Sigma Chi - University of Nebraska

Page 2 excellence in important areas." Spurred on by the BLTW, and doing subsequent planning based on the principles discussed, the leadership team at Alpha Epsilon has articulated five key strategic imperatives for the 2015-16 school year. 1. Giving back. We are looking to increase and improve our philanthropy and service. For the first time, we are going to have a pledge class philanthropy this fall and spring. We will identify and qualify a local foundation/ organization in Lincoln to benefit from the money we raise. Ideally, we also want to find corporations/companies to match what we raise in philanthropy money this year to give to Huntsman and the local organization we choose. Finally, we will write a letter a week to someone in the Lincoln community or UNL faculty to express our appreciation for something positive in the community that they did. 2. Increased organizational infrastructure and participation. This year we are focusing on improving the communication with the members within the executive team and to the Chapter at large. The idea here is to not only get more "buy-in" in our strategic imperatives, but to create more opportunities for involvement from brothers who don't happen to sit on a committee within the house. At our best, we want all our members to feel vested in how things are done and to contribute to the dialogue. 3. We envision making improvements in brotherhood within the Chapter. We want the Sigma Chi experience to be intentional and to take advantage of those programs and principles that make our Fraternity so worthwhile. But we also want to make the experience personally rich. For example, we are working on getting the Fraternity's successful P4B program, which emphasizes the inclusion of all members in the pledge training program on some meaningful level. Finally, we also want to have more frequent and richer ritual-based events, and more proactively involve alumni in them. 4. Managing our growing pains. Given our rebooting on UNL, we have grown from just eight members to nearly 60 in four years. While we are highly interested in continuing growth, we want to preserve and grow the richness and close friendships of the Sigma Chi experience. We need to make certain that we can effectively absorb our growth, while also ensuring that Alpha Epsilon is being run in a way which will allow new members to be effectively integrated into our brotherhood. 5. Risk management and social accountability. We are reworking our judicial board policies and putting together a transparent risk management committee to better preempt or adjudicate any situations that would put our Chapter at risk. Our risk manager will work with the social chairman this semester to create better run and safer socials. This year, for the first time, we will have a proactive stance on campus alcohol/ drug and sexual misconduct policy with specific communications to our members. All in all, the strategic imperatives for this school year are ambitious to be sure, but in the best traditions of The Jordan Standard and the high ideals of Sigma Chi. If you, as an alumnus, are interested in helping us excel in any of these areas, your involvement would be most welcomed. Please contact Consul Andrew Chase '17 at (847) 791-9478 or andchase3@gmail.com. Onward and upward! Looking Forward: AE Plans for a Bright Future (Continued from page 1) O ur undergraduate brothers are busy with the college experience and, as you'll read in this edition of The Husker Sig, are investing a lot of their time in making the Sigma Chi experience an excellent one. They get valuable help from a variety of great sources—the International Fraternity, their local Chapter advisors, the workshops they attend, and interested alumni. Sometimes that help is much less institutional and much more personal. That is, it happens on the basis of a single alumnus saying, "I'd like to help." Are you ready to pay back the richness of your own Sigma Chi experience? There are a number of ways you can volunteer to help the Alpha Epsilon Chapter without holding an ongoing office in the Alumni Chapter. Here are just a few areas. • Ritual proficiency. Simply by attending a ritual meeting and observing, you may have great suggestions about how to make it a better experience. • Strategic planning. This edition of The Husker Sig is running a story about the five key objectives for Alpha Epsilon this year. How about taking an interest in one of them and walking alongside its "undergraduate owner" for a year? You'll be amazed at how your experience adds value and brings these objectives in focus. • Sharing. How about volunteering to speak at one of the Monday evening Chapter dinners? You don't realize how much this means to the undergraduates and what an impact you can have. Everyone has a story. How about sharing yours? • Engaging in initiation. A time of great significance for our young men, this is a short, twice-a-year opportunity to really have an impact. • Undergraduate leadership retreat. Do you have a willingness to host a fun and productive retreat? Our undergraduate brothers are always looking for places away from Lincoln to hold brotherhood events. Whether in- or out-of- state, we are most appreciative! • Philanthropy. One of the key areas for Alpha Epsilon to become a Gold Peterson Chapter (only seven receive it per year) is to triple the size of our philanthropic service. One of the strategies is to identify businesses willing to offer tax-deductible matching gifts to our philanthropic efforts. Would your business be willing to commit $1,000 or $2,000 (even $500) as a matching gift? • Mentoring. Most of us realize that at one point or another we "stand on the shoulders of giants." How about mentoring an undergraduate whose studies point them to the kind of career you've had? You won't believe the satisfaction you'll have from doing so. • Long-distance mentoring. For those of you outside the Lincoln area, would you consider mentoring an undergraduate from a distance? We can match your experience with their major field of study. Don't be daunted by distance; technology works wonders! • Alumni development. We want to develop membership and undergraduate involvement at the alumni level. Would you consider being the brother within your pledge class to build its presence in these key areas? To get started, all you have to do is call Chapter Advisor Brad Staskiewicz '10 at (402) 651-3380, or e-mail him at brad.staskiewicz@gmail.com. ALUMNI HIGHER CALLING: TIME TO PAY IT FORWARD?

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