and values.
~ Ranier Sadang, 2022
PENN STATE Alpha Chi 22 93 1,972
After many hours of fundraising, the brothers finished strong by standing for 46 hours straight at Penn State's THON. In total, we raised upward of $110,000 for the Four Diamonds foundation, which researches and covers care costs for childhood cancer.
~ Jonathan Shuster, 2022
PURDUE Delta Delta 16 132 2,616
As of this writing, we were halfway through the spring semester. The
The chapter had a record year in terms of growth this 2019 fall semester. Many first-year members were elected to the executive board this past semester, including many top positions. Recruitment and pledgeship awarded us eight new brothers to share our values with. We’re looking forward to this next semester and are ready for any challenge.
~ Daniel Nadel, 2023
RIPON Epsilon Lambda 5 32 755
Our most significant accomplishment in the fall 2019 term was being awarded the Peterson Significant Chapter Blue Award. We are extremely honored and proud to accomplish such a feat.
~ Jamie DeRose, 2020
ROCHESTER Gamma Pi 22 62 1,444
The chapter welcomed eight charismatic pledges into the brotherhood who have already contributed to our chapter significantly this semester. During our annual Dominican Republic trip, nine brothers assisted in building infrastructure that helped the residents in Don Juan live more sanitary and comfortable lives. We collaborated with our faculty advisor Rev. Brian Cool, 1989, and Engineers Without Borders.
~ Spencer Danforth, 2021
SAINT LOUIS Theta Iota 12 51 662
The chapter welcomed five new members to our pledge class this
semester. We were awarded our first Peterson Significant Chapter Award since being rechartered back in 2017, and we hope to achieve similar success in the future. For the spring, we are preparing for our Derby Days philanthropy week and further developing the leaders of men in our Fraternity.
~ Ryan Wilks, 2020
SAMFORD Pi 29 153 1,091
The chapter started the year strong by initiating 35 new members in October. In regards to on-campus achievements, our chapter most recently won our campus Step Sing competition. We were also able to take home multiple Greek-letter awards in the spring. Many brothers have also become involved in associations such as Interfraternity Council and Student Government Association.
~ Tucker Bryan, 2022
SAN DIEGO STATE Delta Xi 9 70 2,432
We would like to thank our advisors, alumni and other undergraduate chapters who planned our initiation and supported us in our three-year journey to bring back the Delta Xi chapter. We look forward to the upcoming fall, where we plan on holding our first Derby Days philanthropic event, conducting our first initiation and celebrating our charter at a rescheduled installation banquet.
~ Adam Carrillo, 2021
SAN JOSE STATE Epsilon Theta 5 47 1,346
Today, the chapter stands at 47 members. Our Derby Days philanthropic event was a success, and we are proud to announce that we have reached the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s $20K Club. We received the highest GPA out of all Greek-letter organizations on campus for the fall 2019 semester. Ultimately, as the 2020-2021 school year approaches, our brothers look forward to continuing the chapter’s success.
~ Dylan Wilson, 2019
SANTA CLARA Lambda Gamma 19 85 329
The chapter initiated our largest pledge class to date. We are proud of our 30 new brothers and are excited to see them grow further as men of Sigma Chi.
~ Patrick Coughlin, 2020
SOUTH FLORIDA Theta Beta 12 75 832
This year, the chapter capitalized on the momentum of our 40th anniversary last year by welcoming 10 new initiates in the fall and nine in the spring. After hosting a successful Derby Days and having complete chapter participation in other philanthropic and community events, we dedicated this year to giving back to our community through friendship and service.
~ Stuart Skipper, 2022
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI Epsilon Phi 16 84 1,222
The chapter has kicked off the spring semester successfully. On Feb. 29, Xaver McConnell, 2021, and Brayden Wilson, 2020, led the way in initiating four new members. Many alumni came down for the ceremony. As of this writing, we began focusing on our Derby Days philanthropic event benefitting the Huntsman Cancer Institute. We also looked forward to defending our title of Greek Week champions with our partner sorority, Alpha Chi Omega.
~ Daniel Dobbs, 2021
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Alpha Upsilon
40 178 3,195
The chapter is continuing our fundraising efforts for the Huntsman Cancer Institute by closing in on our $100,000 goal. We are proud of our 30-man pledge class whose members have exemplified the virtues of The Jordan Standard throughout pledgeship. We have redoubled our efforts into improving chapter GPA and involvement in undergraduate research, as well as improving our outreach in alumni relations.
~ Mark Scarsi, 2020
Lambda Omicron
3 32 136
The chapter initiated seven new brothers into the chapter. We also excelled in our philanthropy efforts after having zero hours the previous semester and finished strong with 247 hours.
~ Ricky Waldron, 2020
SYRACUSE Psi Psi
25 93 1,842
Our chapter enjoyed another successful semester at 737 Comstock this spring. We kicked off the semester by welcoming back the Red Cross to host our biannual blood drive. Since then, we have been working hard with our newly created Alumni Advisory Board to grow and improve internal operations at Psi Psi.
~ Jack Brotman, 2021
TARLETON STATE Kappa Xi
3 24 386
Many accomplishments came out of the 2019 fall academic term for the chapter. We scheduled a Mission 365 recruitment training program during the spring semester to help benefit the chapter. Our chapter advisor Brian Scoggins, TARLETON STATE 2008, received advisor of the year during our Greek-letter awards, and many other brothers were in the running for other awards.
~ Dimitri Crossin, 2019
TENNESSEE TECH Eta Delta
5 44 837
The chapter recently obtained its first-ever house mom. Tennessee Tech University's first lady to the president, Kari Oldham, has truly been a blessing. She has already done so much for the chapter, and we look forward to the future.
~ Hunter Vick, 2022
TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA
Delta Theta
8 47 1,382
The chapter ended the fall semester with our annual toy drive, with which we were able to donate over 250 toys and gifts for the East Ridge
Police and Fire Needy Child Fund. Our brothers participated in the Mission 365 recruitment training program and had a strong showing at recruitment week with the addition of seven new members in this spring semester.
~ Dylan Miller, 2020
TEXAS A&M-COLLEGE STATION
Eta Upsilon 29 183 1588
The chapter has continued to make fundraising for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation a priority. This year, we were able to partner with several sororities for our most successful Derby Days yet. In addition, our annual Fight Night philanthropic event went well. We are excited to continue working to join the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s $50K Club for the second consecutive year.
~ Carter Keating, 2019
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE Zeta Eta
2 37 1,218
This has been a successful and high-achieving year for the chapter. We recruited 14 brothers who possess good character and ambitious purposes and are maintaining a consistent schedule of mixers, community service, socials and philanthropic activities. Awards
received last semester range from All-Sports Doubles Tournament to the above all-men's average GPA.
~ Parker Aguilar, 2019
TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE Zeta Pi 4 36 819
We successfully initiated 14 new brothers whose contributions to the chapter so far have been astounding. The chapter has also been putting in its fair share of community service on campus and in the community by volunteering to help with a 5K run as well as working with a local animal shelter.
~ Trinidad Leal, 2020
TEXAS CHRISTIAN Epsilon Mu 10 102 1,456
As a chapter we are excited to announce we have initiated seven great new members into the Sigma Chi brotherhood. They are all great additions to our chapter, which has finally been privileged enough to return to fully operating status. Our chapter has been raising funds for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and is getting ready for Derby Days this spring.
~ Pete Panko, 2021
TEXAS STATE Theta Tau
8 69 660
Finishing the fall 2019 semester, we initiated 24 new members into the chapter. These new members are giving our chapter a great start to s pring 2020. This past semester we raised over $1,000 for the November Foundation supporting men's health. We are looking forward to Derby Days in the spring and a great spring semester.
~ Grant Lincecum, 2021
TEXAS-AUSTIN Alpha Nu
36 116 2,894
The chapter has enjoyed an outstanding fall semester and looks forward to continuing in the spring. In addition to improving our overall chapter GPA, our brothers have served the community through volunteering with the B+ Foundation and hosting a blood drive with Zeta Tau Alpha. We hope to finish the year strong while continuing these philanthropic and brotherhood events.
~ Michael Bain, 2022
TORONTO-RYERSON Beta Omega
16 43 1,243
The chapter was able to start the semester strong by initiating 11 new brothers. During this semester, thanks to our philanthropy chairman Nicholas Proudfoot, 2021, we were able to raise $11,437.89 CAD for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. Using what we learned this year, we believe that we will be in HCI’s $20K Club soon.
~ Shin-Chuen Yen, 2019
UNION Gamma Zeta
28 93 1,518
The chapter’s strong year continued after the new year. Recently, our brothers attended the Hudson Valley province conference, where they enjoyed a wonderful weekend with other brothers from the province. Just after the new year we hosted roughly 50 alumni from the mid-1980s pledge classes. The executive committee is now looking ahead and planning our spring Derby Days.
~ Corey Rutkin, 2021
VALPARAISO Iota Sigma
7 38 582
Our chapter's biggest accomplishment is setting a standard to move to 100-percent third party vendor social events. By doing this, we were able to promote safer social events and help other fraternities move to this standard.
~ Jacob Newkirk, 2020
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
Mu Delta
3 21 67
In the fall 2019 academic term, our chapter successfully ran our annual philanthropy event, Canine Carnival, where we raised around $2,000 for one of our local animal rescue groups. We are looking forward to continuing our work with the organization in the future.
~ Chris Estes, 2021
WASHINGTON (SEATTLE) Upsilon Upsilon
27 111 2,640
The chapter finished the fall term strong by earning fifth in grades with a GPA of 3.48. In the winter, we elected a new executive team who will take
office in the spring. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Seattle area, we are developing plans to continue chapter actives next term while keeping our brothers and the community safe.
~ Adam Smith, 2022
WASHINGTON STATE Beta Upsilon
7 61 1,450
The chapter is in its 100th year on campus and anticipated completing construction on our new chapter facility in June. As of this writing, its grand opening was scheduled for Aug. 8. We recruited our largest pledges class since 2003 and will be preparing to move into the new house this fall.
~ Stephen Bone, 2019
WESTERN CONNECTICUT Iota Eta 0 24 385
Our chapter has made great strides this spring semester. We as a chapter are incredibly excited to be bringing in two very promising pledges. In other news, David Romano, 2022, is responsible for creating an amazing scholarship program that is only available to the Iota Eta chapter as of March 2, 2020.
~ Collin Ouellet, 2022
WESTERN MICHIGAN Zeta Nu 2 80 1,352
This semester we achieved many accomplishments. We held our fifth semiannual academic dinner to recognize the brothers who achieved a 3.0 or higher GPA. We are also welcoming 12 new brothers into our house this semester. Our chapter strives to succeed every year.
~ Dominic Chirillo, 2022
WESTERN ONTARIO
Epsilon Omicron 18 65 1,399
Epsilon Omicron is moving chapter houses for the first time in our history. This is monumental to continue our positive momentum. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the process, from alumni to actives. The 2020 to 2021 academic year will be the first year in this house.
~ Jack Jelinek, 2020
WILLAMETTE Delta Zeta
6 43 1,367
The chapter is pleased to report we exceeded our goal of 150 community service hours in the 2019 fall term, averaging five hours from each of our chapter members. We are also very excited to welcome 10 new members to our chapter after having just completed an initiation this spring.
~ Henry Veitenhans, 2022
WINDSOR Kappa Mu 3 23 316
The chapter was able to host the Sigma Chi Hockey Tournament where Sigs from all over the world gathered in Brampton, Ontario, near Toronto, to participate in this annual hockey tournament. The field included teams with undergraduates and alumni representing chapters from throughout North America.
~ Max Soucie, 2020
Lambda Chi 5 58 162
After initiating 21 brothers in the fall semester, the chapter has remained productive. Another successful spring recruitment has concluded here on campus thanks to previous recruitment chairman, Dylan Lampert, 2022. Our chapter offered 11 bids to men who exemplify the traits found in The Jordan Standard. We hope to have another strong initiation this spring.
~ Jake Mathiasen, 2023
BOSTON Sigma Chi Upsilon
As the colony gets closer to fall initiation, we have continued to work toward growing our brotherhood and pursuing our goals. Our most recent pledge class brought 12 new brothers to the colony, and our efforts have led to us receive campus Greek-letter
life awards, such as Excellence in Scholarship and Excellence in Campus Involvement.
~ Nathan Lederman, 2022
Sigma Chi Omega
The colony is excited to be entering the final steps before our initiation, which should happen early next fall. We have had the excellent opportunity of participating in multiple sorority philanthropies and had our first mixer with a sorority, which went exceptionally well. We will continue to stay connected and productive through these tough times and challenges.
~ Daniel Heher, 2021
HOUSTON Sigma Chi Xi
The colony achieved the highest fall 2019 GPA of all the Interfraternity Council fraternities with a GPA of 3.3. We are proud of our members academic achievement and look forward to growing together in other areas as well.
~ Felipe Franchi Souza, 2020
Dan Biase, TEXAS TECH 2003, left, and Zac Castillo, TEXAS TECH 1999, take a break during their 320-mile Cycle of Hope from the Texas Tech University chapter house they left on Feb. 13, 2002, in Lubbock, Texas, to the Southern Methodist University chapter house they arrived at on Feb. 15 in Dallas. Their bicycle journey raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to benefit a 6-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis. Fraternity brothers supported and followed the pair in a vehicle.
LOUISIANA STATE Sigma Chi Zeta
During the fall of 2019, the colony participated in its first formal recruitment. This academic term brought us a new member class of 16 excellent young men. In addition, we successfully completed Phase I and are eagerly awaiting our installation, which is expected to occur in the fall of 2020.
~ Oscar Scruggins, 2022
Sigma Chi Sigma
Our colony's most significant accomplishments include a top-of-theline GPA, philanthropic involvement and recruiting a class of 63 members. We earned a cumulative 3.4 GPA and commenced the Preparation for Brotherhood pledge education program. Moreover, we have progressed from an interest group into the Sigma Chi Sigma colony and look forward to attaining our next phase.
~ Trey Ridenour, 2023
8/28/1955 Epsilon Mu, Texas Christian, celebrates 65 years
9/11/1955 Epsilon Nu, Texas Tech, celebrates 65 years
9/16/1905 Omega Omega, Arkansas, celebrates 115 years
9/17/1955 Epsilon Lambda, Ripon, celebrates 65 years
9/18/1895 Mu Mu, West Virginia, celebrates 125 years
9/26/1965 Zeta Lambda, Kent State, celebrates 55 years
9/27/1875 Phi Phi, Pennsylvania, celebrates 145 years
Anniversaries are listed every five years.
CHAPTER NAME: Mu Theta
INSTALLATION DATE: Nov. 9, 2019
PROVINCE: Eastern
SIGS INITIATED AT INSTALLATION: 39
Current Kustos and former Consul Kyle Dudzinski, GEORGETOWN 2021, felt like there was something missing on the Georgetown University campus when he started classes as a freshman. He later identified that feeling as a lack of brotherhood, which motivated him and other freshmen to start a Sigma Chi colony. Dudzinski says that the chapter has since set itself apart from other fraternities on campus by having brothers who are genuine, down-to-earth and interested in forming lifelong friendships.
The idea for a colony grew from a few freshmen holding chapter meetings in a dorm room. Why the desire to bring Sigma Chi to Georgetown?
Georgetown is an outstanding university where students receive a world-class education. Yet, Georgetown was missing something. I felt that the minute I stepped on campus. Coming from an all-boys Catholic high school centered on Benedictine values, the concept of brotherhood was not foreign to me. So, I gathered a few of my friends on campus, and we began recruiting for the new Sigma Chi colony.
What was the process of installation like given that the university doesn’t recognize Greek-letter life?
Installation was initially easier as we did not have to fill out extra paperwork, and we did not have strict recruiting rules. In some ways, the lack of a Greek[-letter] office sped up the process. However, as installation grew closer, the lack of university support began to take its toll. It is difficult for us to reserve spaces on campus, which allows us to hold meetings and have a more public appearance. Additionally, we had to collect [academic] transcripts and do other things on our own. This paperwork became laborious when coupled with Fraternity paperwork and banquet planning.
The colony received the Julio Varela Outstanding Colony Award at the 2019 Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop. How did that serve as encouragement of what’s to come?
Earning the Julio Valera Outstanding Colony Award helped us cross the finish line for installation. Seeing a tangible award for all our hard work leading up to that point helped the colony brothers push forward with installation, especially the newer brothers who attended Krach [TLW]. All of those brothers now have high-ranking positions in the chapter, including Consul, Pro Consul and Quaestor.
What kind of assistance did alumni provide the colony?
Alumni provided irreplaceable support for us, especially during the final month leading up to installation. Throughout the process, a lot of our support came from our Grand Praetor Walter Cooner, EMORY 1974, and Chapter Advisor Coleman Covington, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2013. As Consul, I had countless meetings and phone calls with
both of them as installation came upon us. We also had incredible support from the entire Eastern province and headquarters staff. Finally, my father, Gregg Dudzinski, EMBRY-RIDDLE (DAYTONA BEACH) 1989, motivated several of his chapter mates to help him assist both in the installation process as well as the initiation itself.
As one of nine fraternities and sororities on campus, how does Mu Theta set itself apart?
Mu Theta firmly believes in Sigma Chi's lifelong commitment to friendship, justice and learning. When recruiting, we used the lifelong aspect of our brotherhood as a selling point to potential new members. Many newer members admit they do not see themselves as stereotypical fraternity guys and didn't think they would join a fraternity. However, they found the colony members to be genuine individuals who took great interest in them rather than other fraternities on campus. Our reputation as genuine, down-to-earth individuals set us apart from other Greek[-letter] life on campus and continues to do so today.
Sigma Chi alumni and members of Georgetown University undergraduate chapter pose with Grand Consul Steve Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979, and International Sweetheart Lauren Lewallen during the chapter’s installation on Nov. 9, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
CHAPTER NAME: Delta Xi
INSTALLATION DATE: March 14, 2020
PROVINCE: Southern California
SIGS INITIATED AT INSTALLATION: 83
The reinstallation of the San Diego State University [SDSU] undergraduate chapter included a couple of surprises for the young men. First was the pinning of the Fraternity’s 350,000th initiate. Second were the adjustments made to minimize any direct personal contact and the cancellation of the chapter’s reinstallation banquet due to early concerns about the COVID-19 virus. Consul Adam Carrillo, 2021, says that since then, the chapter has conducted its post-initiation training and elections through a digital format.
What does it mean to be part of reestablishing Sigma Chi at San Diego State University?
The group of men at San Diego State have seen other fraternities on our campus that are lost and misaligned with their values. Multiple fraternities have been removed from our campus due to unacceptable behavior, such as hazing and alcohol violations. We wanted Sigma Chi to be different and be a leader to help change the misaligned Greek[-letter] life culture that persists at San Diego State.
What adversity did the colony face while trying to get reinstalled?
In fall 2018, a couple of our members started getting ideas from the other fraternities on our campus and added a few extra activities to the pledge program. At that time, our colony had very little accountability and didn’t speak up against their actions. It took us six months after that to build accountability and get everyone back on the right track.
How did concerns over the COVID-19 virus affect the reinstallation of the chapter?
The day before our initiation activities were set to begin, SDSU abruptly closed the campus due to the ongoing coronavirus situation. As a result, our reserved rooms on campus were canceled, and the installation team needed to make some last-minute adjustments to our initiation. Additionally, our chapter had to make the difficult but responsible decision to postpone our long-anticipated installation banquet. We look forward to formally celebrating the reinstallation of the Delta Xi chapter with our alumni once it is safe to do so. Since that weekend, most of our chapter has moved back home, and we have conducted our post-initiation training and spring elections in an online format.
What assistance did alumni provide the colony?
Our reinstallation definitely wouldn’t have been possible without the help and support of Sigma Chi alumni. We have always had strong recruitments; where most of the credit is due is to the alumni who have come in and shared their passion for Sigma Chi with our potential new members. The San Diego Alumni Chapter
also has supported us and always expressed their support for us throughout this three-year journey. But our No. 1 supporter has been [Order of Constantine Sig] Dan Shaver, TEXAS TECH 1993, our chapter advisor. He has volunteered his house, office and cabin space for leadership retreats, made countless trips to our meetings and helped us build a strong brotherhood. His true love for Sigma Chi has inspired us to build a chapter that will last beyond our lifetime and give back to Sigma Chi as we become alumni.
The Fraternity’s 350,000th initiate was pinned during Delta Xi’s reinstallation. Were you expecting that, and what were your thoughts about it happening?
We were very surprised and honored to witness Alejandro Mundo, 2019, pinned as Sigma Chi’s 350,000th initiate. It was surreal to share that moment with Grand Pro Consul Tim Sanderson, WESTERN ONTARIO 1985, and the many alumni in attendance. Our entire chapter is elated that we were able to help create Sigma Chi history on the date of our reinstallation.
Sigma Chi members support each other and others as they plan for the future
For most healthy people in North America, experiencing a cough or sore throat during the winter months was little cause for concern prior to late January 2020, when the novel human coronavirus known as SARS-CoV2 arrived in Washington state on Jan. 21 and Toronto on Jan. 25. Within 2 to 14 days of infection, these and other mild symptoms could progress into more serious complications, such as pneumonia and difficulty breathing, and require intensive hospitalization.
By March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, a pandemic. By March 26, the United States became the center of the worldwide outbreak when the country surpassed China, the virus’ country of origin, in its number of confirmed cases. As of June 5, the United States had 1.9 million confirmed cases of the virus, and more than 110,000 people died due to complications from it.
Businesses and communities across the world shut down in an attempt to slow the virus’ spread. The social distancing required to do so cut school years short and canceled graduations, brought the global economy to a halt and changed nearly every aspect of life as most people know it. Through it all, Sigma Chi members and chapters adapted to a rapidly changing world. The following is a series of stories highlighting the ways in which Sigs experienced the pandemic.
Undergraduate and alumni members stayed connected to each other during the COVID-19 pandemic by switching to a digital hangout format, especially after school campuses closed and classes moved online.
Order of Constantine Sig and Florida Atlantic University Chapter Advisor Vincent Fernald, BRIDGEWATER STATE 1990, says that in mid-March, the undergraduate chapter’s in-person meetings moved to the video conferencing app Zoom. Fernald notes that hosting events over Zoom has allowed the chapter to connect in meaningful ways. For example, the university’s Fraternity and Sorority Life office hosted an online banquet to announce award winners. Normally, a limited number of Greek-letter life members can attend the in-person banquet, but with the online format, all Sig brothers were able to watch it together on Zoom.
“We ended up winning for the first time the Chapter of the Year, our Consul won the Fraternity President of the Year, and we won six other individual chapter excellence awards,” Fernald says. “While it would have been nice for brothers to be together under normal circumstances, we made lemonade out of lemons and shared this experience of joy together as a chapter and brotherhood.”
Likewise, Calgary Alumni Chapter officer and colony advisor for the Mount Royal University colony Francis Henne, WINDSOR 1997, says both the alumni chapter and colony brothers are meeting digitally. The alumni and undergraduate chapter members have not only conducted business over a digital format, but
Florida Atlantic Sigs celebrate their chapter’s successes following Florida Atlantic University’s virtual Greek-letter awards banquet. The chapter earned Chapter of the Year honors for the first time; Consul Sebastian Scalera, 2020, was named fraternity president of the year; and the chapter earned six other individual chapter excellence awards.
also are hosting game nights and simply having social hangouts. Henne adds that colony members have been connecting with other Fraternity colonies and Sigs.
“I thought it would be a great way for colonies, who would probably only meet at workshop, to actually get to meet with other colonies, as well. The first one was held [April 23], and we had colony members from the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of North Carolina Wilmington, as well as the advisors and a few involved alumni,” Henne says. “We are also going to set up another one for Mount Royal to have a social with other Canadian Sigs.”
GRAND QUESTOR SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE HAVING THE COVID-19 VIRUS ///////////////////////////////////////////
Grand Questor and Order of Constantine Sig Ryan Temby, RUTGERS 1990, left, was initially in disbelief when he began displaying symptoms of the COVID-19 virus the first week of March after his wife had come in contact with a coworker who had tested positive for it. Temby had developed a sore throat and cough and began to feel significantly worse once he developed a fever. He says at first when he couldn’t breathe it felt like a cat was on his chest, then it felt like a Bernese mountain dog when his symptoms worsened. He called his doctor, who advised him to remain in quarantine and not come in for treatment. Around that time, Temby’s son began displaying COVID-19 symptoms, as well.
“At first it was disbelief then stubbornness to not allow myself to believe [I had the virus]. Then I settled in and decided to fight it with the help of my family,” Temby recalls. “I was scared at times, but really it was more about getting through each moment.”
He shared with other Sigs on social media how he had developed the virus, and two doctors who are Sigs reached out to him, advised him on his health and checked on him daily. One even personally visited Temby while wearing full protective gear and maintaining distance.
“They provided council, comfort and brotherhood throughout the illness,” Temby says. By the end of March, Temby says he felt fully recovered, and shortly thereafter, so did his son. He credits his family for helping him get through the difficult time.
“This is a scary virus, and all possible personal effort should be placed on not contracting it and not spreading it,” Temby says. “[Having it has] only increased my worry that many of our brotherhood are aged and will not survive if infected, so I have become more careful, personally, [on not spreading illnesses].”
Order of Constantine Sig Jim Holcomb, CAL. STATE-SACRAMENTO 1994, was caught off guard when his son’s Sacramento school announced it would be closing for initially two weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Holcomb knew it would be a change for working parents, and he didn’t want the religious lessons his kindergarten-aged son learned in private school to be neglected, so he decided to put together learning activities for his son and three other young neighborhood children who attend the same school. He called it Warrior Kid Academy, named after the children’s book WayoftheWarriorKid, and enlisted the help of the other parents to teach lessons.
“I thought it was important because if the kids were to return to school, I wanted that eventual return to be a seamless and smooth process,” Holcomb says.
A typical day in the Warrior Kid Academy began with the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer. Then they would recite the Warrior Kid Academy code, which outlined ways the students should positively conduct themselves, and go over the day’s
agenda. Each day had the same elements: lessons on faith, life skills, physical education, music appreciation, reading, math, performing arts, science or home economics, and arts and crafts.
“One point of our Warrior Kid code was, ‘I will try new and hard things.’ On Day 1, our Life Skills unit was an introduction to power tools. A few of the kids were nervous, but with a little encouragement, they all tried each of the tools,” Holcomb says. “When they learned a few weeks later they weren’t going back to school, it was natural for them to be a little nervous or upset. We’d then point back to the power tools activity, and I’d remind them they were also a little nervous about using the tools, but that worked out just fine.”
The Warrior Kid Academy ran from mid-March to mid-April until the children’s school got into a rhythm of sending home schoolwork and parents were able to establish routines at home.
“Overall, I’d say the kids really enjoyed it and learned a great deal,” Holcomb says. “Through all of this, I’ve been reminded of how wonderful and valuable the virtues of Sigma Chi can be when put in action to help others.”
Order of Constantine Sig Jim Holcomb, CAL. STATE-SACRAMENTO 1994, sits beside the code of conduct for the homeschool program that he created for his 4-year-old son, and three neighbors who are classmates. Holcomb and his wife, Shannon, named the program Warrior Kid Academy after the children’s book Way of the Warrior Kid, and enlisted the help of oth-er parents to teach lessons.
GRADUATING SENIOR SHARES HOW COVID-19 HAS THWARTED SCHOOL, GRADUATION, EMPLOYMENT PLANS ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Cameron Tynes, TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA 2019, looked forward to participating in the sentimental activities most graduating seniors participate in: graduation, final events with friends and starting full-time employment. The COVID-19 pandemic has either canceled or delayed those activities. The graduating senior shares how the virus has impacted his final few collegiate months and employment plans.
How has COVID-19 affected your plans for the last few months of college and Fraternity life?
“This situation has changed a lot of things for me and everyone. Here at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, we finished the semester online, and that was a very different environment for most people and presented its own challenges as we looked to finish up our classes. It has caused me and many of my brothers to miss out on our last chapter meeting, Derby Days, formal and many other things that we look forward to our last year. Canceled trips and rescheduled events can always be made up, but missing out on those last opportunities with your brothers is something we will not get back, and that has been the hardest thing for me.”
What are your thoughts on not being able to participate in the normal graduation ceremony?
“Not being able to participate in the graduation ceremony is not easy. Walking across the stage is the end of your hard work, where you are recognized for the time and effort you spent. It is not easy to miss out on another moment that cannot be replaced.”
Has COVID-19 affected any employment or internship opportunities you might have had lined up?
“Yes, it has. I had an opportunity to begin training for a management position at my job, and that has been put on the back burner. I am certain the opportunity will arise again, but I missed out on valuable time.”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
With the onset of COVID-19 came challenges for Sigma Chis across the globe.
Undergraduate brothers studying abroad adapted to program cancellations and the United States’ travel closure. Brothers in North America were displaced from their living situations due to campus closures. Many saw their employment opportunities succumb to stay-at-home orders, particularly in the retail, food, beverage and hospitality industries.
Sensing the need for student aid, the Sigma Chi Foundation updated its Brothers Helping Brothers fund, developed in August 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, to provide grant assistance to undergraduate and graduate student brothers affected by the coronavirus.
“We knew that the pandemic would create extraordinary challenges for many of our young brothers,” says Foundation President and CEO Ashley Woods, EAST TENNESSEE 2000. “Many of our outstanding young men have been challenged to afford housing, transportation, basic needs and much more.”
As of May 1, the Foundation had given more than $50,000 in grant money to qualified applicants, with a goal of raising more than $100,000 total for the fund through events such as Giving Tuesday NOW held on May 5.
With chapter houses and facilities closed across North America, the Risk Management Foundation and the Constantine Housing Initiative have been working to support house corporations in their efforts to keep facilities safe, sustainable and sanitized.
The CARES Act passed by Congress on March 27 allowed house corporations to obtain financial relief should they be registered as a private nonprofit. For all other needs, the Constantine Housing Initiative has provided resources for funding and project management for physical structures during the crisis.
From a chapter operations standpoint, the Fraternity’s regional chapter support coordinators have been working closely with Grand Praetors, chapter advisors and undergraduate brothers within their regions to ensure proper close of business for the end of the academic year.
More than 90 percent of Sigma Chi undergraduate chapters remained active with virtual chapter meetings, whereas more than 95 percent conducted executive business via Skype, Zoom and other video conferencing tools.
“Today’s undergraduates have acclimated quickly to using social media to stay in touch as well as to continue to address chapter business,” says Order of Constantine Sig and Regional Chapter Support Coordinator Larry Cukjati, PITTSBURG STATE 1975. “Each of our chapters are doing some sort of engagement via social media. The biggest miss is for our graduating seniors who had to vacate before being able to formally close the door on their chapter experience.”
As of May 1, more than 900 pledges were awaiting their initiation, with the balance of pledge training completed through virtual pledge meetings and the online Preparation for Brotherhood course work. Depending on state schedules and the reopening of states and provinces, initiations could be scheduled from late summer into early fall ahead of the fall semester recruitment cycle.
Through monetary contributions, volunteer efforts and even restructuring their business operations, Sigma Chis have lent a helping hand throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two National Football League Sigs made dents in funding efforts for their teams’ home states. New Orleans Saints quarterback and Significant Sig Drew Brees, PURDUE 2001, and his wife, Brittany, committed $5 million to Louisiana’s relief efforts. Cleveland Browns owner and Significant Sig Jimmy Haslam, TENNESSEE-KNOXVILLE 1976, and his wife, Dee, followed suit with a $1.5 million commitment to similar relief efforts in Ohio.
Brees’ head coach in New Orleans, Significant Sig Sean Payton, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1987, was one of the first high profile cases of the coronavirus in the country. Payton made a complete recovery after receiving positive test results on March 19 and has since become a prominent face in supporting plasma and blood donation efforts to help others recover from the virus.
The pandemic also has caused leaders from many national companies to forego their salaries and bonuses to help benefit their employees. One of the first to step up was Texas Roadhouse co-founder and chairman Significant Sig Kent Taylor, NORTH CAROLINA-CHAPEL HILL 1977, who announced on March 26 he would support frontline workers from his restaurants impacted by the pandemic.
The need for medical supplies, particularly gloves, masks and ventilators, became a call for many medical experts as hospitals began treating patients with the virus.
Companies such as Bridgewater Studios in Chicago, which builds designs for storefront displays and museums, converted its operations into developing personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical personnel. Wyatt Hylazek, BRADLEY 2019, is one of many employees whose position shifted toward creating needed medical supplies for distribution across the globe.
“Being able to give back and be a part of something positive during these trying times is truly a blessing. Our first responders need protective equipment, and we’re answering that call.”
Companies that already made PPE, such as 3M that counts Andrew Rehder, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 2001, as its mask production manager, saw their production rate increase.
Then there were organizations such as The Ventilator Project, which started from the ground up to manufacture an affordable ventilator made from materials outside of the medical supply chain to help hospital systems worldwide.
Nine Purdue Sigs, including Ventilator Project founder Tyler Mantel’s brother Preston, PURDUE 2018, and San Francisco 49ers safety Jake Thieneman, 2018, have joined the more than 60 engineers and computer scientists in building a functional prototype, marketing and pushing toward production upon Food and Drug Administration approval.
“A standard ventilator goes anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000,” says Thieneman. “That’s a lot for hospitals to shell out right now given everything that’s going on. Our ventilators can be produced for $5,000.”
On the medical front line, Sigs such as intensive care unit Dr. Rick Sellman, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 1986, have been treating patients impacted by the virus.
Two Sigs have been helping the efforts on a national front, however. Dr. Steve Cersovsky, WASHINGTON-ST. LOUIS 1989, is leading COVID-19 response efforts on behalf of the U.S. Army Public Health Center.
To the left, members of The Ventilator Project assemble a prototype for a ventilator made from materials found outside of the medical supply chain. The group, which includes nine Purdue Sigs, hopes to meet hospitals’ demand for the devices and provide them at a lower cost than conventional ventilators.
A prototype for a ventilator produced by The Ventilator Project team that includes nine Purdue Sigs is shown. The team hopes to aid hospitals by producing ventilators from supplies found outside of the medical supply chain at a lower cost than conventional ventilators.
One of his team members, Dr. Jacob Ball, TULANE 2012, is an epidemiologist serving as technical lead for COVID-19 modeling efforts used throughout the U.S. military during the pandemic.
“It’s been amazing learning from [Cersovsky] and working to support his efforts in the COVID response,” Ball says. “He’s been a fantastic mentor.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////
As of May 5, seven Sigs were known to have entered the Chapter Eternal due to complications from COVID-19.
Significant Sig businessman and philanthropist Robert Garff, UTAH 1964, the longtime chairman of the Ken Garff Automotive Group, former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives and chairman of the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Games, was the first known Sig to pass from the coronavirus on March 29.
Garff and his family, including three sons, two sons-in-law and three grandsons who share the bonds of Sigma Chi, were featured in the spring 2020 issue of TheMagazineofSigmaChi
The youngest Sigma Chi lost to the coronavirus, Jonathan Coelho, WESTERN CONNECTICUT 2009, is remembered by pledge brothers Jeffrey Reichard, 2009, and Rob Krieger, 2008, as a man who lived his life in pursuit of Sigma Chi’s ideals.
“His heart was pure and his love was great,” they said. “Jonathan was the type of person who brought out the best in everyone. He radiated warmth with a kind smile and welcoming soul.”
Coelho was married with two young children, including a daughter who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. His love for his children and his wife, Katie, a former Western Connecticut chapter sweetheart, was documented across international media outlets after a goodbye note to them was discovered on Coelho's iPhone following his death.
More than $800,000 has been raised for the Coelho family through a GoFundMe campaign launched following Coelho’s passing on April 22.
Other known Sigma Chi losses to COVID-19 include:
James Boettcher, NEBRASKA 1954, an engineer and program manager who retired after 36 years for United Technologies, entered the Chapter Eternal on April 7.
Significant Sig Robert Elsperman, PURDUE 1959, former president of Tarlton Corporation in St. Louis, entered the Chapter Eternal on April 7.
Blair Garff, UTAH 1967, a longtime finance executive for companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley who served on numerous advisory boards, entered the Chapter Eternal on April 22.
Peter Higman, MONTANA STATE 1964, a pharmacist who proudly served in the Montana and Illinois Army Reserves, entered the Chapter Eternal on April 13.
John Rudolph, MISSOURI-COLUMBIA 1955, an engineer who helped his father incorporate Hans Rudolph, Inc., a global leader in specialized respiratory designs, entered the Chapter Eternal on April 22.
While the COVID-19 pandemic created a dynamic shift in campus and chapter operations, operations at the International Fraternity level, including the Foundation, Sigma Chi Leadership Institute and Risk Management Foundation, moved to virtual settings upon the institution of Illinois’ stay-at-home order that began on March 17.
Over the course of March, April and early May, through online meetings and committee recommendations, the Fraternity developed a plan of action for the traditional annual summer events should the spread of the pandemic increase and potentially prohibit a safe group gathering.
After consulting with experts from the fields of epidemiology, higher education, interfraternal activities and the economy, Sigma Chi’s Executive Committee, during online sessions on May 1 and 2, made the decision to cancel the five weeks of the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit in Snowbird, Utah; move the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop to a virtual setting; and divide Grand Council into two virtual sessions.
“Sigma Chi was forced into the undesirable position of reconsidering what we have enjoyed for so long as our cornerstone traditions,” says 71st Grand Consul Steve Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979. “As with everything else, we will get through this. Sigma Chi has prospered for 165 years and, if we all pull together, we will most assuredly prosper for another 165 years and beyond.”
“Sigma Chi has prospered for 165 years and, if we all pull together, we will most assuredly prosper for another 165 years and beyond.”
Grand Consul Steve Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979
Due to the in-person experiential process of the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit in Utah, the Horizons Operating Board and Sigma Chi Leadership Institute determined that a virtual setting would not be conducive to the learning experience offered by the program. All members accepted to the 2020 program with eligibility next year will be given first priority for the 2021 session, while a virtual leadership session will be offered to those brothers who are ineligible.
“For those that were accepted into the program, if they have a year or two left of school, they will automatically get a position next year within our five-week program as long as they give us a confirmation by Feb. 1,” says 59th Grand Consul Dick Hester, BALL STATE 1977, chairman of the Horizons Operating Board. “Brothers earned that spot and a Horizons scholarship, and we will make sure they have an opportunity to attend the program in its entirety.”
GOES VIRTUAL /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//Only once since its 1947 debut has Sigma Chi’s leadership training workshop not taken place — due to the 1955 centennial celebration. Due to the risks of incorporating as many as 2,000 individuals into a single setting at this time, for the second time ever, an in-person Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop will not be possible. Over the course of multiple weeks this summer, however, SCLI and Team Krach leaders will deliver the workshop’s primary learnings in a virtual setting.
“We are in unforeseen circumstances,” says SCLI executive director Jim Cogdal, BRADLEY 2003. “We obviously very much treasure our brotherhood and in-person connections, and soon enough we will be back working on those and developing the curriculum for those. This summer, we will be making sure we can provide our brothers the best leadership experience, albeit digital, that anyone can offer them. We’re very excited that we can get all of our officers trained and ready for their positions headed into the fall.”
On June 27, Grand Trustees, Grand Praetors and undergraduate representatives would convene for a special Grand Council session to elect the undergraduate representatives to the Executive Committee for the 2020 to 2021 year. The regular Grand Council session and general business have been moved to early fall, on a date to be determined.
“On Jan. 3, the Executive Committee met and made the decision to have a virtual Grand Council,” says Grand Pro Consul Tim Sanderson, WESTERN ONTARIO 1985. “In hindsight, that was a smart decision. None of us could have foreseen this pandemic. Even though it was a virtual meeting, we had a dozen or so speakers coming to headquarters to speak and present during the event, and we felt that wasn’t safe, so we have postponed the main session to the fall.”
In 1909, the service in memoriam was officially added to the Ritual. More than a century later, the beautiful White Rose Ceremony is publicly conducted as a final honor to the life of a Sigma Chi and to recognize the brother’s entrance into the Chapter Eternal.
The White Rose Ceremony may be conducted in two ways: as part of a memorial service and at a cemetery. In both, brothers who are present don white roses over their hearts. Then, each brother places his rose on the casket. After honor is called to the name of the deceased, the words spoken by the leader of the ceremony are short, yet poignant and true to the spirt of Sigma Chi:
“InasmuchasourdearlybelovedbrotherworeoverhisheartTheWhiteCrossofSigmaChi,whoseimmaculatewhitenesssymbolizedtousthepurityofhismotives, therefore,itismostappropriatethathenowbearabovehisheartouremblem;andthatwelaywhiterosesuponhiscasketintokenofthesweetmemorieswewillalways cherish of him we loved so well.”
The service in memoriam is one of four portions of the Ritual that can be conducted publicly. It provides a brief, but powerful glance at the meaningful words of Sigma Chi to those outside of our order, showing them the importance of the bonds of our brotherhood. Denotes Life Loyal Sig
ORDER OF CONSTANTINE SIG BILL DOPP SR., INDIANA 1964 , entered the Chapter Eternal on Feb. 25, 2020. He was 77. Dopp was born on April 30, 1942, in Watertown, Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University and began his career working at the Wall Street Journal. Dopp later started an advertising agency in Chicago and a business publication in southern California. Midway through his career, he became an Episcopal priest. Dopp was president of the San Diego Alumni Chapter, chapter advisor for the California-San Diego chapter and involved with the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit program.
ORDER OF CONSTANTINE SIG JACK GARBER, COLORADO 1946 , entered the Chapter Eternal on Dec. 23, 2019. He was 95. Garber was born on Dec. 30, 1923, in Des Moines, Iowa. A year after entering the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1942, he joined the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps, later transferred to the Marine Corps and served during World War II. Garber earned four battle stars and a Purple Heart before returning to school to earn his civil engineering degree. He worked at Johns Manville in environmental control systems until his retirement. Garber was a volunteer for his undergraduate chapter in the 1960s and 1980s.
ORDER OF CONSTANTINE SIG DON WILKINSON, RHODE ISLAND 1964 , entered the Chapter Eternal on Feb. 5, 2020. He was 77. Wilkinson was born on Oct. 12, 1942, in Rhode Island. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island with degrees in business and earned a civil engineering degree from Roger Williams University. Wilkinson later co-founded with his family Wilkinson Associates Consulting Engineers, where he worked for 43 years. He was chairman of the Rhode Island house corporation, an assistant Grand Praetor and active in his local alumni chapter. In recent years, Wilkinson helped with the design and construction of the new Rhode Island chapter house.
LEO CORBET, ARIZONA 1959 , entered the Chapter Eternal on Dec. 22, 2019. He was 83. Corbet was born on Nov. 16, 1936, in Lordsburg, New Mexico. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Arizona. Shortly after graduation, he began practicing law in Phoenix and later was elected to the Arizona Senate. Corbet twice served as Arizona Senate president before stepping down to lead an unsuccessful run for governor. He became a vocal advocate for transplant recipients after being kept alive by an artificial heart for 90 days and undergoing a heart transplant in 2001.
TULANE 1977 , entered the Chapter Eternal on Jan. 22, 2020. He was 64. Delery was born on April 5, 1955, in New Orleans. After receiving his civil engineering degree, he worked for his family’s New Orleans Cement Products Co. Later, he worked at Forterra, a manufacturer of infrastructure products. Delery was involved in the sports community and served as president of the 1997 Nokia Sugar Bowl. He received the Richard E. Barnes Lifetime Achievement Award for service to the concrete pipe industry. At the time of his death, Delery served on the De La Salle High School Board of Trustees.
Alabama
1957 Walter Lowe of Vestavia, AL; 2/20
Arizona
1944 John Low of Phoenix; 1/20
1948 Paul Bennett of Tucson, AZ; 3/20
Arizona State
1985 Andrew Noe of Tempe, AZ; 1/20
Arkansas
1949 Edwin Cox Jr. of Durango, CO; 1/20
1953 Thomas Minetree, MD, of Sheffield, AL; 1/20
1957 Charles Berry of Robinsonville, MS; 3/20
Auburn
1961 Peyton Gunnels of Cookeville, TN; 1/20
Ball State
1963 Bob Noble of Hickory, NC; 2/20
Bowling Green
1955 James Clifford of Hertford, NC; 1/20
1961 Charles Kimerline of Bucyrus, OH; 1/20
Cal. State-Fresno
1958 Ev Brown of Garibaldi, OR; 1/20
California-Berkeley
1935 William Brock of Caledonia, IL; 1/20
1950 Edward Shelton of Greenbrae, CA; 2/20
Case Western
1956 Bob Yaroma of Matthews, NC; 1/20
Central Michigan
1984 Michael Cavanaugh of Livonia, MI; 3/20 Centre
1950 Richard Guerrant Jr. of Danville, KY; 12/19
1964 David Owen of Richmond, VA; 1/20
Cincinnati
1949 William Victor of Cincinnati; 3/20
1966 Gary Smith of Hamilton, OH; 3/20
Denison
1954 Andrew Bro of Lanark, IL; 2/20
DePauw
1977 Tom Barker of Rensselaer, NY; 2/20
Dickinson
1958 Robert Strickler of York, PA; 3/20
East Tennessee
1978 David Brammer of Vinton, VA; 2/20
Embry-Riddle (Daytona Beach)
1972 Akeary Vick of Cramerton, NC; 1/20
Emory
1956 Malcolm Henley of Orlando, FL; 2/20
1958 Alton Johnson Jr. of Valdosta, GA; 1/20
1958 Ralph Snow Jr. of Athens, GA; 3/20
1959 Thomas Brooks III of Hickory, NC; 3/20
1964 Brett Merrill Jr. of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; 2/20
Florida Southern
1959 Nick Guagliardo of Tampa, FL; 3/20
Florida State
1964 Hal Jaus of Charlotte, NC; 1/20
Fort Hays
1968 Charles Myers of Sublette, KS; 3/20
George Washington
1965 Peter Vennewitz of Portland, OR; 2/20
Georgia
1951 Thomas Johnson of Summerville, SC; 3/20
1958 Johnny Jackson of Sumter, SC; 12/19
1960 Robert Ethridge of Port Orange, FL; 1/20
1975 Hollin Williams of Lookout Mountain, GA; 1/20
2013 Justin Griffith of Athens, GA; 2/20
Georgia Tech
1945 Mack Stacy Jr. of Fort Worth, TX; 1/20
1952 John Miles of Austin, TX; 2/20
1955 Tucker Johnson Jr. of Naples, FL; 2/20
Gettysburg
1957 William Hoffer of Selbyville, DE; 2/20
1969 Fred Vogel of Spring Lake, NJ; 2/20
Idaho
2006 Jordaan VanSloten of Hayden, ID; 2/20
Illinois
1967 Charles Sturies of Champaign, IL; 1/20
Illinois Wesleyan
1953 Richard Helligas of Fort Lauderdale, FL; 2/20
Indiana
1973 Jeff Draper of Crown Point, IN; 2/20
Indiana (Pennsylvania)
1973 Bill Stump of Stone Harbor, NJ; 1/20
1978 Peter Dueben of Lexington, KY; 2/20
Iowa
1949 Jim Munson of Prospect, KY; 2/20
Kansas
1949 Dean Miller of Ridgeland, MS; 1/20
1954 Jack Morris of Wichita, KS; 2/20
1963 Pete Talbott of Santa Fe, NM; 3/20
1965 Bob Blaker of Bartlesville, OK; 1/20
Kansas State
1954 Melvin Smith of Overland Park, KS; 2/19
1958 John Thies of Topeka, KS; 2/19
1961 Richard Miller of Ballwin, MO; 1/19
Kent State
1971 John Neville Jr. of Canfield, OH; 3/20
Kentucky
1954 Herbert Richardson Jr. of Louisville, KY; 1/20
1965 John Cole of Louisville, KY; 1/20
2002 Allen Foster of Lexington, KY; 2/20
Kettering
1972 John Wilson III of Sandusky, OH; 2/20
1976 John Bigos Jr. of Converse, TX; 3/20
Louisiana State
1947 Adrian Johnson Jr. of Baton Rouge, LA; 2/20
1961 Stuart Kay Jr. of Deridder, LA; 1/20
Maine
1975 Richard McArdle of Falmouth, ME; 2/20
Maryland
1943 Richard Armstrong of Swansboro, NC; 1/20
1950 Austin Kenny of Hilton Head Island, SC; 1/20
1951 Joseph Watkins of Deale, MD; 1/20
1953 Edward Fitzgerald Jr. of Marina del Rey, CA; 1/20
1967 Michael Ferrara of Trenton, NJ; 3/20
1969 John Klossner of Upper Marlboro, MD; 1/20
1993 Matthew Trone of Silver Spring, MD; 1/20
Memphis
1964 John Southerland of Springdale, AR; 1/20
Miami (Ohio)
1946 Bruce Benson of Webb City, MO; 2/20
1951 Joseph Wespiser III of Oxford, OH; 1/20
1951 Thomas Snider, MD, of San Antonio, TX; 1/20
1960 Bob Haley Jr. of Bradenton, FL; 12/19
1960 Bill Riblet of Bristol, IN; 3/20
Michigan State
1954 George Sullivan of Mason, MI; 1/20
1976 Kim Emery of Okemos, MI; 12/19
Middle Tennessee
1972 Jimmy Neely Jr. of Smyrna, TN; 1/20
1979 Danny Greene of Lynnville, TN; 3/20
Minnesota
1953 Jim Wetherbee of Cedar Rapids, IA; 1/20
1957 Duane Ryman of Minneapolis; 12/19
1957 Thomas Heinke of Prior Lake, MN; 1/20
1976 Kevin Long of Madera, CA; 2/20
Mississippi
1940 Leroy Worsham of Corinth, MS; 2/20
1956 John Miles of Brentwood, TN; 1/20
Mississippi State
1955 Tom Kirkpatrick of Jackson, MS; 1/20
1957 William Martinson Sr. of Madison, MS; 1/20
1960 William Peel of Greenwood, MS; 2/20
Missouri State
1989 Christopher Elley of Liberty, MO; 1/20
Missouri-Columbia
1951 Laddie Stovall of Springfield, MO; 2/20
1955 Pete Corpeny of Kansas City, MO; 1/20
1966 John Schweitzer of Austin, TX; 2/20
Montana
1956 Gary Jystad, MD, of Pablo, MT; 1/20
Montana State
1959 James Brush of Coeur d’Alene, ID; 3/20
1961 Dick Hill of Pocatello, ID; 12/19
1966 Thomas Albrecht of Clancy, MT; 3/20
1969 James Kutzman of Columbia Falls, MT; 3/20
Murray State
1974 Toby Martinez of Evansville, IN; 1/20
2005 Jeff Rigsby of Owensboro, KY; 3/20
Nebraska
1950 Dale Anderson of Topeka, KS; 1/20
New Mexico
1951 Fred Herlocker of Venice, CA; 2/20
1955 Keith Burcham of Rancho Santa Fe, CA; 1/20
1956 James Turner of Clovis, NM; 1/20
1962 Joseph Dryer of Houston; 1/20
1964 William Siegenthaler of Medford, OR; 3/20
1967 Lynn Williams of Albuquerque, NM; 3/20
North Carolina State
1951 Alan Zimmerman of Pound Ridge, NY; 1/20
North Carolina-Chapel Hill
1949 John Clayton of Waynesville, NC; 2/20
1951 Lou Bledsoe Jr. of Charlotte, NC; 1/20
North Dakota
1956 Larry Hatch of Fargo, ND; 3/20
North Florida
1998 Jason Aramoonie of Jacksonville, FL; 3/20
2002 Adam Thayer of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; 3/20
Northwestern
1954 Jack Keating Jr. of North Andover, MA; 2/20
Ohio
1949 William Umbenhour of North Canton, OH; 1/20
1973 Duane Putnam of Leesburg, VA; 1/20
Ohio State
1951 Karl Sturtz of Cincinnati; 3/20
Ohio Wesleyan
1953 Edward Davis of Zebulon, NC; 1/20
Oklahoma State
1953 Barney Kirkpatrick of Afton, OK; 1/20
Oregon
1943 Gordon Hoy of Bend, OR; 2/20
1965 George Noonan Jr. of Portland, OR; 1/20
Oregon State
1949 David Childs of The Dalles, OR; 2/20
953 John Dies of Medford, OR; 3/20
1972 Larry Hande of Salem, OR; 2/20
1976 Peter Mays of Beaverton, OR; 1/20
Pittsburgh
1959 Robert Swaim of Cape Canaveral, FL; 1/20
Pittsburgh State
1965 Jerry Millard of Lakewood, CO; 3/20
Puget Sound
1950 Wilmont Westlin of Tacoma, WA; 1/19
Purdue
1956 James Spencer of Mission Viejo, CA; 1/20
Ripon
1972 James Kloosterboer of Onalaska, WI; 3/20
Roanoke
1955 George Henrich of Virginia Beach, VA; 12/19
1968 Stephen Mott of Flanders, NJ; 3/20
Rochester
1956 Ronald Masucci of Green Cove Springs, FL; 1/20
Sam Houston
1970 Thomas Agerton of Newark, TX; 1/20
San Diego State
1958 Jerry Schultz of Green Valley, AZ; 1/20
1984 Andrew Weed of Diamond Bar, CA; 3/20
San Jose State
1958 Donald Quayle Jr. of Santa Rosa, CA; 2/20
South Carolina
1956 Jim LaCoste of Orlando, FL; 1/20
1963 Dan Mackey Jr. of Camden, SC; 1/20
Southern California
1956 Fred Edwards Jr. of Toluca Lake, CA; 3/20
St. Lawrence
1956 Dave Powers of Golden, CO; 2/20
1958 Kenneth Bott Jr. of Chapel Hill, NC; 1/20
1976 Marc Young of East Rochester, NY; 12/19
Stanford
1964 Graham Gilmer III of Lynchburg, VA; 1/20
Tennessee Tech
2008 Jake Russell of Springfield, TN; 2/20
Tennessee-Chattanooga
1951 Gilbert Boyd of Austin, TX; 3/20
1964 Carl Maxwell of Hixson, TN; 3/20
Tennessee-Knoxville
1956 Harry Nisbett of Tullahoma, TN; 12/19
1972 John Kennedy Jr. of Knoxville, TN; 1/20
1984 George Sampson of Knoxville, TN; 3/20
2010 Regen Jewett of Nashville, TN; 3/20
Texas A&M-Commerce
1969 Bob Blackwell of Quitman, TX; 1/20
Texas Tech
1977 Bruce Combs of Carlsbad, NM; 3/20
Texas-Austin
1950 Shelley Collier Jr. of Dallas; 1/20
1956 Harry Brusenhan of San Antonio; 1/20
Tulane
1962 Delph Gustitus of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; 1/20
Utah
1952 Reid Ivins of Saint George, UT; 1/20
1952 Frank Madsen Jr. of Holladay, UT; 2/20
1954 Jim Armstrong Jr. of Salt Lake City; 1/20
1962 Harmon Cannon of Salt Lake City; 3/20
Utah State
1952 Deloy Wilson of Salt Lake City; 1/20
Vanderbilt
1949 Clark Akers III of Nashville, TN; 2/20
Wake Forest
1949 Dean Hamrick of Charlotte, NC; 2/20
Washington (Seattle)
1952 Donal Hedwall of Lacey, WA; 12/19
1960 Jim Dougherty of Everett, WA; 1/20
West Virginia
1955 Charles Wyndham Jr. of Houston; 2/20
Western Kentucky
2014 Christopher Boling of Bowling Green, KY; 1/20
Western Michigan
1983 John Cotzias of Grosse Pointe Park, MI; 1/20
Western Michigan
1983 John Cotzias of Grosse Pointe Park, MI; 1/20
Westminster
1999 Barret Seymour of Elkins, AR; 2/20
William & Mary
1972 Jack Mitchell of Silver Spring, MD; 1/20
Wyoming
1953 Robert Hand of Casper, WY; 2/20
1
2 3 4 5
Adam Gorlitsky, SOUTH CAROLINA 2008, set a Guinness World Record for fastest marathon distance in a robotic walking device on Jan. 11 when he completed the Charleston, South Carolina, marathon in 33 hours, 16 minutes and 28 seconds. Gorlitsky completed the marathon to fundraise for his I Got Legs nonprofit organization that provides opportunities, programs and grants to athletes with physical challenges.
ESPN released a list of the 150 greatest players in college football’s 150-year history on Jan. 13, and several Sigs made an appearance.
Ranking No. 14 is Significant Sig Bronko Nagurski, MINNESOTA 1930, shown at right, who as a senior became the only player ever named All-American to two positions: tackle on defense and fullback on offense. Since 1993, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded to college football’s best defensive player. Other Sigs on the list are Significant Sigs Howard Cassady, OHIO STATE 1956, at No. 47; Order of Constantine Sig Merlin Olsen, UTAH STATE 1962, at No. 80; Drew Brees, PURDUE 2001, at No. 93; and Bob Griese, PURDUE 1967, at No. 147.
Founder Benjamin Piatt Runkle, MIAMI (OHIO) 1857, was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh that took place April 6 to 7, 1862, during the American Civil War. He sustained a fracture of the lower jaw bone on the left side from a gunshot, according to testimony from U.S. Army surgeon D.L. Magruder, who examined Runkle.
Significant Sig Eddie Sutton, OKLAHOMA STATE 1958, was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 4. Sutton is one of 10 NCAA Division I men’s basketball coaches with more than 800 career wins.
Jackson Stevens, SAN DIEGO STATE 2022, appeared on a March 20 episode of Wheel of Fortune as part of its “College Week Spring Break,” which features college students competing to win vacations, cars and cash prizes by solving word puzzles. Stevens earned $8,650 while on the show.Pulitzer Prize finalist for poetry.
Things to know, notice and tell a brother
Statistics on mental health in the United States according to activeminds.org //////////////////
leading cause of death among college students is suicide
280 No. 2 1 in 5
adults have a diagnosable mental illness
people decide not to go through with a suicide attempt for every one person who dies by suicide
50% of college students first tell a friend they are feeling suicidal before anyone else 67%
39% of college students experience a significant mental health issue
2/3 of students with anxiety or depression do not seek treatment
75% of cases of mental health issues begin by age 24 of cases of mental health issues begin by age 14
With this grant, a small part of this worry is alleviated, and I can focus on school and taking care of my family ”
Li, YALE 2022