Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Oregon

p. 2 OREGON BETA HEARTBEAT LEADING THE WAY Kent Studebaker '68 S igma Phi Epsilon has meant a lot of things to a lot of people. For Kent Studebaker, it was an opportunity to grow and be a part of something bigger. He knew when he joined Oregon Beta, with their excellence in academics and diverse brotherhood, that it was the place for him. During his undergraduate years Kent made lifelong friends and learned many lessons that benefitted him later on. Some of his favorite memories are of playing basketball with his fraternity brothers and the social functions, such as dances, they held each semester. Following his undergraduate career, Kent joined the United States Marine Corps and he served on active duty for three years. After his time with the Marine Corps, he pursued a rather successful career in law. In 2012, he ran for mayor and won in his hometown of Lake Oswego, Oregon. Kent has been serving as mayor since the beginning of 2013. Kent has focused on establishing a city that is stable, growing, and vibrant. His main goals have been to reduce the cost of the city government while maintaining or improving the facilities, infrastructure, and city government. He is proud to know that he is having a hand in improving the city and the changes that are going on. Kent feels his time in SigEp has definitely influenced his career and his time as mayor. Being a member of SigEp taught him how to deal with people of different backgrounds, how to listen, how to get along, and even how to influence change with people and in his surroundings. He also learned the key roles that hard work and humility play in being successful and has made that a big part of his career as well. While being mayor of Lake Oswego definitely keeps him busy, in his free time Kent enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, Ashley and Taya, as well as his grandchildren. He's also an avid reader and golfer. E-mail him at kstudebaker@ci.oswego.or.us. F or generations SigEps have been leading the way by being successful businessmen, political leaders, and pillars of their communities. Roger Gould '69 and Kent Studebaker '68 are two such men who are upholding that tradition. Roger Gould '69 R oger began his time with SigEp when he went through rush. His brother had been a SigEp at Oregon State and so he was familiar with the name and the standards they held for their members. It wasn't until he met the members of Oregon Beta Chapter that he knew Sigma Phi Epsilon was the fraternity for him. SigEp and Roger's brothers played a huge role in shaping him into the man he is today. The house was very diverse and living in close quarters with so many different personalities helped him learn the value of having diverse viewpoints involved in decisions. Being a member of SigEp also helped involve him in student government and campus politics. These experiences prepared him for his career steps in becoming Mayor of Coos Bay, Oregon, and a city councilman. Following college, Roger became an attorney just as he always wanted. But as he developed his law career in Coos Bay, he felt he could be more involved with the city. He saw that Coos Bay needed a change, a shift in how they approached running the city. In 1988, Roger won the mayoral election and served as mayor until 1992. During his time as mayor he made many changes within the city government and in the community to push Coos Bay forward. After his terms as mayor, Roger wanted to continue his involvement in the city government and so he served on the city budget committee from 1997-2002 and then on the city council. His service to the city government has remained a large part of his life, and each time he looks out his window, he is proud to know that he had a hand in guiding the city to where it is today. In 2008, Roger stepped down from the city council and now works in his law office full time. He and his wife spend much of their time visiting their children and grandchildren. Currently, he is helping to plan a reunion for his SigEp brothers of the classes of 1968-1970. E-mail him at rogerg@epuerto.org. Q&A piece in the newsletter you may find helpful and interesting. This summer, I had the opportunity to spend about four hours with Brother Tom Cowling '55. Tom is a big proponent of the BMP and has spent a great deal of time learning about it. His preference is that we mandate the program at Oregon Beta, but I explained SigEp National requires that the actives make the choice not the alumni. He feels strongly about the program because based on his experience, the BMP philosophy and focus areas help develop a young man to be better prepared for the real world. So is it time to change? Someone very wise once said, "If we don't change direction, we'll wind up where we are headed." Well, we have some news to report. On March 9 the Chapter voted 52-14 to become a Balanced Man Chapter. Having said that, please let me know what you think of the Balanced Man Program. Specifically, what do you feel are the benefits to be derived for the undergraduates and Oregon Beta now that they've moved to the BMP? You can reach me on latimerpat@comcast.net. Thank you! Fraternally, Pat Latimer '68 AVC President (541) 688-0231 latimerpat@comcast.net Time to Change? (Continued from page 1)

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