Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Illinois

For Alumni and Friends of the Illinois Alpha Chapter Spring 2019 University of Illinois | Sigma Phi Epsilon information | illinois.sigep.org STEADY PROGRESS CULTURALLY AND OPERATIONALLY G ood news. The chapter culture is returning to a more values-aligned organization from a frat/alcohol-centric one. I am optimistic that the undergraduates can make the necessary cultural and operational pivots needed to return Illinois Alpha to a high-performing organization. The Alumni Volunteer Corporation, the Illinois Alpha Board of Advisors (younger alumni volunteers who individually mentor the undergraduate executive officers) and I are very much impressed with this Spring 2019 executive team that is led by President Ethan Burrus '21. Ethan is the younger brother of Miles Burrus '19, who served as Illinois Alpha's president last spring. On April 17, the IFC chapter presidents considered a ban on the consumption of all hard alcohol (>15 percent ABV) at all member fraternity premises and events, beginning this upcoming fall 2019 academic term. This is an important message from the University Greek community that foundational cultural changes are coming fast and here to stay. This vote also aligns Illinois' Greek community with the National Interfraternity Council's (NIC) August 27, 2018, mandate that all member organizations must pass a hard alcohol facility and event ban by September 1, 2019. While our Exec team is a bit "scared" of the changes that a substance-free facility (SFF) will bring, they are focused on finding the puzzle pieces that lead to a positive solution as opposed to building roadblocks and not telling the truth or not making decisions. These recent moves by the NIC and IFC will level the undergraduate recruitment playing field and work in Illinois Alpha's favor as it leads on this critical and transformative social issue. The University has officially removed Illinois Alpha from its organizational "Reprimand" status as of March 17, following the serious risk management event December 3, 2017. Illinois Alpha successfully met all the mandated requirements listed in the IFC Judicial Board "Charge Letter." The addition of a new undergraduate executive position (VP Risk Management) has helped the chapter leadership keep its focus on always designing and supporting a risk management-aware culture. MEMBERSHIP/OCCUPANCY At the beginning of this semester, Illinois Alpha's membership "in good standing" was approximately 122. Following the decisions by several members not to pay their dues, because they did not believe in the SFF direction that the national fraternity is taking, the current membership is now at 98. The volunteers believe that a smaller chapter size with committed individuals to the core directions that the national Fraternity and the University are charting is best at this time. Data-points to consider: • Illinois Alpha was a very big outlier for many years at 100 percent occupancy (61/61). For the past 12 years, occupancy at the University of Illinois has been relatively static at 61 percent for fraternities and 86 percent for sororities. Over the last four years, Illinois Alpha has steadily moved to the center of both University of Illinois fraternity culture and occupancy. Illinois Alpha now sits at 61 percent occupancy at 37/61 for spring 2019. • Illinois Alpha Holding President Dave Mangian '05 reports a slight uptick with 40 leases for fall 2019. The current undergraduate executive team has successfully held all members accountable to their membership agreement live-in requirement, which is a big leadership and operational win for Illinois Alpha. • Per Ashley Dye, Senior Associate Dean of Students and Greek Affairs, both the University of Illinois and campuses nationwide have noticed a downtick in fraternity membership this past year. Not only do these professionals expect the sorority membership to follow the fraternity decline next year, but they expect a five-year period of reduced Greek membership nationwide before a plateau. • I've spoken with a few members of the SigEp National Board of Directors, and they have confirmed this trend and are designing appropriately. INVESTMENT Because of the risk management situations experienced by the chapter in the past three years, the AVC/volunteer base has made an unprecedented investment in the chapter. Illinois Alpha has hired a live-in Resident Director. Chris Wallace is a former nine-year Marine Staff Sergeant that has both served and led teams all over the world. Chris is pursuing a dual computer science and anthropology degree. You can read more about Chris later in this newsletter. The AVC has hired a recruitment consultant from LaunchPoint Consulting. Christina Witkowicki has a total of nine SigEp chapters that she consults. Five SigEp chapters have hired her for a second year and several of these chapters are Buchanan Cup-winning organizations like Illinois Alpha. She has also served as a SigEp volunteer on the East Coast, serves as a Buchanan Cup application reviewer, and consults with sororities and universities nationwide. Christina is "wicked smaaart." The spring 2019 executive team is VERY open to her innovative assistance. This is good news and a big change from past exec teams. Christina will focus on collaboratively designing a communication strategy for what the Illinois Alpha experience/product looks like (both for the current and future membership audiences). She will assess the value of the three hallmarks of Illinois Alpha—the Balanced Man Program, Residential Learning Community, and the Substance-Free Facility— and explain why they're important and how to successfully sell them year-round against the competition, all while having fun doing it. (Continued on page 2)

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