April 2021
2021 March Challenge Results
Alumni Spotlight: James Pugliese, Tau ’78 (Penn)
Reflections: A Journal of Psi U History
New Hires at the International Office
Foundation Debuts Pillar Society
New Director of Growth Staff Position
Composites
Chapter Newsletters
Speaker Series
Annual Fund Update
In Memoriam
Upcoming Events
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE!
The 2021 Psi U March Challenge is in the books! We’d like to thank the 190 donors from 28 chapters that helped support this important campaign! We were able to raise over $43,000 in five days – more than double what we achieved in 2020! Congratulations to the Omicron Chapter (University of Illinois) for winning the challenge with 32 donors! The “Final Four” is rounded out by the Gamma Tau Chapter (Georgia Institute of Technology) with 22 donors, the Eta (Lehigh) with 19 donors and 3 chapters had a tie for the 4th spot with 11 donors each: the Pi (Syracuse), Tau (Penn) and the Epsilon Nu (Michigan State University)!
Get the full writeup and results here!
Alumni Spotlight: James Pugliese, Tau ’78
Managing Director, Stonegate Capital Partners
The Diamond of 1979 records James ”Jim” M. Pugliese, Tau ’78 (University of Pennsylvania) was an early contributor to Psi Upsilon international, starting a tradition of giving that has lasted from his time as a new graduate to the present.
After 20 years of being president and CEO of various companies Jim began his current role and transitioned to the Securities industry. “Best part is that, 40 years after graduating from Penn, I just joined [Stonegate Capital Partners,] the Dallas-based securities firm of one of my Psi U brothers [Jessie Shelmire, Tau ’79], and couldn’t be happier that we’ve reconnected and are working together. Truly amazing, in my opinion, and it just shows that the bonds of Psi U are amazingly strong!”
Throughout his life Psi Upsilon has remained a constant. Jim attended reunions over the years for brothers of the late 70’s chapters and “each time was a wonderful experience.” He donated generously both to his home chapter and to Psi Upsilon International over the years. Jim, along with three of his brothers from the Tau, have a regular tradition of ski trips to recreate a shared undergraduate trip to Aspen in 1977.
Jim has recently increased his role at the International level still further, taking on this new role on the Investment Committee of the Psi Upsilon Foundation. Jim brings a wealth of experience to the table. With his history as a President and CEO along with his securities background it is easy to see how much experience brings to the team. Jim is specifically looking at financial products and services that may benefit the Foundation and be a fundraising effort for the Foundation.
Read a full profile of Jim here.
Reflections: A Journal of Psi U History
Our archives in Indianapolis contain many historical documents and artifacts that stretch from the founding in 1833 to the present day, and in our membership there are hundreds of fascinating stories that link Psi U’s to the history of the United States and Canada. The History and Archives Committee formed in late 2020 to implement new ways to research, preserve, and share the stories and achievements of Psi Upsilon brothers. Reflections: A Journal of Psi Upsilon History is one such endeavor; a new yearly publication designed to create opportunities for our brothers to discover, explore, and celebrate our Fraternity’s history.
Read the full article about the launch, table of contents, and the magazine itself here.
If you would like to support the work of the committee, research for next years’ edition of Reflections, or discuss items you may have for the archives, contact jonathan@psiu.org
New Hires at the International Office
We’re excited to welcome Stephan Oechsle (Steve Exlee) as Psi Upsilon’s new Director of Chapter Services! As the Director of Chapter Services he’ll help us provide direct support to our undergraduate chapters as well as develop and coordinate new resources and opportunities.
Stephan comes to the Psi Upsilon staff with a background in higher education, fraternal volunteerism, and public administration. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, joining at their Ohio University Chapter where he earned a Bachelors in Secondary Education and a Masters in College Student Personnel.
Since then, he has worked at Ohio University, Maynard, MA public schools, Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Ohio Municipal Court System. In addition to his professional work Stephan brings extensive student and alumni leadership experience in his own organization to our team. Stephan’s long history of student and organization support will be brought to bear to, develop, coordinate, and direct the services the International Fraternity provides to its collegiate chapters.
Join us welcoming our new Donor Relations manager Renee Beck. A Michigan State University graduate from the Eli Broad college of Business, majoring in Hospitality; she held the post of Vice President of Sigma Kapa National sorority and currently sits on the corporate Board of Sigma Kappa as VP of Facilities at Purdue University. Over the past year, she has volunteered for Eli Broad’s College of Business, Alumni Wisdom Project Mentorship Program.
Renee’s most current career was with Marriott International Corporation. Her posts there included work as a global sales manager, a senior leader in the Chicago group sales office and she held lead roles in property management. Renee has a strong background in collaboration, leadership, verbal and written communication with an enthusiastic and positive attitude. Renee enjoys working with people and looks forward to working at Psi U.
Her hobbies include travel, biking, tennis, sailing and gardening. Renee and her husband, Steve love being outdoors, visiting their kids in Chicago and cheering on her alma matter. She is proud to say two of their children are both fellow Spartans and are also members of a sorority and fraternity. Renee just happens to be related to Psi U brothers as well; her father Frank R. Caravette is an Epsilon Nu (Michigan State), and her brother E. Christoper Caravette is a Zeta (Dartmouth).
We’d like to thank Tara Storm for her work assisting the Foundation with donor relations over the holidays.
Foundation Debuts Pillar Society
The Psi Upsilon Foundation debuted the Pillar recognition society in January 2021 to recognize and honor those lifetime giving from our brothers. This society includes individuals who have attained a lifetime giving history of $25,000 and more. We honor those brothers in this special way for their extraordinary financial commitment to supporting Psi Upsilon. The Pillar Society will be updated on an annual basis and new certificates sent based on a new level achieved.
Learn more and view current inductees!
New Director of Growth Staff Position
Psi Upsilon is searching for a Director of Growth – we are looking for candidates who have a passion for the mission and values of Psi Upsilon with experience in leadership development, human resources, higher education or related fields! This position would be responsible with exploring new campuses for Psi Upsilon, restarting dormant chapters, and coaching chapters that need assistance with recruitment. If you would like to learn more please go to our career page here: https://psiu.org/careers/
One of the pieces of our Archives Digitization Project was to collect chapter composites we had on file, scan, and upload them. We thought you might enjoy this trip down memory lane. You can view our collection of online composites on Flickr here.
If you have access to a store of composites we do not, please contact Jonathan Chaffin, Gamma Tau ’00 (Georgia Tech) Director of Member Engagement (Jonathan@psiu.org) so we can see about including them.
Our Speaker Series continues virtually, but seats are limited. Secure your spot by clicking the links and signing up today!
Save The Date – Thursday April 22nd @ 6 PM EDT
Change Management: A Discussion with Dr. Elise Walton, PhD Kappa ’80 (Bowdin)
Save The Date – Thursday May 6th @ 5:00 PM PDT
A Fireside Chat with Sam Schmidt, Lambda Sigma ’86 (Pepperdine University)
THANK YOU to all our donors, you can view the 2021 Founder’s Society Members here.
Not on the list yet? Please consider making a gift to the 2021 Psi Upsilon Annual Fund! Also, your gift may make double the impact – check and see if your company offers a corporate match here.
See a listing of brothers whose passing has been reported to us since July 2020.
| Chapter Corp and Advisors Town Hall Wednesday, April 21, 2021 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Speaker Series – Change Management: A Discussion with Dr. Elise Walton, PhD Kappa ’80 (Bowdin) Thursday April 22nd @ 6:00 PM EDT Archons’ Town Hall Wednesday, April 28, 2021 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM A Fireside Chat with Sam Schmidt, Lambda Sigma ’86 (Pepperdine University) Thursday May 6th @ 5:00 PM PDT Virtual Scholarship Announcement Event Wednesday, May 12, 2021 @ 5PM EDT Chapter Corp and Advisors Town Hall Wednesday, May 19, 2021 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Archons’ Town Hall Wednesday, May 26, 2021 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM 177th Convention & Leadership Institute – Madison, WI July 23-26 2021 The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club Madison, WI Click here for a complete list of Psi U events. If you’re interested in sponsoring an event in your area or to have your event listed in the calendar please email Director of Engagement Jonathan Chaffin (jonathan@psiu.org). |
Have news to pass along? We’d love to hear from you! Please send email to Executive Director Thomas Fox (tfox@psiu.org)
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