Pi Kappa Alpha - University of Texas

PI KAPPA ALPHA • UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS • SPRING 2021 A s Beta Mu enters her second century, our alumni efforts are being repurposed to encourage further intra-alumni engagement with one another, as well as to increase support and interaction with the undergraduate chapter. "We're so pleased to have the new Pike house as a center of brotherhood, athletics and academics for the chapter," Beta Mu Building Co. President Bert Dement '66 said. "We look forward to the updated, modern property also being enjoyed by our Texas Pike alumni who made the new facility possible." e COVID-19 pandemic and related imposed crowd limitations didn't permit a formal grand opening in 2020, so we look forward to welcoming alumni beginning in fall 2021. Save the date for a football tailgate and tours on October 16, 2021, when the Longhorns play Oklahoma State. Along with the Beta Mu Building Co. board of directors and Alumni Advisory Board members, Chapter Advisor Doug Phelan '65 is exploring concepts to support the chapter through a new alumni entity. e alumni volunteer leaders will work over the course of summer 2021 to announce a new Beta Mu alumni organization in fall 2021 and kick off Beta Mu's new Pike Legends Awards program that honors Pike alumni for business and community leadership. e vision for the Pike Legends Awards includes a posthumous recognition award, an active alumnus award and a younger alumnus under 30 award. Ideas and input from all alumni are welcome as the new alumni initiative is visioned and developed. "We're so grateful for the generous alumni contributions to make the new house a possibility," Alumni Advisory Board Chair Russ Keene '80 said. "Now we will seek more modest funding, with a larger base of donors, to support our alumni programming and chapter support, including possible scholarships. We've observed Fiji, Kappa Sig, Phi Psi and other UT Austin fraternities operating with alumni and parent funded scholarship foundations, adding another benefit to the fraternal experience, and we hope Beta Mu alumni will step up and join this exciting new initiative for Beta Mu." e new awards program will kick off the alumni weekend on October 16. Stay tuned for announcements on the new alumni programming and membership opportunities. As always, stay in touch with the chapter and alumni programming on our social media channels. Emails can be sent to alumni@texaspike.com. Alumni ProgrAmming to ExPAnd in 2021 Pike Legends Alumni Awards Envisioned for Fall 2021 Pikes Make a Difference During the Pandemic Undergraduate Brothers Excited About Lifting of COVID-19 Restrictions T exas Pikes enjoyed the spring 2021 semester working the through the disruptions caused by COVID-19. Brothers largely remained in Austin during the spring semester and are excited for what should be a much more normal 2021-22 academic year. e Chapter managed to have an active semester with our usual mix of academic, brotherhood and service events and several smaller gatherings/social events around Austin as circumstances permitted. We were particularly proud to partner with UT Austin's Healthy Horns program and opened the Pike house every Wednesday as an official UT proactive community testing site. Each week, Pikes and many UT student neighbors took advantage of COVID-19 testing. Pikes remain grateful to the brave medical professionals and first responders who have kept Austin and our home communities safe in this challenging time. We send our best to all Pikes who have been impacted one way or another by the pandemic. We were also honored to play a pivotal role in two IFC-sponsored blood drives for the Central Texas blood bank, We Are Blood, in November 2020 and again in April 2021. IFC VP Philanthropy Griffin Boutwell '19 helped manage the events. In March, brothers gathered to celebrate Texas Pike's 101st Founders' Day and enjoyed birthday cake in the new Pike house. While restrictions existed on social gatherings this spring, we made good use of the house. Brothers enjoyed watching March Madness basketball and hosting both a Pike Mother's Club dinner and a Dad's Club casino night. We are grateful to the many Pike alumni donors who have made the new house possible. We have already created new memories and are proud of 101 uninterrupted years of brotherhood and service in the UT Austin community. We appreciate the support of our alumni and congratulate Russ Keene '80 who received the UT Dean of Students Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life Volunteer of the Year Award this spring! (Continued on page 2)

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