Sigma Phi Epsilon - Purdue University

From the heart A PUBLICATION FOR ALUMNI OF INDIANA ALPHA t SIGMA PHI EPSILON t FALL 2021 PURDUESIGEP.ORG A fter one year, I am pleased to report progress on all fronts toward reestablishing our beloved fraternity at Purdue. I have shared before that this effort to reinstate our chapter consists of many moving parts. The timelines are complex and interwoven with dependencies abound between recruitment, facilities design, construction, finances, fundraising, and volunteers. Our latest, and we believe final, timeline has us cutting the ribbon on a renewed 690 Waldron in fall 2024, filling it with our own, newest SigEp brothers. In these pages, you will hear more from my colleagues on the amazing progress they are making in each of these respective areas. Recruitment, which struggled to take off for several semesters, seems to be getting the wind in its sails. The facilities team is deeply involved in detailed discussions with our general contracting firm, preparing to ask the architect for detailed drawings. They are looking for every opportunity to make the project more cost efficient and deliver the very best housing and community facility on campus. The fundraising team is adding to their totals board by growing both the number of donors and the volume of gifts accumulated for our goals. You can look forward to naming opportunities in the renovated house and challenge gifts that, we hope, will inspire a broader group of donors. At the heart of these accomplishments is a dedicated team of volunteers. Their dedication and hard work are something you all can be proud of—I know I am. As for the board members, Director Daryl Martz '76 is stepping down—but still helping—to make room for Jim Quinn '83. The rest of your board reupped for another year of service. We are grateful to all of them. Fraternally, Mike Ellis '84 AVC President SIGEP PREPARES FOR AN EXCITING YEAR Recruitment, Renovations, and Fundraising Continue Strong Welcoming SigEp Home by Fall 2024 Construction Plans Are Instated for 690 Waldron W hile the onset of COVID-19 certainly changed the schedule for the renovation committee, it has afforded us the blessing to recruit more brothers, increase our fundraising, and shore up our construction planning. As you may be aware, Kappa Delta Sorority has been leasing 690 Waldron for the last several years and had planned to start construction on their own new house when the pandemic also caused a delay in their plans. This delay enabled us to negotiate a one-year lease extension on favorable terms to the SigEps and has provided Sigma Phi Epsilon a huge benefit. The extra year of rent not only gave us one extra year of income, but also more time to complete our many remaining tasks. The sorority will vacate the house in May of 2023, and construction will be completed in time for the 2024 fall semester. At this point, we have commissioned a local architect, Scholer Associates, who has prepared preliminary drawings of our new home. The fraternity features sleeping rooms for 41 brothers and one full-time house director. Every wall in our sleeping areas will be demolished and rebuilt from the studs out. One of the most exciting features will be a classroom on the lower level, which can provide for actual Purdue classes as well as chapter and campus organization meetings. The modernization will also feature a four-story elevator, new windows, fire sprinklers, air conditioning, and an electronic security and access control system. The SigEp house has come a long way! Here's a photo from 1914. (Continued on page 3)

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