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EXPANSION AND COLONY UPDATES
This past year has been a trying time for everyone around the world, and it is no different to those in the fraternal world. In 2020, we paused our Spring expansion at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and pushed back our return to the University of Texas. Thankfully, UNC - Chapel Hill has agreed to restart our project for Spring 2021 and we have a return to Texas for Fall 2021. In addition to Chapel Hill and Texas, we are happy to announce that we will be having expansions at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Spring 2022 and UNC - Wilmington in Fall 2022! We are excited to join these communities and bring brand new chapters to Acacia.
Over this past year, our Headquarters’ Staff have worked on strategies to help our chapters adopt a recruitment system that members can use to have success year in and year out without recreating the wheel. This is why we partnered with Phired Up for two programs: The Recruitment Coaching Community along with the Undergraduate and Advisor Certified Recruiter program. Going into Fall 2021, our chapters will be facing one of the most important and exciting semesters in recent memory. Most of our campus partners are reporting in-person operations for the new academic year, which means students that were unable to join a fraternity last year are hungry to get involved on campus.
The programs listed above, as well as the Chapter Coaching Model, are in place to help our chapters succeed. We remain focused on growing our Fraternity going into the new normal. If you have any interest in being a part of future expansion projects or have an idea for a university you would like Acacia Headquarters staff to look into, please email Director of Organizational Growth and Services Ryan Ferguson at rferguson@acacia.org.
FUTURE EXPANSIONS
28 TEXAS
FALL 2021 University of Texas-Austin
32 NORTH CAROLINA
NEW LAS VEGAS
SPRING 2022 University of Nevada-Las Vegas
NEW WILMINGTON
FALL 2022 University of North Carolina-Wilmington
NEW AUBURN
VENERABLE DEAN ANDREW SIBLEY
Despite the challenges the last year has brought us, the Auburn Colony has seen great success thanks to the hard work of the now 13 brothers. The Colony is continuing its efforts to expand not only membership but also our outreach.
In April, in partnership with the Alabama Sheriffs Girl’s Ranch, along with multiple other fraternities and sororities on campus, we were able to organize a can drive that collected over 8,000 cans for both the ranch and the local food bank. We are planning more events like this to come and are excited for what the future brings for these service opportunities. The James Madison Colony of the Acacia Fraternity has seen a great year for their members and organization. We have been recently recognized by the University and are working together to further our standing and success as an organization for the future. Our philanthropy has been a difficult barrier to fully embrace due to many Covid-19 protocols that we follow to ensure safety, but we have worked with the Secret Boutique, as well as raised money via a golf outing to maintain human service to our community. Additionally, we had elections to select our new Executive Board and they have been working hard as a group to benefit and aid our Fraternity members. Our brotherhood continues to grow and flourish with a new pledge class paving the way for our continued building together.
We look forward to our continued support from international headquarters and our continued growth as a newer chapter of the Acacia Fraternity. Our progress so far has been a wonderful journey and there are many plans in place to continue as a successful Fraternity. We see ourselves as a diverse group of individuals and strive to pave the way for continued growth as a group of gentlemen. Lastly, we will see many seniors, who were around for the outset of this Fraternity’s founding at James Madison, graduate this semester. We wish them the best of luck in their post-collegiate endeavors and they will always be welcome to come back and visit our lasting brotherhood.
05 CALIFORNIA
VENERABLE DEAN JUSTIN MCGRATH
The California Acacia Colony has made great strides this past year with our moving into the Chapter House. In order to restore the house to its former glory was no easy task. We have dedicated much of our time in the past year to repairing and rehabilitating the chapter house. With a reliable home base, the Colony held several successful philanthropic events such as care package handouts to the local Berkeley and Oakland community and several building projects for community outreach programs. We were additionally able to hold our first full 7 Days of Service, having several service projects in the Berkeley and Oakland areas.
Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions, the colony could not recruit as effectively and hold social events. Despite this, the Colony was still able to recruit five new members over the course of the pandemic, with two more set to initiate at the start of the next semester. The Colony eagerly looks forward to the future as we continue to rebuild the reputation of Acacia on campus and with the Berkeley community.
During this time, we would greatly appreciate any and all support we can get from alumni. Given our fresh start in these tumultuous times, the fraternal knowledge and wisdom you all bear will be instrumental in the success of the refounding of the California Colony. Until we can gather as Brothers once more, so live.
NEW JAMES MADISON
VENERABLE DEAN JT NICHOLAS
