Sigma Chi - University of Cincinnati

THE BEARCAT SIG Zeta Psi Chapter of Sigma Chi at the University of Cincinnati V Spring 2025 W hen James DeWitt '59 learned that he was to be inducted to the Order of Constantine, he was flabbergasted. "I got the news from a phone call with Bill Johnson '58, and I was taken aback and thrilled—it never entered my mind that it would happen." Jay was inducted in March of 1997. Less than half of one percent of Sigma Chi brothers receive this honor, yet Jay found himself in good company. Cincinnati area alumni have rivaled the Indianapolis alumni chapter for most inductions in the country. Jay made sure to name several inductees from the Cincinnati alumni association in his acceptance speech. "You can't help but look good when you play on an all-star team," he said in that speech. BUILDING THE BONDS Jay attended one Sigma Chi recruitment party as a freshman and decided he didn't need more; if the fraternity wanted him, he was in. Zeta Psi provided a Succeeding Together Jesse Dunbar '95 Inductee Class of 2024 Kelly Nichols '97 Inductee Class of 2025 All Honor to Their Names! Celebrate Our Newest Order of Constantine Sigs! Jay by the Sigma Chi monument at Spring Grove cemetery in Cincinnati. JAY DEWITT '59 PRAISES HIS SIGMA CHI ROOTS "You can't help but look good when you play on an all-star team." social circle in the days when UC was a small, city-owned university with the student body split between day and night schools. On campus, Jay changed his major from aeronautical engineering to industrial management and became the sports editor on the campus newspaper (where he recruited some writers from Sigma Chi). He also announced basketball games as the future All-American athlete Oscar Robertson played his freshman year for the Bearcats. Although Jay did not hold formal leadership roles around his school and campus commitments, he conducted the chapter choir for the annual Mother's Day Sing. He also cultivated lifelong Sigma Chi friendships in those college years and has heavily supported the chapter as an alumnus. Jay has conducted many White Rose ceremonies and was a member of the recent capital campaign to renovate the chapter house. "We've come to learn how important it is that our brothers have alumni to lean on for support," Jay said. "When you see a chapter in trouble, one of the first things you ask is: do they have an alumni association, and how strong is it? Time after time, you find out that there isn't one." A UNIQUE JOURNE Y Soon after graduating, Jay was drafted and enlisted in the Army Security Agency, the U.S. Army's signals intelligence branch. He served as a team leader in Germany, monitoring military units on the Adriatic Coast of Yugoslavia and decoding intelligence. Eventually, Jay was recruited for a special mission: training the Special Forces (also known as Green Berets) in their signal interception abilities. Jay thoroughly enjoyed the field training as a break from his monotonous desk job, and proving that his team's skills were valuable to the Special Forces became the highlight of his military career. (Continued on page 2)

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