DEKE the
quarterly
DKE INTERNATIONAL 170TH CONVENTION
JERRY FORD PROFILE LION TROPHY RESULTS w w w.d ke.o rg
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CHAI RMAN’S LETTE R
To my Fellow Deke Brothers, It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to write you about where DKE stands today. Let me say right off the bat that it’s good news. We are a healthy organization in many ways, not perfect, but healthy and moving in the right direction. As Chairman for only a short time now, it’s great to serve the Fraternity in this role. Already I can sense the vitality and enthusiasm from volunteers, alumni, and staff members. Let me start by saying that I had a truly enjoyable meeting in New York City in late September with the Board members of the DKE Club of New York. It was my first opportunity not only to see the Clubhouse (and what an exceptionally fine facility it is), but also to meet with many of the gentlemen who manage the affairs of the Club. Bob Oros, Phi Chi ‘67, is President of the Club, and he and all the Board members were very gracious in hosting me for a meeting and then a nice lunch in the Tap Room. I hope anyone reading this will consider membership, even if you don’t live in New York. We really are lucky to enjoy this affiliation with the Yale Club; it’s a benefit unlike any in the fraternity world. And I can’t leave this topic without saying how much of a pleasure it was meeting that day with two outstanding alumni, Deke Legends Charlie Blaisdell (Dartmouth ‘39) and Jim Bishop (Yale ‘56). Both have done so much for DKE over the years that it would take a full issue of the Quarterly to cover it all, but they have our gratitude for being so generous of their time and commitment to DKE over so many years. Let’s turn to an area where DKE HQ and Staff have been working hard to improve - communications. I suppose it’s possible for DKE HQ to over-communicate with you, our alumni, but I don’t think we’ve reached that point! We’ve revived the Quarterly over the past few years, though as of yet we have not been able to achieve a 4x year publication schedule. We should accomplish that this calendar year. While we cannot mail a copy to all alumni, those who pay their alumni dues will always receive one. In addition, we try to send out occasional issues of our online newsletter, The Chevron. If you are not getting those, please call or write with your email address and we’ll add you to the list. There’s always room for improvement in our communications program, and I would love to hear from you (communications being a two-way street!) about what else you’d like to see from us, and also how often. Lastly, I’ll briefly mention DKE’s positive progress financially, in chapter strength, membership numbers, chapter growth and expansion, and just about any other measurement. We’re on the move – and progressing on all fronts. It’s a great time to be involved with DKE. If you are an alumnus and would like to help out, please shoot me an email at sheff@aol.com. We’re on the right track and we’re committed to keep this going! Go Deke!
In the Bonds,
Samuel (Sam) Heffner
Psi Omega -RPI ‘56
Chairman, Delta Kappa Epsilon
2 The Deke Quarterly | SPRING 2015
Spring 2 0 1 5
table of
CONTENTS 10
S P E C I AL N E W S
6
cover story
Gallup Poll
DKE’s 170th convention
2014 Lion Trophy
15 16
2014 DKE Personal Awards
18
Road to Charter
D E P AR T M E N T S
Above: DEKE Quarterly with his profile presented to Alan Bean at banquet
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FEATURE STORY
JERRY FORD Black & Blue
2
Chairman’s Letter
PUBLISHED BY Delta Kappa Epsilon International PO Box 8360 Ann Arbor, MI 48107 (734) 302-4210 dke.org DKE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sam Heffner, Psi Omega ‘56, Chairman Peter Tripp, Phi Gamma ‘93, Vice Chairman Michael Peters, Delta Delta ‘90, Treasurer Albert Bienvenu, Zeta Zeta ‘70, Southern Regional Director Bob Billbrough, Psi Delta ‘78, Southeast Regional Director Grant Burnyeat, Phi Alpha ‘65, Western Regional Director Bob Green, Eta ‘69, Member At Large Dan Johnson, Sigma Alpha ‘77, Member At Large Stan McMillan, Gamma ‘89, Mid Atlantic Regional Director John McNeil, Psi ‘79, Member At Large Mason Morjikian, Lamdba ‘88, Midwest Regional Director Paul Mullin, Sigma Beta ‘94, Mid America Regional Director Terry Stewart, Phi Chi ‘69, Member At Large Ross Wigle, Alpha Phi ‘79, Member At Large Richard Pipkins, Psi ‘17, Undergraduate Representative Clint Blume Mu ‘79, Honorary President DKE HQ STAFF Doug Lanpher, Gamma ‘77, Executive Director Sarah Christensen, Administrative Director Eric Holland, Kappa‘13, Chapter Consultant David Howe, Delta Phi ‘14, Chapter Consultant Alex Hurley, Iota‘14, Chapter Consultant Kevin MacDonald, Phi Rho ‘14, Chapter Consultant
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DEKE QUARTERLY STAFF Robert Alvis, Editor Scott-Goodman Design, Design Editor
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CONTRIBUTORS Grant Burnyeat, Phi Alpha ‘65 Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ‘77 Adam Hayward, Kappa ‘93 Eric Holland, Kappa ‘13 Alex Hurley, Iota ‘14 Nick King, Gamma Iota ‘16 Doug Lanpher, Gamma ‘77
DKE HQ Report
This Time in DKE History
20
A Few Questions For
21
Dekes Giving Back
22
Chapter Roll
The DEKE QUARTERLY is an educational journal published by the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, PO Box 8360, Ann Arbor, MI 48107, in Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: DEKE Quarterly, Ann Arbor, MI 48107.
Above: Ford was Michigan MVP in 1934 ON THE COVER: Astronaut and painter Alan Bean presents DKE flag that he took to the surface to the moon.
Correspondence: Send to DEKE Quarterly, PO Box 8360 Ann Arbor, MI 48107. Manuscripts, literature, and letters should be addressed to the Editor. Submissions will not be returned. Please mark CONFIDENTIAL if material should not to be published. For change of address please contact: DKE HQ and provide Full Name, Chapter, both old and new address Copyright ©2015 Delta Kappa Epsilon w w w.d ke.o rg
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DKE I NTE RNATIONAL REPORT
Update on Activity of DKE Headquarters Operation The Deke Headquarters office focused on several major objectives this year, and in this space I’ll summarize the most important initiatives we are working on. As with every year, our primary objective is to be a helpful resource for our undergraduate Brothers at DKE’s 54 chapters and 16 colonies. Each chapter and colony has its strengths and weaknesses, and the goal of the consultant program is to provide concrete solutions for each chapter in any area of need. Even the strongest chapters can improve upon their overall performance in some areas, in order to maintain and sustain their level of excellence. We’d like every single chapter to be in the top tier of fraternities on the campus, and our consultant program is intended to make that a reality. The DKE HQ Staff includes four traveling Chapter Consultants this year, which means each one has about 16-17 chapters to consult. We assign territories based primarily on geography, with the chapters divided into regions. Another factor we take into consideration is the number of colonies in a region, because we tend to allocate more resources (time, in particular) to our colonies and newer chapters. So if one region has a heavy concentration of those, we might break it up into two, to equalize the workload among our consultants. For 2014-2015, Eric Holland (in his second year of traveling for DKE) covered New England, part of the Midwest, and the UK . Dave Howe covered part of the Midwest, most of Canada, the West and Southwest. Kevin MacDonald traveled to New York (including upstate), and the Mid-Atlantic region: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. And our third first-year consultant, Alex Hurley, was responsible or the Southeast (Virginia and 4 The Deke Quarterly | SPRING 2015
Carolinas), and on down to Kentucky and Tennessee, through Alabama and Louisiana. As Executive Director I also travel quite a bit.
1,100 students, with five well-established fraternities. DKE is the first new fraternity to colonize at HSC in many years.
In the just the early Fall, we visited 33 chapters and colonies. A typical consultant’s visit is about 2-2.5 days, including visits to the Greek Life representative at the college if appropriate, and alumni advisors as well. We tend to spend more time on newer chapters and our colonies.
University of Delaware (Kappa Chi). Colonized in 2012. Delaware has an excellent Greek system, and it is a great state school, located in Newark, DE. About 17,000 students, 24% Greek (which is relatively high for a state school). UD has 17 men’s fraternities currently, and our Colony is seeking IFC recognition.
GROWTH Another goal for the year is to keep moving forward with our aggressive expansion plans. DKE now is at the highest number of active chapters in our history (54), and the opportunity is there for us to continue to increase that number. We now have 16 colonies in varying stages of moving toward being granted their charters. Of those, nine are at schools where DKE has never had a chapter before: Hampden-Sydney, Delaware, Tennessee, Simon Fraser, Ithaca, Missouri, Texas Tech, Oxford, and Edinburgh, and seven are reactivations: Illinois, McGill, Texas, RPI, Harvard, Louisiana Tech, South Carolina. Our goal then is to solidify the colonies we have, and the newer ones, but also to seek out expansion opportunities as they arise. Expansion assistance can come from any alumnus who has a son or other acquaintance entering a university where DKE is not located; please keep us in mind if you do. COLONIES Here is a rundown of our existing colonies, starting with the nine colonies where DKE has never had a chapter. Hampden-Sydney (Zeta Gamma). Colonized in 2012. HSC is a small, men’s only college in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia. Only about
University of Tennessee (Lambda Tau). Colonized in 2013. UT has a big Greek system, and our entree to the school was when a recently initiated Deke from our Arizona State chapter, Forrest Billington, transferred from ASU to UT. The chapter is seeking IFC recognition now. Simon Fraser University. This is a University in Vancouver, BC, with no Greek System, so DKE is starting up as SFU’s first fraternity. The colony is getting assistance in learning about Deke traditions from actives and recent grads from our UBC and U Victoria chapters. Ithaca College. Colonized 2014. Ithaca College banned fraternities in the 1980’s but they are starting to come back now. DKE is one of only two fraternities at the time. Some of the Deke Brothers at Cornell University (Delta Chi) are helping the colony members at Ithaca with their DKE pledging process. University of Edinburgh (Alpha Sigma). Edinburgh is a very old school, with no Greek life, so DKE is leading the way there. Our group is led by an American student studying at Edinburgh, Taylor Wilson, and he has built a strong colony of about 20 men from several countries in Europe.
University of Oxford. As with most UK schools, Oxford has no Greek life tradition. This colony came about when our Sewanee Chapter President, Willy Wright, told us his best friend from growing up is a student at Oxford, and that his friend (Robby Carroll) would be interested in starting up a Deke chapter there. University of Missouri (Pi Alpha). Last fall we got a call from a large group of students at Mizzou, mostly freshman, seeking to start up a chapter of DKE. They were very well organized, and submitted an excellent application for colony status. The colony was approved in November, and has progressed very well since then. They were recognized by the IFC this spring. In April, we initiated 48 men of the Pi Alpha Colony into DKE at the University of Missouri. It’s the first chapter or colony of DKE in the state of Missouri.
DKE is now at the highest number of active chapters in our history (54) with excellent opportunities for continued growth. Texas Tech University. TTU, located in Lubbock, TX, has a very strong Greek system. An interest group approached us this spring, indicating their desire to start up a chapter. They did a good job of contacting the Greek Life office and getting all the approvals necessary, which made it easy for the DKE Board to approve their colony application in March. The colony now expects to initiate its first members in August, and begin recruitment of a new class immediately thereafter. DKE is excited to be affiliated with Texas Tech University. REACTIVATIONS University of Texas (Omega Chi). Colonized in 2013. UT-Austin has an enormous Greek System. Our chapter had become small and a little disorganized in the mid-2000’s, and was closed in 2010. We have come back
with the help of a very strong alumni organization and an excellent group of motivated students in the colony. You may remember an article in a previous DEKE Quarterly describing the method we used to identify the first group of potential refounding members. University of Illinois (Delta Pi). Inactive since the mid-1980s. Colonized in 2014. We were contacted by a group of freshmen, all friends, who wanted to start a new fraternity on campus. They had researched specific fraternities who did not have a chapter on campus and choose DKE. We got in touch with local alumni who really mobilized to help out. McGill University (Tau Alpha). Tau Alpha went inactive in the mid 1980s, revived in the early 2000’s for a few years, and then closed down again then. It was reactivated in 2013, thanks to a Beta Tau (U. Victoria) Deke Freddy Rawji, whose good friend Sean Kim enrolled at McGill. Freddy sold Sean on the benefits of DKE membership, and Sean gathered a group of friends to get the colony started. Louisiana Tech (Alpha Omega). This chapter has been inactive since about 1997, but this year, with the strong support of the active alumni association, a group of men has formed up and appealed to us to become a colony. It was approved very recently, and they are just getting started. Harvard University (Alpha). Our Harvard colony is very young, having organized this past fall. Fraternities are not recognized at Harvard, but they do exist, and appear to be enjoying a bit of a revival.
Doug Lanpher, Executive Director
DKE is experiencing its most rapid growth phase since the 1840’s and 1850’s, just after our founding. We now have 16 colonies, and expect more to start up in the Fall. Often we get leads from students at certain schools who contact us. However, if you are reading this, you may have ideas for colonies at other schools in North America or the UK. If you do, please contact us. If you know a student studying at a school where we don’t have a chapter, and you think he’d be a good prospect to help found a DKE chapter, we would love to hear about it. Finally, it’s important to recognize the chapters that have been started (including reactivations) recently. The list of chapters who have started or restarted within the past four years: Arizona State, Auburn (new), Centre, Gannon (new), Manhattan (new), Miami, North CarolinaWilmington (new), Oklahoma State (new), Rutgers, St. Joe’s (new), Texas A&M (new), Troy, and Victoria (new). That’s thirteen new chapters in the past four years, eight new and five reactivations, compared to only two closed. Combine those with our current sixteen Colonies, and you see the tremendous rate of growth.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Psi Omega). RPI, had been inactive for several years. We are working with the Institute to revive that chapter, along with a very enthusiastic alumni organization, to revive that chapter.
But it’s not just about growth, because we also work hard to help chapters who are going through difficulties to regain their strength. We’ve seen nice improvements happening at some chapters in particular, such as Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Hamilton, Alberta, Manitoba, NYU, and Union.
University of South Carolina (Delta). Colonized in 2013. UT has a big Greek system, and our entree to the school was when a recently initiated Deke from our Arizona State chapter, Forrest Billington, transferred from ASU to UT. The chapter is seeking IFC recognition now.
When we talk about the strength and vitality of DKE, we mostly refer to our undergraduate chapters, and this report should give you a sense of how optimistic we are about our future. DKE is clearly on the right path, and it’s our mission to keep on that trajectory and even to increase it. w w w.d ke.o rg
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special news
6 The Deke Quarterly | SPRING 2015
Lifelong Impact
of Fraternities and Sororities
This infographic was produced by the North-American Interfraternity Conference Foundation.
A new Gallup-Purdue University Index study of
29,560
U.S. college graduates
found that graduates who are
Well-being
members of fraternities or sororities are more likely to be thriving in all five elements
is the combination of all the things that are important to each individual — it’s how people think about and experience their lives.
of well-being during their post-graduate years.
The Five Elements of Well-Being
Purpose Member of Fraternity/Sorority
Purpose Well-Being Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals.
Financial Well-Being Effectively managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security.
Community Well-Being The sense of engagement you have with the areas where you live, liking where you live, and feeling safe and having pride in your community.
54%
38% 8%
Member of Fraternity/Sorority
54%
38% 8%
Social
Not a Member
Member of Fraternity/Sorority
46%
42% 10%
38%
42%
Not a Member
16%
38%
20%
Community Member of Fraternity/Sorority
52%
Not a Member
46%
37%
11%
41%
13%
Physical Member of Fraternity/Sorority
Having good health and enough energy to get things done on a daily basis.
Not a Member
THRIVING
55% 8%
37% 34%
STRUGGLING
56% 10%
SUFFERING
Prepared for Life After College
Employee Engagement
People who are engaged at work are involved in and enthusiastic about their work. A majority of all fraternity and sorority members surveyed are employed full time for an employer.
of fraternity and sorority members surveyed are engaged in the workplace.
48%
Financial
Physical Well-Being
43%
35% 6%
Not a Member
Social Well-Being Having strong and supportive relationships and love in your life.
59%
46% are not engaged and 11% are actively disengaged.
38%
of non fraternity and sorority members surveyed are engaged in the workplace.
50% are not engaged and 12% are actively disengaged.
37%
fraternity and sorority members strongly agree that their institution prepared them for life after college.
27%
non fraternity and sorority members strongly agree that their institution prepared them for life after college.
For more results and other information from the Gallup-Purdue University Index study, visit: www.nicindy.org/gallup-research.html Results for the Gallup-Purdue Index are based on Web surveys conducted Feb. 4-March 7, 2014, with a random sample of 29,560 respondents with a bachelor’s degree or higher, aged 18 and older, with Internet access, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and 5,137 fraternity and sorority members. The North-American Interfraternity Conference and National Panhellenic Conference partnered with Gallup for this first-of-its-kind study.
North-American Interfraternity Conference
feature story
J ERRY F ORD A MAN OF CHARACTER
I
By Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ‘77
he wrote. But in typical Ford style, when the President called and said he n the fall of 1978, a group of Omicron alumni brothers and needed him, the old Michigan Deke would not turn down his country or representatives from Delta Kappa Epsilon headquarters gathered his friend. in the Shant, near the University of Michigan campus. They In May, it will be 80 years since Ford graduated from Michigan. He were working to restart the DKE chapter at Michigan, and things was a good student, who would go on to get a law degree from Yale Uniwere going so well that the discussion turned to raising funds for versity. He was also an excellent athlete who starred for the Wolverines a house for the new Omicron brothers. Several alumni brothers football team. His Omicron brothers remembered him as a loyal Deke suggested scheduling an event that would attract other Dekes who might brother who was not only well liked, but also respected for his intellibe willing to pledge funds toward a house. gence and athletic skills. As the brothers tossed out ideas, one spoke up: “Oh, and we’ll get In his book, “Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with Jerry to come back. He always helps to attract a crowd.” History,” author James Cannon said Ford was earning As in history, Bs Momentarily confused, I asked, “Who’s Jerry?” The others seemed in mathematics, and making friends during his surprised. freshman year at Michigan. “One day he was “Why, Jerry Ford,” the middle-aged Michisitting on the steps of the Student Union when gan Deke replied. “He’s always willing to help, here was no pomp and another freshman spoke to him,” Cannon and I’m sure he’ll come back. He’s a great guy ceremony. Ford was simply wrote. “‘I’m Dave Conklin. I was captain of the and a loyal Deke.” a Deke brother who had Battle Creek football team that lost to South I was a young chapter consultant, and returned to help his High when you were captain. My brother is a didn’t say anything, but I remember thinking, senior in the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, “Good luck with that.” Alma Mater and he asked me to find out if you would like Gerald R. Ford, then 65, had been President to be invited to a rush party for DKE.’” of the United States just 20 months earlier. BeFord did not know one fraternity from another, according to Cannon, fore that, he’d served as Vice President during the final troubled months but he thanked Conklin and agreed to go to the party. “He liked the of Richard Nixon’s administration. Now he was traveling the globe, clubby masculinity he observed at the Deke House,” Cannon wrote, “and serving on various boards and consulting with world leaders. There was he was ready to pledge, but he had no money. The Dekes gave him a job also talk of another run for the presidency in 1980, so, no way, I decided, waiting on tables to earn his board.” Later, he would wash dishes on a would Jerry Ford return to the Shant any time soon. How wrong I was. nightly basis to help cover other expenses. For the first time, Ford, who Ford had already attended a DKE event at Michigan when the Omigrew up in a modest household in Grand Rapids, said he began to mingle cron alumni were trying to raise funds to restore the Shant. “He was Vice with wealthy friends. The fraternity opened new horizons for him. President then,” recalled Jim Grady, himself a loyal Michigan Deke. “The Through visits to the homes of his Deke brothers he went for the first Secret Service was all over the place, but when Jerry set foot on campus, time to the theater in Detroit and to the opera in Chicago. he was the same as always, and he warmly greeted all his old friends.” To his classmates, Ford was a rarity — a football star who also It was typical Ford. There was no pomp and ceremony, he was simply performed well in the classroom. Cannon wrote that the 1935 Michia Deke brother who had returned to his alma mater to see how he could gan yearbook elevated Ford to its Hall of Fame with the citation: “Jerry help. “Always loyal, always a good guy,” Grady said. Ford ... because the football team chose him as its most valuable player; It was a trait that had become apparent early in Ford’s career in because he was a good student and made better grades that anyone else government. In the late 1940s, when Ford and Nixon entered the U.S. on the squad; because he put the DKE House back on a paying basis; Congress together, they became friends. Ford would invite Nixon to because he never smokes, drinks, swears, or tells dirty stories ... and speak at an annual Republican banquet in Michigan, and the time they because he’s not a bit fraudulent and we can’t find anything really nasty spent together helped cement their friendship. to say about him.” Ford spent 24 years in congress and was the influential House Ford always recalled his years at the Michigan Deke House with Minority Leader when Nixon turned to him following the resignation of fondness. He lived in the house for three years, and said he didn’t mind Vice-President Spiro Agnew in October, 1973. In his memoirs, “A Time washing dishes after meals. “These were Depression years, but I recall to Heal,” Ford said he never wanted to be Vice President — or President that only three or four of us had to work,” he wrote in his memoirs. — for that matter. “I’d hoped someday to become Speaker of the House,”
T
8 The Deke Quarterly | spring 2015
“Academically, the Deke House had a lousy reputation. Athletically, however, it ranked fairly high, and it was certainly no slouch as a party house. Because I divided my time between studies, sports and part-time jobs, I seldom had time for parties and I guess I was naive about alcohol. My parents didn’t drink and never kept liquor in the house. I never had a drink until the spring of my sophomore year.” He did recall a memorable night when he imbibed too liberally. “The previous fall, when Michigan was the undefeated national football champion, I’d injured my knee and was scheduled for an operation,” he wrote. “The night before I was to go to the hospital, Jack Beckwith, a friend and roommate, took me to the Spanish Club in Ann Arbor, where we spent hours drinking tequila and smoking long cigars. I woke up the next morning with probably the worst hangover I have ever had. I got to the hospital on time, but the doctors and nurses took one look at me and decided to postpone the operation until the next day.” In his senior year, Ford started at center on what turned out to be one of Michigan’s worst football teams. “In those days, the offense used by our coach, Harry Kipke, was called a punt, a pass, and a prayer,” Ford wrote. “Well, we lost our punter and we lost our passer. All we had was a prayer, and that was not enough.” An event that took place during that 1934 season would become the focus some 80 years later of an award-winning film, “Black and Blue,” by Brian Kruger and Buddy Moorehouse. Michigan had been undefeated in the two previous seasons, but the Wolverines lost the first two games in Ford’s senior year. In the third game, Michigan was scheduled to play Georgia Tech in Ann Arbor. But controversy erupted over a decision by the Wolverines’ athletic director and former football coach, Fielding Yost. According to the film, it was customary at the time, because of Jim Crow laws in the South, that when a college team from the South played a football game against a team from the North, the northern team would quietly bench all of its black players. The southern team would bench white players of similar skill. When word spread that Willis Ward, Michigan’s star player, would be benched for the game, a near riot broke out on campus. Ward’s best friend on the team was Jerry Ford, who was so incensed by the decision that he went to Coach Kipke and resigned from the team. “Gerald Ford had been adopted as a kid, so he had a little bit of an outsider mentality,” film director Brian Kruger said. “Ford came from Grand Rapids, which was a very white town at the time, and there was a large Ku Klux Klan population. But when Ford got to Ann Arbor and met Ward, I think he just thought, ‘Here’s a guy who’s different, too, and he seems like a cool guy. He can be my friend.” The bond that developed between Ford and Ward proved rock solid, and it would remain that way for the rest of their lives. Despite faculty and student petitions, and numerous loud public protests in Ward’s favor, Yost would not reverse his decision. According to newspaper reports, Ford refused to return to the team. But Ward, who was receiving threats, urged his friend to reconsider and play in the game. He argued that Ford’s absence might make things worse for him. Ford bowed to the wishes of his friend and rejoined the team. He went on to “play the game of his life,” according to Kruger, as Michigan defeated Georgia Tech, 9-2. It would turn out to be the Wolverines’ only victory that season, and the team would score only 12 more points — two touchdowns by Ward — the rest of the way.
Left, Poster from 2011 movie about Jerry Ford and Willis Ward. Below left, Football showing score from Michigan’s only win in 1934. Below right, Willis Ward Day at Michigan Stadium, October 20, 2012
Ford’s play was outstanding that year, however, and he was named to several prestigious all-star teams. He also played in the College All-Star Game against the Chicago Bears, where he attracted the interest of several National Football League teams. The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers tried to sign him, but he went on to Yale where he served as an assistant football coach and boxing coach before enrolling in law school. Ward, who also became an All-American in track and field for Michigan and would eventually be named to the school’s sports hall of fame, maintained his close, lifelong friendship with Ford. Later, he served as a probate court judge in Wayne County, Michigan, and when he died in 1983 at the age of 71, Ford said he had never had a more loyal friend than Ward. Loyalty always mattered to Ford. He never forgot his Deke brothers and continued throughout his life to support the Michigan chapter and DKE International. Deke executives recall that he was always so prompt in paying his alumni dues that the headquarters ran a copy of Ford’s 2007 renewal form with the words: “He found the time.” It had arrived in the DKE offices shortly before Ford’s death on Dec. 26, 2006 at the age of 93. One of five Deke brothers to ascend to the U.S. presidency, Jerry Ford remains fondly remembered by all who knew him. “Everyone always said he never forgot where he came from,” Jim Grady said. As for me, I learned a valuable lesson in 1978 when Ford returned to help his beloved Omicron chapter, just as his Deke brothers said he would. They knew the man and were absolutely right when they said, “Loyalty always mattered to Jerry Ford.” Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ’77, served as chapter consultant for Delta Kappa Epsilon in 1978-79. He is an editor on the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. w w w.d ke.o rg
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DELTA KAPPA EPSILON’S TH CONVENTION
170
By Alex Hurley, Iota ‘14
L
ast summer approximately 100 Deke undergraduate delegates from all over North America (and one representative from a European Colony!) gathered in the Bluegrass region of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to take part in the 170th DKE International Convention. The Iota Chapter, located on Centre College’s campus in Danville, KY, played host to the biennial event for the first time in over a century. Overall, the convention ended as a resounding success through the efforts of Iota, DKE International, and too many others to list here. The week itself was jam-packed with one event after the next — educational sessions, breakout discussions, meal speakers, networking opportunities, social events, and an incredible final banquet at the Kentucky Derby Museum with keynote speaker, astronaut and painter Alan Bean. Perhaps the real craziness came in the form of the 10 The Deke Quarterly | spring 2015
more personal experiences that transpired throughout the week — light bulbs turned on in those educational sessions, perspectives were broadened by those meal speakers, and brotherly bonds in DKE were formed between individuals who originally arrived in Kentucky as strangers to one another. Anyone who was present could see these things happening slowly, but surely. For those who missed out on the week, continue reading to get a more detailed glimpse of what the 2014 DKE International Convention looked like from the inside — in the classroom, at the meals, in the Iota chapter house, at the banquet, and in the hearts and minds of the undergraduate delegates. Convention festivities technically started off a day earlier than normal in order to offer a new program to current and former Brother Betas. This program was designed to augment the convention experience for those who hold or have held this key chapter position
through a variety of means, including a dinner at the famous Old Owl Tavern in Harrodsburg, KY, a leadership development session lead by Tony Apro (Iota, ‘79), and a casual hike at the nearby and beautiful Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. Through these experiences, the Betas were able to develop their leadership potential in a community of individuals who all intimately understood this unique position of leadership. This program was also designed as a way to say “Thank You” to our chapter presidents, to whom DKE HQ is inestimably grateful. Mohamed Mohamed, president of the Omega Omega colony (University of Arizona) had this to say about the Brother Beta program: “I really enjoyed [the experience] because it gave value to the Brother Beta position”. This position truly is valuable in a way that must be appreciated by all those who care for the future of DKE. To all Brother Betas once again: Thank you. As the Brother Beta program came to a close, the rest of the delegates began to pour into Danville from all corners of the western hemisphere. The opening reception at the Iota Deke house was replete with jolly good fellows who who wasted little with introductions and jumped right into forging bonds of brotherhood that transcended school and nationality, race and creed. That evening, a fireside ritual event helped to further break down any lingering barriers that might still have stood between the once strangers. Close friends now by their side, the entire delegation was ready to take on the business that the rest of the week had in store. The three themes of the 2014 convention were risk management, recruitment, and ritual (the three “R”s). The educational programming for the week was therefore intentionally planned in order to facilitate learning in these areas, and it seems that we were met with great success on all fronts. To speak about risk management was Justin Angotti, Assistant Executive Director of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, Gary Bugg, Centre College Director of Public Safety, and Adam Ritz, radio host of The Adam Ritz Show. Mr. Angotti spoke at length on new research related to alcohol consumption that can help people to more safely indulge in the future. Mr. Bugg spoke to the delegates about his decades of experience working with fraternities in order to provide the delegation with an administrator’s perspective on fraternity risk management issues. Lastly, Adam Ritz shared through a powerful personal story the message that good decision making can help you and your chapter to avoid the disastrous consequences of unwise actions. It can be said with certainty that each delegate gained some important perspective and knowledge on managing risk. Recruitment is the lifeblood of any organization with high membership turnover like a fraternity, and so Sam Centellas of CampusSpeak was the dynamic and engaging expert brought in to talk about recruitment with the undergrads. His presentation focused around 10 bullet points that are necessary for healthy recruitment.
Through a variety of media and educational styles, he challenged the delegates to evaluate their chapter’s recruitment program and to plug-in his recommended strategies where the program might be falling short. Overall a great detail-oriented session with a lot of content for the delegates to take away. Ritual education was handled by Chapter Consultants David Howe and Alex Hurley. David’s session with the undergraduates focused on more traditional DKE ritual and initiation practices, while Alex’s session focused on modern ideas related to new member education. Jake Ganger (Kappa, ‘16) had this to say about the sessions: “It was very entertaining to look at how others do things and it will help us look at what we do differently and help motivate us to take more pride in our rituals”. Both consultants utilized breakout sessions in order to foster more intimate discussion of these important topics among the delegates. Official convention business was handled at the end of the week, which involved passing several DKE resolutions, electing a new DKE Honorary President, Clint Blume (Mu, ‘79), and a new Undergraduate Member of the DKE Board of Directors, Richard Pipkins (Psi, ‘17). We thank the service of the prior Honorary President, Billy Treadway (Zeta Zeta, ‘74) and the prior Undergraduate Board Member, Davis Vaughn (Psi, ‘14). Beyond being a time to socialize, every lunch and dinner throughout the week also included a meal speaker. The topics covered by the speakers did not necessarily apply directly to fraternity life, but instead were designed to be interesting for young college men visiting the Bluegrass region, many for the first time in their lives. For example, Bob Green (Eta, ‘69) spoke of his family’s involvement in the horseracing industry over the past several generations. And Matt Blevins (Iota, ‘99) talked about his work in the spirits industry with Brown Forman, more specifically with the Jack Daniels brand. Both of these men captivated the audience with fascinating stories and broadened young horizons with useful wisdom. Centre College’s current President, Dr. John Roush also spoke at one of the dinners. Dr. Roush, a Lincoln Scholar, spoke about the leadership lessons that we can all take away from the life and administration of USA’s 16th Commander in Chief, Abraham Lincoln. Again, while this talk did not deal with Greek Life in particular, the leadership ideas discussed were plainly applicable to the young fraternity leadership in the room. The week was not all business though. Indeed, the evenings brought plenty of opportunity for the delegates to relax and become “the straw that stirs the drink”, as the Iota Dekes like to say. Delegates explored Danville, sang songs, shared laughter, and made memories that will last a lifetime. As is tradition, the convention closed with a final banquet, but this year the ante was upped when it was decided to hold the banquet at the Kentucky Derby Museum. The museum, which is located
“I really enjoyed [the experience] because it gave value to the Brother Beta position”.
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DKE International Board of Directors and convention delegates from US, Canada, and UK gather in front of site of closing banquet.
at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, is one part history, one part bourbon, and two parts classy. The banquet program itself included a variety of speeches and presentations. Starting the night off were remarks from Chairman of the DKE Board, Sam Heffner and then Presiding Undergraduate Officer and current President of the Iota Chapter, Parker Lawson. Later, several Deke colonies officially received their charter, making them full-fledged chapters of Delta Kappa Epsilon, and then yearly DKE awards were given out. These awards included the Blaisdell Award for best overall undergraduate Deke, the Henderson Award for best overall Alumni Advisor, the Napolitano Award for best overall Chapter 12 The Deke Quarterly | spring 2015
President, the Delta Award for most improved Deke chapter, and the final and most prestigious award, the Lion Trophy, which recognizes the best overall Deke chapter from the past school year. Congratulations again to all the winners of awards. There were several other aspects of the final banquet that made the event even more exciting. The first of these included a letter sent from Brother George W. Bush (Phi, ‘68) to Delta Kappa Epsilon on the day of the final banquet, Saturday, August 2nd, passing along his best wishes to the brotherhood. And last but certainly not least was the keynote speaker for the banquet, astronaut and painter Alan Bean (Omega Chi, ‘55). After taking photos with many brothers and guests at the banquet, Captain Bean went on to give a speech that nobody in the audience will likely ever forget. He spoke of the lessons learned during his training days at NASA, about the perspectives on life that the lunar mission
Caption hereLut ad que sit moditi ut eos que nonsequo id mi, velluptatet erspera
sparked within him, and about how he ultimately knew that he needed to leave NASA in order to pursue painting because “he was the only painter alive that had been to another world”. To put the cherry on top of Brother Bean’s presence, Executive Director of DKE Doug Lanpher shocked the banquet audience when he presented one of the missing DKE flags that went to the moon! Its recent discovery was kept secret up until that very night. Needless to say, every Deke in the audience was stirred deeply, and champagne began to flow as everyone rose to conclude the evening joyfully with the Lion March. Once again, a big thanks goes out to the Iota chapter, Centre College, and all those who helped to make the 170th DKE International Convention a great success. We look forward to seeing undergraduates applying their new knowledge in their respective chapters and staying in touch with their new friends from all over the Deke-Nation.
George W. Bush, Phi ‘68 sends congratulations on DKE’s 170th Convention
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170
TH CONVENTION
Welcome reception at Iota Chapter house; Brother Beta dinner; Charlie Blaisdell address convention by remote; DKE Chairman, Sam Heffner, thanks outgoing Honorary President, Billy Treadway for his service to DKE; John Roush, Centre College President spoke on Leadership lesson from Abraham Lincoln
Educational session on Recruitment by CampusSpeak; Round of clicks for IOTA for a great convention
14 The Deke Quarterly | spring 2015
special news
2014 LION TROPHY Competition The Lion Trophy is the highest honor that can be achieved by a ∆KE chapter and is awarded annually to the chapter judged to be best in overall performance. The original Tiffany-designed silver cup was a gift of the Fraternity in 1894 to William Boyd Jacobs, the last surviving founder of ∆KE. It was returned to the Fraternity after his death in 1905 by Brother Jacobs’ daughter, and is now presented each year to the winning chapter. Chapters wishing to be considered submit applications describing their achievements in four categories: Chapter Operations, Philanthropy & Service, Scholarship, and Leadership. 20014 saw several changes to the categories. The most important was to remove Chapter Improvement from the main competition in order to recognize it with its own prestigious award. Thus the Delta Award was christened in 2014 with Theta Zeta, Arizona State, as the inaugural recipient.
2014 Delta Award Winner-Theta Zeta.
PHI ALPHA TAKES HOME THE 2014 TROPHY As the 2014 Lion Trophy winners, Phi Alpha placed highly in all four of the judging categories: Operations, Community Service, Scholarship, and Leadership. By comparison, Phi Alpha only placed in two categories as the winners of the Lion Trophy in 2012. It is clear that a larger emphasis was afforded to the well-rounded nature of fraternity life, and scholarship in particular. Phi Alpha is a perennial force in Operations and Alumni Relations, though recently has been most proud of its Community Service and Scholarship efforts. STICK IT TO CANCER, Phi Alpha’s Annual Road Hockey Tournament to Conquer Cancer, was expanded in 2014 to accommodate community-based teams, local businesses, and presentations from the Canadian Cancer Society. The tournament has grown, since its inception in 2011, to feature over 300 participants and volunteers who have combined to raise over $42,000 for cancer research (from $3,700 in its first year to over $30,000 in 2014!). Having been renamed to the Scott Trapp Memorial Tournament to commemorate our late brother, Phi Alpha raised an astonishing $36,000 at the 2015 event.
From left to right: Brian Bortignon ’14, Stephen Bissett ’16, Alex Torres ’16, Calvin Buchanan ’15, Rob Romei ’16, and Connor Mackay ’16.
Phi Alpha’s scholarship program is new to the chapter, and relatively simple but effective: have tenants report their grades to ensure they are balancing the day-to-day aspects of fraternity life with those of their university tenure. Monitoring holds everyone accountable, and encourages all Actives to attend weekly “Textbook Tuesday” study sessions.
Convention Host Iota with their four 2014 Lion Trophy competion awards.
2014 LION TROPHY RESULTS
2014 LION TROPHY CATEGORY WINNERS
WINNER: Phi Alpha, UBC Runner-up: Rho, Lafayette Runner-up: Iota, Centre College
PHILANTHROPY & SERVICE CHAPTER OPERATIONS 1st: Phi Alpha, UBC 1st: Phi Alpha, UBC 2nd (tie): Iota, Centre College 2nd: Psi, Alabama 2nd:(tie): Phi Chi, Rutgers 3rd (tie): Iota, Centre College 3rd (tie): Rho, Lafayette
2014 DELTA RESULTS WINNER: Theta Zeta, ASU Runner-up: Psi Delta, Wake Forest Runner-up: Sigma Alpha, Virginia Tech
SCHOLARSHIP 1st: Iota, Centre College 2nd (tie): Sigma Xi, St. Joseph’s College 2nd (tie): Phi Alpha, UBC 3rd:Theta Zeta, UC Berkeley
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special news
2014 DKE PERSONAL AWARDS NICHOLAS NAPOLITANO CHAPTER PRESIDENT AWARD-BRYAN LANG, THETA ZETA ‘14 First presented at the 2012 Convention, the Nick Napolitano Award is presented to the most outstanding undergraduate Brother Beta. The award is named after Nicholas Val Napolitano, Psi Delta ’10, former Wake Forest chapter President, who lost his own life while rescuing a fellow brother in DKE from drowning in Newport, RI, in August of 2011. The 2014 award goes to Bryan Lang from Arizona State. Bryan was elected Brother Beta of the Theta Upsilon chapter shortly after it was put on suspension by the university. Through no small effort on his own part, the chapter rallied to be readmitted to the IFC by the end of his first semester, with Bryan capturing ASU Greek man of the year in the process. Bryan graduated in December, but left a legacy on his chapter and the greek community at ASU. Nick’s father, Val, was present at the closing banquet, as he was in 2012, to present the trophy to Bryan.
CHARLES O. BLAISDELL LEADERSHIP AWARD - LUKE WETTON, IOTA ‘14 Charlie Blaisdell, Phi ’37, is one of the most consequential Dekes in the Fraternity’s history. He has served DKE in many ways and has held every major office within the Fraternity. In every respect, Charlie has been an inspirational leader to Dekes for many decades. The Charles O. Blaisdell Award is given annually to the undergraduate Brother who is judged most outstanding all around Deke on the basis of contributions to his chapter and his school. As a senior, Luke Wetton served as Brother Beta for the Iota Chapter during the 2013-14 school year. In this role he established several new programs that augmented the membership experience, including an officer job-shadow program for new members, the first ever formalized chapter brotherhood retreat, a comprehensive officer transition workshop, as well as a weekly-reporting system for officers. Luke also worked closely with IFC and with other chapters on campus to foster inter-fraternalism through joint-events and information sharing. In addition to direct chapter duties, Luke served the chapter by counseling brothers on difficult personal issues and mediating several important conversations within the chapter about diversity. Outside of the chapter, Luke served as a member of the Student Judiciary, was highly involved with the Centre College Republicans, and earned his Bachelor of Science in Philosophy. Luke currently serves as Vice-President in his family’s business, ProFab Tech Development Co., which frequently takes him to China.
WILLIAM M HENDERSON ALUMNI AWARD – MATT BLEVINS, IOTA ‘99 The Henderson Award is DKE’s top alumni award, and is named for the Fraternity’s beloved long time Executive Director, Bill Henderson, Zeta Zeta ’39. It is unique among major interfraternal awards in being presented not for work done at the top administrative level of the Fraternity, but solely for exceptional service to an individual chapter of DKE, not necessarily the recipient’s own. The award was established in 1975, and consists of an engraved silver cup that remains the property of the recipient. Matt Blevins served as the Alumni Advisor for the Iota Chapter from 2009-2014. During his term the chapter was brought out of inactivity and quickly made huge strides forwards, and the positive impact of Matt’s leadership was evident throughout this entire process. In the spring of 2010 over twenty-five Founding Fathers officially restarted Iota as a colony. Matt, with the help of a handful of other dedicated Iota alums, were the ones in the trenches recruiting those Founding Fathers from the Centre College campus and then running new member education for this first class back. By the spring of 2012 Iota regained full-chapter status and moved back into a house on Greek Row that fall. Matt lead the subsequent fundraising charge that helped the chapter significantly renovate the Deke house. In spring of 2013 Iota won Chapter of Excellence at Centre College and went on to win the Lion Trophy that summer. Matt’s support and recommendations were invaluable to these achievements. Matt currently works in Louisville, KY as a Global Brand Director for Brown-Forman. 16 The Deke Quarterly | SPRING 2015
TH IS TIME I N DEKE H ISTORY
BEST CONVENTION EVER? By Grant Burnyeat, PHI ALPHA ‘65 The 2014 Convention hosted by Iota Chapter ranks as one of the great Conventions in Deke history with the highlight being the inspirational speech of Brother Alan Bean (Omega Chi-The University of Texas) before about 200 Dekes and their guests. The 170th convention was truly memorable, but where does it stand in the long list of official DKE gatherings?
1920 Convention souvenir. Cigar box with DKE crest.
The first Convention of the Fraternity was held at Yale College in New Haven in December, 1854 with Brothers from Phi, Theta, Xi and Sigma Chapters in attendance. It started a tradition of memorable conventions. The first American College Fraternity Convention held off the North American Continent was in Havana, Cuba in 1920 under the auspices of President Menocal of Cuba (Delta Chi-Cornell University). A special train had left Pennsylvania Station on December 26th making stops in Philadelphia, Savannah and Key West. The attendees then set sail on the ship “Governor Cobb”. The Convention souvenir was an inlaid box, shown in the picture, containing 25 Cuban cigars. Under the headline “DKE Men off for Cuba”, the New York Times tracked the trip and reported: “President Menocal of Cuba is a graduate member of the Cornell Chapter of the Fraternity. He heads the committee arranging for the visit of the Americans [and Canadians], and will provide a Cuban warship to convey the delegates and officers from Key West to Havana. Steamers are to be provided for others and airplanes are to make round trips with passengers. The convention banquet and the President’s annual ball and reception at the palace are to conclude the visit.” The cost of travel to and from New York to attend was $171.00. Hotels in Havana ranged from $3.00 a day to $7.00 a day. The banquet in the palace was all of $5.00!! The 1915 Convention must also rank as one of the great Deke Conventions. On June 29, the “Deke Convention Special” Train left from Grand Central Terminal Station in New York on a “Transcontinental Tour” to the 69th Annual Stated Convention of the Fraternity in San Francisco. The Train
made stops in Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Toledo before reaching Chicago on June 30. On arrival, the entire party drove to the Deke House to be entertained by the Northwestern Alumni Association at dinner and the theater. The train left that evening for Denver where the day was spent with local alumni “in that far-famed mountain city”. The Train arrived in Colorado Springs the following day, where the delegates displayed the Deke flag from the top of Pike’s Peak. After a short stop in Albuquerque on July 4th so that “all may see the real Hopi Indians”, July 5 was spent at the Grand Canyon: “Immediately upon our arrival here, we start on a trip down the Angel Trail on the backs of burros. This will, indeed, be a novel treat to those from East who have never had the privilege of traveling on these diminutive mounts.” On the following two days, the delegates attended “a typical California Smoker at the Washington Hotel” in Los Angeles and the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. On July 10, the delegates traveled to the Maier Ranch in the San Joaquin Valley for “the annual Deke Barbecue” described as follows: “absolute freedom prevails, and the athletic games and contests of all sorts, as well as the amateur play and other entertainments provided exclusively by our own talent, will alone make the trip worthwhile. The Bonfire Party at night will be brought to a conclusion by the “Bull’s Head Breakfast”, when the entire head of a great Spanish Bull, killed the preceding day, is baked in the earth, and enjoyed with many other Spanish
and Mexican dishes”. Leaving by train on July11, all were entertained in Palo Alto by the Sigma Rho Chapter before proceeding to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Business sessions were held over the next few days. On the morning of July 17, the delegates left San Francisco on the steamer Great Northern, arriving in Portland, Oregon, then traveling to Seattle for dinner at the “new” Kappa Epsilon Chapter House at the University of Washington, which was followed by “entertainment lasting well into the night”. On July 20 after a tour of the City of Seattle, delegates boarded a Great Northern Railroad car for the trip to Glacier Park where the delegates spent three days in the “American Alps” at the Glacier Park Hotel. This tour included: “an auto trip the length of the Park and into the Canadian Rockies” and “An opportunity to angle for the game mountain lake trout. Canoeing and mountain scaling will also be enjoyed by brothers so inclined. Conventionalities here will be unpopular: old clothes and stout shoes will be the fashion.” The delegates left Glacier Park on July 24 for Minneapolis where they were entertained by the Phi Epsilon Chapter. Traveling by train through Chicago, the delegates arrived in New York on July 28, “thus ending our great trip to the Pacific Coast”. The total expense for the trip was $225 from New York and $205 from Chicago. So, Iota in 2014 was a terrific success but only ranks amongst the best of Conventions. Imagine having a full month to devote to such an endeavor! w w w.d ke.o rg
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the road to chartering and beyond
GAMMA IOTA BY Nick King ‘16 The University Gamma Iota calls Gannon University home. Gannon is a smaller Catholic university with around 3,100 undergraduates with less than half living on campus. The campus sits on 20 acres located right in the heart of downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. The school is most known for its medical and business programs. Of the roughly 1,300 males on campus, less than 150 are members of the seven total fraternities. Sororities are typically larger than the fraternities by as much as twice the membership. Students are as active as possible during the warmer periods until the frigid Erie winter sets down upon the campus for a good portion of the academic year. Colonization In the fall of 2012, the idea to form a fraternity on campus was spearheaded through the hard work of the 13 founders of Gamma Iota, who were unofficially led by Andrew Fenstermacher and Robert Fisher. The idea spawned when mostly all the founders were not happy with the other Greek options on campus. They wanted to create something that was larger than themselves, would not have a bad reputation, and could break the stereotypically “frat” stigma in the eyes of the community. While searching for possible fraternities, Delta Kappa Epsilon was the obvious choice. The plethora of famous alumni, motto, and history really stood out to them. After applying for colonization, the founders received a personal phone call from Brother Lanpher, which was extremely uplifting and showed the character of Deke. After acceptance, the founders began the daunting task of laying the foundation for a successful chapter. Colonization to Chapter The founding class of Gamma Iota was initiated on April 21, 2013. Brother Lanpher 18 The Deke Quarterly | SPRING 2015
“The Dekes in Erie wanted to create something that was larger than themselves, would have a positive reputation, and could break the stereotypical ‘frat’ stigma” and Brother Shea Agnew took the reins of the initiation, making it a truly remarkable experience for the founders. In an odd situation, the founders took on a pledge class of four members that was two weeks behind them. As the founders learned the material, they would teach it to the pledge class the following week. After being initiated themselves, the founding class initiated their four pledges at the Shant two weeks later. At the end of the semester, the Brothers learned they were being given a beautiful three story Victorian home on a central location by the University that could house eight Brothers. The 17 new Dekes entered summer with plans to create a remarkable colony with hopes of chapter status in their hearts. The Dekes came back to campus eager to lay the foundation for a successful Fraternity operation, which was the focus of the fall semester. Strong political operations, ritual, and Brotherhood events were formed and fine-tuned throughout the semester. The house gave them a prime outlet to hold events, create a presence, and simply form a home atmosphere in a short amount of time. One meaningful event held was a
grand opening ceremony to officially “open” the house, with Brother Lanpher officiating the event. On the downside, only one new Brother was picked up during the fall semester. At the end of the semester, the first legitimate elections were held, in which Scott Conrad was elected president. At the start of the spring semester, the Gamma Iota boys took to knocking out the rest of the requirements to be a successful chapter. The Dekes took to the community to do an immense amount of community service. Every event was a huge success, as it usually ended in a spot in the local paper or a letter to the university president. On the home front, the Dekes made a great connection with a sorority due to several mixers being held. A campus concert also gave Gamma Iota a great opportunity for a considerable donation for simply helping set up equipment. A wonderful new tradition was also created, a chapter retreat. The twenty total men crammed into a lakeside cottage for a secluded weekend of jolly good fun. Recruitment was bleak for all the fraternities on campus, but the Dekes did find four new men that qualified for the honor. With things on the upward slope, the Brothers decided to petition for chapter status and IFC recognition. IFC concluded that things would be handled at the start of the 14-15 school year. On the other hand, the Gamma Iota Brothers learned they had been officially given chapter status on May 15, 2014. Kevin Cuneo All of the Gamma Iota Dekes agree that they would not be a chapter if it were not for the help of one local man, Kevin Cuneo. Kevin was a Gamma Deke from the late seventies, a pledge Brother to Brother Lanpher. Lanpher gave Kevin a call when he first got word of the guys in Erie who wanted to start a chapter. That’s all it took for Kevin
Below, Scott Conrad, Gamma Iota ‘16, receives the official Gamma Iota charter on behalf of the Chapter at the banquet in November 2014 to open his heart and take the 13 founders under his wing. He guided them through their pledge education and was there for their initiation. He still remains very active in the chapter. His contributions to Gamma Iota are endless. Whether it be giving them his van to drive to the Shant or donating choice beverages, Kevin is always there for his younger Brothers. He is looked at as an idol, one might even say a hero, to the Gamma Iota Brothers. Kevin is the poster child for an exceptional Deke, and without a doubt worthy for candidacy of the next available Henderson award. Establishment The Dekes in Erie walked onto campus this past fall with the new charter in hand and great stories and advice from the amazing 170TH Convention. They had finally reached the goal they so ceaselessly wanted. It was time to show the world they have what it takes to be successful, and they deserve their charter. They went to work to set in stone the processes they had worked so hard to create. Additionally, new and stronger recruitment, social, and pledging procedures were implemented. During the fall semester, the Brothers held their chartering banquet. The spring semester has plans for a philanthropic 5-K that will be the biggest event held by a Gannon fraternity. Future This will be the first academic year in which members of the founding class will be graduating. This, of course, will create a crucial recruitment year for the chapter. However, it will also bring forth something the chapter has never seen and critically needs – alumni support. The future of the chapter lies in the results of the upcoming spring recruitment. The founders will most definitely rise to the occasion to replace themselves with future gentleman, scholars, and jolly good fellows.
Clockwise from above, left, Actives with sweethearts in front of house; Founding class at Service Day for Barber Center in Erie; DKE House on University Square
Men that are as hard-working, responsible, determined, and kind like the original 13. Men that will hold the eternal flame of DKE in their hearts. These future Brothers will lead Gamma Iota into greatness that their founders have prepared for them. w w w.d ke.o rg
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a few questions for
DICKY PRIDE Quarterly: So is it fun “on the Tour”? DP: Fun when you are playing good. Not so much fun when you aren’t playing good. But that’s the way it goes. Quarterly: Do you stay in touch with your Deke brothers from the days? You were Psi ’92? DP: Yes, that is correct. And I do stay in touch. In fact, I was texting one this morning; one of my pledge brothers who knows someone else that was on the golf team. A guy whose father was a Deke in the 70’s. He wanted to join and we wanted him, but he couldn’t do it because of the golf team.
Quarterly: So you walked on to the golf team at Alabama. Were you able to balance all the demands on your time? DP: Well, no. When I was a sophomore and joined the team, I needed to have a good GPA. I was on student senate, had a girlfriend; it was just too much. I did everything about mediocre because I was doing so much. I had to go inactive after my junior year. Fortunately, I was able to come around to the house a couple of times a month; they put me on “alumni status”. Quarterly: What about that situation at the Phoenix Open with the ASU Dekes? DP: That really caught me by surprise. I have been in this way too long for much to phase me but that was really cool. We heard them chanting DKE, DKE, and I said to Spencer, “Dude, give me a pen”. I wrote DKE on my hat then and held it up. I added ITB the next day. They all went crazy. It was great.
Quarterly: Back in your day the coach was ok with joining a fraternity then? DP: I walked on the team. I was already a Deke. Spencer (Dicky’s caddy): DKE Executive Director, Doug Lanpher and DEKE “You guys came first” Quarterly editor, Bob Alvis, visited with pro golfer DP: That’s right. My Daddy was Dicky Pride at the site of the John Deere Classic a Deke also, Psi ’59. And my step Quarterly: What do you work father was a Deke ten years before on these days? my Dad. But I keep in touch with some of the younger guys DP: Everything. It is a constant battle of adjustments. Golf is the also, with the tornado relief efforts. We helped each other out. ultimate compensation sport. You use your whole body and so many We did a number of things with Patrick Morris and the rest of things change day to day. You have to pound the fundamentals. the chapter. Quarterly: Watching you today, you seem unlike many of the other pros out there, you were flat out having a good time? Quarterly: What was your involvement with tornado relief? DP: I am from Tuscaloosa originally. So I had a golf tournament, DP: I can get serious (laughing). You weren’t here yesterday along with a couple of other guys. We raised almost $200,000 when I didn’t talk for three holes straight when I needed to make and worked with the Red Cross and other agencies to do what some birdies coming in. I pulled it off and that led to today. But we could. you always need to have fun.
Editor’s note: This is the second in a continuing series of brief portraits of Dekes with interesting jobs or stories to tell. If you have a nomination for someone you would like to see profiled please let us know. Better yet, if you would like to conduct a brief interview yourself and be published in the DEKE Quarterly, we would really enjoy having the contribution from the DKE community. Send an email to QUARTERLY@DKE.ORG. We will get back to you and work out the details. 20 The Deke Quarterly | SPRING 2015
dekes givi ng back
inspirational art By Eric Holland, Kappa ‘13
A
dam Hayward, (Kappa, Miami University ’93 with a MFA from Miami ‘98) is a professional artist who resides in Cincinnati, and is also the Vice President of the Kappa Chapter Housing Association. Last summer Adam was approached by Artworks, an organization in Cincinnati who felt that Adam’s artistic style matched a need for a project at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center - Liberty campus. The scope of the project was to create a painting inspired by art interaction with young children and their families who are enduring troubled times due to illness.
final resolution to the problem in Eridu. The finished “art play” was performed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Liberty Township. It was a very special happening to which the photos can attest. Brother Hayward was ultimately impressed and humbled by the active chapter and their determination to help him accomplish such a large and sensitive project. Adam believes “it demonstrates the good will, generosity, and commitment to serve that makes Kappa so special.” It is important to note this example of Community Service did not require a large chapter or a monumental money raising effort. Yet the impact may have been just as substantial.
As Adam created some sketches, the idea of an interactive “art play” began to materialize. In the interim, he stopped by the Kappa chapter during Miami University’s Homecoming, to say hello to brothers. During conversation with some actives who were interested in how his art was going, the topic of this interactive art play came up. Adam told them about the project, and was immediately asked by active brothers how they could get involved. On December 4th, sets were assembled and volunteer actors from Kappa arrived to take part. Adam played Mada. A distraught leader in, “The Dream Land of Eridu”. The Seri: Guardians of, “The Dream Land of Eridu” were played by members of Kappa Chapter. Each child is assigned a Seri to help guide them through the quest and
The Dream Cave of Eridu This story is an interactive play. Children and adults are asked to embark on a quest together as a team. Through their interactions with animals, dramatic sounds, strange places and people, a purpose is fully revealed. Heal a place in turmoil through their own courageous power and intellect. Eridu: A land of dream where the night sky is the norm. A large tree called, “The Great Tree”, has lost its power by losing its bark. The stars, planets and the tree itself have gone dark. The inhabitants are exposed to complete darkness. Through the power of the children, the light of the land will be restored. w w w.d ke.o rg
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2014-2015
CHAPTER ROLL
SCHOOL PHI Yale University THETA Bowdoin College ZETA Princeton University XI Colby College SIGMA Amherst College GAMMA Vanderbilt University PSI University of Alabama CHI University of Mississippi UPSILON Brown University BETA University of North Carolina ALPHA Harvard University KAPPA Miami University DELTA University of South Carolina LAMBDA Kenyon College OMEGA Oakland College ETA University of Virginia PI Dartmouth IOTA Centre College ALPHA ALPHA Middlebury College OMICRON University of Michigan EPSILON Williams College RHO Lafayette College TAU Hamilton College MU Colgate University NU City College of New York BETA PHI University of Rochester THETA CHI Union College KAPPA PSI Cumberland University ZETA ZETA Louisiana State University ALPHA DELTA Jefferson College TAU DELTA Union University PHI CHI Rutgers University KAPPA PHI Troy University PSI PHI DePauw University GAMMA PHI Wesleyan University ETA ALPHA Washington & Lee University PSI OMEGA Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute BETA CHI Case Western Reserve DELTA CHI Cornell University DELTA DELTA University of Chicago PHI GAMMA Syracuse University GAMMA BETA Columbia University THETA ZETA Univ of California, Berkeley ALPHA CHI Trinity College PHI EPSILON University of Minnesota SIGMA TAU Mass. Institute of Technology TAU LAMBDA Tulane University ALPHA PHI University of Toronto DELTA KAPPA University of Pennsylvania TAU ALPHA McGill University SIGMA RHO Stanford University DELTA PI University of Illinois RHO DELTA University of Wisconsin KAPPA EPSILON University of Washington OMEGA CHI University of Texas, Austin ALPHA TAU University of Manitoba THETA RHO Univ of California, Los Angeles DELTA PHI University of Alberta 22 The Deke Quarterly | SPRING 2015
DKE ADDRESS ACTIVES NEW MEMBERS 73 Lake Place, New Haven, CT 06511 50 F INACTIVE Uses university facilities, Princeton, NJ 17 FO INACTIVE INACTIVE 101 24th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37235 67 S 946 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 143 FO INACTIVE INACTIVE 132 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 74 FO Colony Status, Cambridge, MA 12 325 E Sycamore, Oxford, OH 45056 91 S Colony Status, Columbia, SC 48 Old Kenyon dormitory, Gambier, OH 31 SO INACTIVE 173 Culbreath Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 57 SO INACTIVE 600 W. Walnut Street, Danville, KY 61 SO INACTIVE 1004 Olivia Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 84 F INACTIVE 719 Sullivan Trail, Easton, PA 18042 64 FO Uses college facilities, Clinton, NY 19 SO INACTIVE INACTIVE 597 Fraternity Road, Rochester, NY 14627 29 FO N. wing Fox dormitory, Schenectady, NY 49 S INACTIVE 13 Dalrymple Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 39 FO INACTIVE INACTIVE Uses private facilities, New Brunswick, NJ 71 F INACTIVE INACTIVE 276 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459 77 F INACTIVE Colony Status, Troy, NY 20 F INACTIVE INACTIVE Uses private facilities, Chicago, IL 27 F 703 Walnut Ave, Syracuse, NY 13210 75 S INACTIVE 2302 Piedmont Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704 57 S INACTIVE 1711 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414 29 F 403 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139 36 FO INACTIVE 157 St. George St, Toronto, ON, Canada M5R2M2 29 FO 307 S. 39th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 37 SO Colony status, Montreal, QC, Canada 39 FO Uses university facilities Stanford, CA 26 SO Colony status, Champaign, IL 19 SO INACTIVE INACTIVE Colony status, Austin, TX 24 S Uses private facilities, Winnipeg, MB, Canada 28 FO INACTIVE 11003 87th Ave., Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G0X5 33 FO
SCHOOL DELTA EPSILON Northwestern University LAMBDA DELTA Southern Methodist University PHI ALPHA University of British Columbia KAPPA DELTA University of Maryland RHO LAMBDA University of Oklahoma TAU DELTA University of the South PSI DELTA Wake Forest University SIGMA ALPHA Virginia Tech University PHI DELTA University of Western Ontario SIGMA PHI Villanova University PI BETA Troy University ALPHA MU Rowan University EPSILON RHO Duke University NU ZETA Pace University ALPHA OMEGA Louisiana Tech University THETA UPSILON Arizona State University IOTA MU Fordham University ALPHA RHO Temple University ZETA UPSILON Univ of California, Davis PHI SIGMA Bryant College PHI RHO Pennsylvania State University CHI RHO Bloomsburg University ZETA CHI Bentley College OMEGA OMEGA University of Arizona SIGMA BETA Univ of California, Santa Barbara BETA GAMMA New York University BETA DELTA University of Georgia ALPHA BETA DePaul University SIGMA KAPPA Michigan State University DELTA TAU Ohio State University ALPHA DELTA Northwestern University DELTA PSI Indiana University MU CHI Maryville College UPSILON OMEGA University of South Alabama KAPPA OMEGA Lake Forest College RHO BETA University of Richmond ALPHA GAMMA U.S. Military Academy PHI BETA Stephen F. Austin University TAU CHI Texas A & M University BETA TAU University of Victoria DELTA ALPHA Auburn University SIGMA XI St. Joseph’s College OMEGA MU Oklahoma State University PHI MU Manhattan College CHI BETA Univ of North Carolina, WiIlmington GAMMA IOTA Gannon University
DKE ADDRESS ACTIVES NEW MEMBERS INACTIVE INACTIVE #8-2880 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, Can V6T253 72 FO INACTIVE INACTIVE 735 University Ave, Sewanee, TN 37383 28 S 1101 Polo Road, Winston Salem, NC 27106 70 FO 302 E. Roanoke Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060 49 S INACTIVE INACTIVE 414 Fraternity Circle, Troy, AL 36081 28 F 68 N. Main, Glassboro, NJ 08028 35 S Craven AA dormitory, Durham, NC 18 S Uses private facilities, Pleasantville, NY 11 S Colony Status, Ruston, LA Uses private facilities, Tempe, AZ 79 S INACTIVE INACTIVE INACTIVE Uses private facilities, Smithfield, RI 25 S 328 E. Foster Ave., State College, PA 16801 67 S Uses private facilities, Bloomsburg, PA 21 S Uses private facilities, Waltham, MA 64 S INACTIVE INACTIVE Uses university facilities, NY, NY 50 S INACTIVE INACTIVE 505 Albert Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823 21 S INACTIVE INACTIVE 518 E. 1st Street, Bloomington, IN 47401 23 S Uses private facilities, Maryville, TN 35 F INACTIVE INACTIVE Uses private facilities, Richmond, VA 32 F INACTIVE INACTIVE 3200 Callie Circle, College Station, TX 77845 52 F Uses private facilities, Victoria, BC, Canada 49 FO 110 Thomas Street, Auburn, AL 36832 15 F Uses College facilities, Patchogue, NY 11772 36 SO 1225 W. Third Ave., Stillwater, OK 74074 57 F 4513 Manhattan College Pkwy, Bronx, NY 39 F Uses private facilities, Wilimington, NC 37 F 109 University Square , Erie, PA 31 F
In addition to the reactivited colonies shown on the Chapter Roll, DKE has these new colonies moving toward chapter status: • Colorado University, Boulder, CO • University of Delware, Newark, DE • Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, VA • Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY • University of Missouri, Columbia, MO • University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN • Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX • Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada • University of Oxford, Oxford, England • University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
Numbers shown for Actives reflect deductions for recent graduates. New member figures will be updated after Fall recruitment period. FO = Fall only recruitment SO = Spring only recruitment F = Fall & Spring recruitment, Fall is primary S = Fall & Spring recruitment, Spring is primary
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