Pi Kappa Alpha - Purdue University

CANDLELIGHT Page 2 D r. Robert Brockhaus '66 headed off to Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now Missouri S&T) with seven of his high school friends, and they all joined PIKE. Bob quickly discovered that PIKE offered many leadership opportunities and knew it would be the right fraternity for him. He served as a chapter officer for four semesters, and the Chapter received the Smythe Award his senior year. At that time, only one chapter received the Smythe each year. PIKE has made a significant impact on Bob's life as you will see. COMMITTED TO PIKE Bob believes in the fraternity system, which motivates him to remain involved with PIKE. After graduation, he became the district president for Kansas chapters. At the time, he was working for Ralston Purina and was shortly transferred to Lafayette, Indiana. Only 23 years old, he began eating some meals at the PIKE house at Purdue. In 1963, he became their Chapter Advisor when they moved into the present Chapter House. Bob took a leave of absence from Ralston Purina in 1965 to attend Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of Business. He remained Chapter Advisor until his graduation in 1966. Upon graduating, Bob rejoined Ralston Purina and eventually transferred to St. Louis. He left to open a restaurant, which was across the street from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He began teaching part-time at the university and became involved with the new PIKE Chapter on campus. From 1969-73, he served as the district president for Missouri chapters. After teaching part-time, Bob desired to become a full-time professor of business and entered the doctorate program in business at Washington University in St. Louis. Upon completion, he joined the Saint Louis University faculty, and in 1990, when PIKE established a chapter on campus, he served as its faculty advisor until 2004. He also joined the Alpha Kappa Chapter House Corporation Board, became president in 2006, and has been serving in that position ever since. "It's great to see young men grow in their maturity, develop leadership skills of their own, learn from mistakes and good decisions and successes that they and others make," Bob shared. PIONEERING IN ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION Entrepreneurship runs in the Brockhaus family veins; Bob's grandparents, father, brother, and now son, also a Pike, all owned businesses. Bob has also owned several businesses and was a pioneer in entrepreneurial education, and the leadership skills he gained in PIKE have been valuable throughout his career. When Bob first joined the SLU faculty in 1973, the department chairman asked him if he would teach an entrepreneurship course in the summer. "I learned a lot teaching the course, and the students loved it," he said. "Entrepreneurship was taught in only a few universities. I was told by a senior faculty member, 'Brockhaus, this is Mickey Mouse stuff. If you keep pushing to have a permanent entrepreneurship course, you're not going to get tenure.'" However, he did pursue and established courses and a center. The entrepreneurship program Bob started became one of the top five in the country. Success Magazine ranked the faculty he assembled as the best entrepreneurship faculty in the country. Bob began assisting other universities' entrepreneurship programs in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, holding several visiting endowed professorships, including a Fulbright Fellowship to New Zealand. He served as the international president and later as the executive director of the International Council for Small Business and was the first holder of the Coleman Chair in Entrepreneurship at SLU. He and his wife own a consulting practice, the Brockhaus Group, which assists large, family-owned businesses around the world. A few years ago, Bob was honored by SLU with the Robert H. Brockhaus Chair in Entrepreneurship. Bob is proud of many moments in his career, and as he looks back, he recalls it was enjoyable but challenging, as entrepreneurship education was not considered important when he first began teaching. Today, thanks to his work and that of other pioneers, entrepreneurship is taught across campuses around the world. You can connect with Bob at bob@brockhausgroup.net. Dr. robert brockhaus '66 commits to brotherhooD anD entrepreneurial eDucation A Leader Through and Through S U P P O R T I N G B E T A P H I F O U N D A T I O N TO GIVE BY MAIL: Make your check payable to Beta Phi Foundation and mail to: Pi Kappa Alpha – Purdue University Payment Processing PO Box 2187 Columbus, GA 31902-2187 TO GIVE ONLINE: Visit pikapurdue.org and access the Beta Phi Foundation or Giving Back menu links. T hank you for your support of Beta Phi Chapter and our Beta Phi Foundation. All gifts to the Beta Phi Foundation are 100% tax deductible and directly impact our Chapter and its initiatives. Remember that Beta Phi Foundation is its own 501(c)(3) separate from PIKE Foundation. We at Beta Phi Foundation appreciate your support and ask that all donations for Beta Phi Chapter come through us. A tax receipt will be provided. Please do not mail to PO Box 2853 or Blueberry Lane. These are old addresses no longer affiliated with the foundation.

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