Growth

EXPANSION UPDATES

TAKING SIGMA PI TO NEW (AND OLD) PLACES

by Drew Carpenter (Middle Tennessee ‘18), Director of Strategic Growth

A year after reopening the Growth Department, Sigma Pi Fraternity has seen substantial success with expansion coming out of a global pandemic. Going into a new academic year, the primary objective of the department remained the same- to expand across North America while also supporting Chapters that were hardest hit during the pandemic. The decision was made by CEO Jonathan Frost to bring on two new graduates, who had both excelled in their roles as Chapter Sage, among other accolades. This search led to the hiring of Jake Reed (Arkansas ‘19) and Nathen Andrews (Orlando ‘19). Nathen was hired as the Undergraduate Support Consultant, while Jake was hired as the Assistant Director of Chapter Support; he has recently stepped into the Director role for the department. These new hires have jumped into their roles and are quickly becoming acclimated to their responsibilities. The impact they have had on fall recruitment has already been seen. Existing chapters have received substantial assistance in an effort to prepare for the upcoming recruitment season. Ten chapters across five different states have received growth-related visits since the fall semesters began. Meanwhile, over 30 chapters and colonies have received virtual support and training since June. Moreover, an additional 40 chapters and colonies will be receiving visits over the course of the next three months. The incoming new member numbers currently being reported suggests these visits and virtual consultations have set our undergraduates up for success. To give an idea of the progress over the past year, Sigma Pi has opened or reactivated four colonies over the past calendar year: • Iota-Beta Colony at Delaware • Iota-Chi Colony at Coastal Carolina • Eta-Pi Colony in Kutztown, Pennsylvania • Iota-Psi Colony at Kennesaw State Likewise, Sigma Pi has been in discussions with several alumni groups about reactivating their chapters, including but not limited to: • Beta Chapter at Indiana • Eta-Alpha Chapter at CSU-Sacramento • Alpha-Upsilon Chapter at Rhode Island • Gamma Chapter at Ohio State • Gamma-Sigma Chapter at Missouri It is important to know that alumni involvement of both time and financial resources is important to these talks and efforts. The reason being that engaged and committed alumni provide valuable knowledge and resources to aid the young members in their pursuits and matriculation through college. If you know of a young man who is attending a campus where we are not currently located, it could be a great opportunity for him to start a chapter and become a Founding Father on his campus. If you are curious about the process to re-open your chapter, or know of an outstanding young man who can help open a chapter, please contact our office at dcarpenter@sigmapi.org.

Members of Iota-Psi Colony at Kennesaw State