Sigma Phi Epsilon - Purdue University

: SFE F L Inside: Active Members Dedicated t 2-3 SigEp Brotherhood t 3-4 Golf Outing t 4 Thank You, Loyal Alumni t 5 From the heart A PUBLICATION FOR ALUMNI OF INDIANA ALPHA t SIGMA PHI EPSILON t FALL 2014 WWW.PURDUE-SIGEPS.COM Indiana Alpha Sees Change in Alumni Leadership Undergraduates Overcome Challenges, Implement Fresh New Ideas GREETINGS FROM NEW AVC PRESIDENT BRIAN RODELL '99 I graduated in '98 with a B.S. in industrial engineering, am married with two children (17 and 12), live in Crown Point, Indiana, and have been a SigEp alumni volunteer for the last three years. My volunteer work started in 2011, when I partnered with alumni (Indiana Alpha and National) and undergraduates to develop a new member program/calendar that aligned with the Balance Man Program (BMP) in a new attempt to migrate our chapter toward the BMP. After the chapter underwent a member review at the end of last year, I stepped up to chair the Alumni Advisory Committee in order to ensure alumni oversight of chapter operations and coordination with the Alumni Volunteer Corporation (AVC). If you would like more information on the sanctions and the details of the situation, please e-mail Jay Bilunas '99 at avc-alumnirelations@purdue-sigeps.com or call him at (317) 409-6070. He can add you to the list of e-mail newsletters we are sending out. At Homecoming this year, I was elected president of the AVC. I am excited for the opportunity to help the chapter move forward as Jarod focuses on his service to our country. I, and the rest of the alumni board, can't express enough appreciation for Jarod's time and effort to both our great country and the chapter. I look forward to continuing to work with him in a lesser capacity on alumni communications. ACTIVE MEMBERS TURN A NEW LEAF There are many challenges that we face in our work to move our fraternity forward: poor undergraduate engagement and follow-through; house occupancy at four undergraduates; poor general campus image due to the publicity received from the recent University sanctions; undergraduates have retained little of the BMP training and guidance that they have received; and poor recruitment skills (prefer to wait and let potential new members come to them). Much work has already been done to overcome these challenges, but more is needed to make gains and sustain successes. More details will be provided but to name a few: successfully executed the Balanced Man Scholarship at the beginning of the semester; recruited 12 new members since the start of the fall semester, and continue to recruit in a year-round fashion. Keith Baker '75 and other alumni and undergraduate volunteers have started a multi-phase deep cleaning/refinishing of unoccupied rooms, significantly reducing facility costs. AVC TAKES ACTION Conversely, there are still areas in which work is needed. To address undergraduate engagement, commitment, and follow-through, I will be sending out membership expulsion letters in November to those undergraduates who are unwilling to fulfill their out-of-house brother financial responsibility. Multiple communication points have been sent and a full 60 days has been allotted to provide these young men with enough time to either pay or arrange a payment plan. Unfortunately, it looks as though we may see 30+ brothers on campus removed. In closing, I see many things that indicate that our chapter will return to the campus example that it once was. I think with the help of the great men we have engaged and those of you willing to step forward, we will achieve great things. Fraternally, Brian Rodell '99 Alumni Volunteer Corporation President avc-president@purdue-sigeps.com Indiana Alpha Chapter www.purduesigeps.com Sigma Phi Epsilon National www.sigep.org Facebook Search for "Sigma Phi Epsilon Indiana Alpha" Twitter www.twitter.com/PurdueSigEps Visit Us on the Web For Homecoming stories visit purduesigeps.com

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