Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Missouri

SigEp A PUBLICATION FOR ALUMNI OF MISSOURI ALPHA t SIGMA PHI EPSILON SPRING 2018 Tiger Heart Inside: Q&A with Tom Urani '70 t 2 1960s Era Reunion t 3 Save the Date t 4 To the brothers of Missouri Alpha Chapter of Sig- ma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, By now, I am guessing that most of you know about the closing of our chapter on the Mizzou campus. As you would imagine, this was a very difficult step to take, but I will say upfront that those of us who were involved in making the de- cision did so with heavy hearts but also knowing that the steps we took were necessary to creating a future for Missouri Alpha at Mizzou. For those who haven't heard much about the chapter closing, this is the top line of what hap- pened. Over the past several years, our fraternity has been involved in a series of serious issues and incidents that have been censured by the univer- sity and by our national organization. Warnings had been issued and remedial actions taken to try to get the fraternity back on track, but, in the end, chapter leaders were not able to remedy the prob- lems and to set the organization on a successful track for the future. After determining that there was no reasonable fix and understanding that we would be impacting some current brothers who were making an effort to support SigEp ideals, SigEp National and the alumni board made the tough decision to close the chapter and begin planning for the future of Missouri Alpha. Further complicating our current situation is a lawsuit that has been filed by two MU freshmen against the chapter and SigEp National over allegations of assault by two chapter members in a late-night incident that allegedly took place on campus near the fraternity house. Since this is a pending lawsuit, I can't elaborate on the case at this time. So, how did this all happen? There was a combination of factors that led to the closing of the chapter. As it was when each of us were members in Columbia, there are standards established by SigEp National and the university regarding how fraternities and sororities are expected to conduct their organizations. Those standards involve leadership of the fraternity, personal and public conduct of mem- bers, and general operation of the chapters. In addition, standards extend to running the business of the fraternity, including how we attract new poten- tial members and who is accepted into the organization. To be able to meet and exceed these expectations, there had to be competent leadership in the house and strong support from the university, the alumni board, and SigEp National. The short story is that guidelines were clear but execution in several important areas was lacking. From my perspective, success revolves around strong leadership. In the past, chapter leaders were usually selected from the ranks of upper- classmen. During their tenure on campus, they had the opportunity as freshmen and sophomores to learn about what it takes to successfully run a fraternity and be mentored as they honed their leadership skills. This approach prepared brothers to step into leadership positions in their junior and senior years and to provide continuity to the lead- ership chain. Our analysis of the recent state of the fraternity led us to conclude that this process had fallen short as evidenced by the recurring se- ries of disciplinary sanctions by the university and by National. If we had thought that the problems could be addressed with the current membership, we certainly would have worked with them on a recovery plan, but, after much deliberation, we decided that the only viable option would be to close the chapter and plan for reestablishing it in Columbia at some time in the future. So, where do we go from here? First, the chapter house has been leased to Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity for a period of two years with options for year three and four. This lease should allow us to meet our financial obligations and keep the house in first rate condition. The lease does us allow us a presence on the parking lot for home football game so please stop by! Second, our goal is to recharter Missouri Alpha by the year 2020 and to learn from the situations that led us to close the chapter in September of 2017. Our initial focus will be in three specific areas: Missouri Alpha alumni involvement. I know from personal expe- rience that in our alumni ranks, there are leaders of industry, suc- cessful businessmen, and many who still share the passion of being part of this great fraternity. In short, we will need your help, your guid- ance, and your involvement as we work to make the new Missouri Alpha of Sigma Phi Epsilon as great again as we know it can be. We will need a THE STATE OF OUR CHAPTER (Continued on page 4) 1. Thanks to all alumni who made our new SigEp badge light possible. The light is currently being held for safe keeping by Ed Clausen '84 until it proudly returns to the SigEp Chapter House.

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