Theta Xi - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

A s outlined in our 10-year alumni association plan presented during our April 2021 annual meeting, we have emphasized rebuilding house occupancy after years of eroding Greek membership and habitation at RPI. Alpha Chapter reopened in August after the two-year RPI-imposed closure. In coordination with our active brothers, we performed repairs (scoring high on the RPI inspection) and the active brothers moved in. They remain focused on rebuilding their membership and finances to pre-COVID-19 levels. Strong fall recruitment results have the chapter quickly headed in the right direction. Before the semester began, select alumni hosted a recruitment seminar in the basement and helped the actives focus their recruitment plans. During the semester, we joined forces to hold professionalism seminars (resume building, interview skills, and networking) at the chapter house to foster positive engagement with students on campus, including our actives and upperclassman recruitment candidates. Over the remainder of the school year, we will continue supporting the actives' recruitment efforts, including holding the professionalism seminars again in the spring. All alumni are encouraged to join us; let us know of your interest and any plans to return to campus. Our next focus, alumni engagement, will deliver a 6294 weekend that we hope more alumni will attend. You've asked for an option for a shorter 6294 versus a long weekend, more time at the house, and less time in a Saturday meeting. In response, a virtual house meeting will convene the weekend before 6294 and be suspended after reports. The meeting will reopen Saturday, April 30, at 10:30 a.m. in our house's Formal Room and will continue with new business and elections and close with Chapter Eternal. We will immediately follow with a plaque dedication ceremony for our capital campaign. We have collected more than $970,000, and while we are no longer actively soliciting, we are still accepting pledge payments and donations through March 2022 in hopes of reaching our $1 million goal. Following the dedication, there will be a barbecue, and then we will head downtown for the remaining activities (all within walking distance of the Troy Marriott). Activities will end Saturday night, allowing many alumni to wake up and drive home early Sunday morning. RPI imposed a dorm and Greek housing alcohol ban in 2020. The current RPI administration retains this policy as does their focus on strict Greek enforcement. As long as the current RPI administration climate remains, please respect their policy and do not bring or consume alcohol at the chapter house. All of our planned social activities that include alcohol will be held downtown this year and until RPI's policy changes. After house occupancy is restored, we will pivot to finish the last remaining renovation project— the kitchen. The donations we have collected to date, plus any remaining pledge fulfilments, will pay for the renovation. It's not certain the chapter will be recovered sufficiently by the summer of 2022 to justify the expenditure, but hopefully, with continued work with the actives and recovery to a post-COVID-19 normal, we will finish them soon thereafter. Yours in the Bonds, David Fowkes '89 (A1275) Alumni Association President dwfowkes@verizon.net ALPHA CHAPTER OF THETA XI FALL 2021 ALPHABET ALPHA CHAPTER RECOVERING FROM PANDEMIC Fostering Positive Engagement K en "Rabbit" Wilson '63 (A973) passed away unexpectedly on September 20. Brother Wilson may be gone, but all you truly need to know is that he lives on in the hearts of those who knew him, whether it be a family member, friend, or colleague. Ask any of them, and they will remember a man "who loved people and had a constant smile and positive attitude." His classmates recalled not only his "exemplary leadership, brotherhood, and friendship," but also "his devotion to his family." As Rick Gordon '65 (A1024) shared, Ken was "always available to talk about anything that might be on your mind or troubling you. He personified brotherhood." Kenneth Leslie Wilson Jr. was born July 24, 1940, to Kenneth Sr., a New York State assemblyman in the '50s and '60s, and Anne Marie Kuhlwind. He grew up not far Ken Wilson '63 (A973) Personified Brotherhood (Continued on page 2) Ken's passion—freshwater fishing!

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