The Psi Upsilon Foundation published their Feb 2024 Garnet Report, an annual publication reviewing programs of the Foundation and a listing of contributors to the Annual Fund.
Articles Include:
Donor profile of Sam Dayhood III, Chi Delta ’84
A look back at the 2024 Social Impact Retreat & Reception
2023 CUMULATIVE GIVING to the Foundation and Fraternity listing
PSI UPSILON MOURNS THE LOSS OF Bill Wishard, Delta Delta ’64 (Williams)
All donors who are a Gold Member of the Founder’s Society and above receive printed copies of all the Psi Upsilon Foundation Publications – if you would like to make your gift and support Psi Upsilon please do so here.
You spoke and we listened! After hearing that our members wanted a better experience in finding officially licensed Psi Upsilon merchandise we created ShopPsiU.com.
Through ShopPsiU.com members will have access to an extensive range of merchandise from multiple licensed vendors. And best of all, vendors will have the ability to add products over time and we will be able to highlight products depending on the season.
All the products featured on ShopPsiU.com are officially licensed, thus every purchase made through the store supports the Psi Upsilon Fraternity and helps offset undergraduate fees while also ensuring each product is high quality and safeguards the fraternity’s name and trademarks.
We encourage all members to visit and use ShopPsiU.com and explore the wide selection of products available – from shirts, outerwear, graduation stoles, flags, to one of a kind gifts ShopPsiU.com is your one stop shop to find the perfect Psi Upsilon memento or gift. This online storefront has been made possible through our partnership with Affinity Licensing, a leading trademark management and protection firm.
The Archons’ Academy is our annual leadership academy for chapter presidents and unlike many leadership opportunities afforded to our members, this one is highly tailored to a select audience and is built around conversation and discussion as much as possible for those who have the unique experience to lead our chapters. First held in the 1990s, it allows our chapter presidents to network with one another and share best practices while learning valuable skills to assist them during their time as president.
Over the years it has continued to evolve and change to adjust to the needs of our members as well as to take advantages of new opportunities, and in 2024 we were able to make one of the largest changes to our programming and open a new chapter in our development programming by overlapping the timing with the Psi Upsilon Foundations Social Impact Fellowship.
We moved the Archons’ Academy to Alexandria, VA to help make traveling easier for the majority of our attendees and we had 21 chapters represented.
The academy has evolved and adapted over the years, utilizing the feedback from prior participants we’ve always been able assess what works well and also retire certain parts of the academy that aren’t as relevant. In recent years we’ve introduced The Birkman Method, a personality assessment tool, to a cornerstone of the academy. The Birkman Method reveals four key perspectives of every person: Motivation, Self-Perception, Social Perception, and Mindset. In understanding these perceptions and how they influence each other, individuals can better understand the emotions and actions that drive their life. Every Archon completed the assessment prior to arriving in Atlanta and much of the programming Saturday included facilitated discussions from Doug Opicka, founder and managing partner of Plaid, LLC on the assessment and specific ways attendees should approach conflict resolution given their personality type.
Additional sessions in the academy reviewed Psi Upsilon’s history, values, chapter operations, crisis response, motivating and incentivizing members, reviewed Psi U resources, and gave Archons a chance to share their challenges.
This event is always a highlight of our programming year and, most importantly, helps show the chapter presidents that they are not alone in the challenges they face and that they have resources to assist them. We hope to complement these relationships by continuing our monthly Town Halls and campus visits by staff.
It is with sore and stricken hearts that we pass along the loss of William N. “Bill” Wishard III, Delta Delta ’64 (Williams) who passed away on Wednesday, January 17th. Bill has served Psi U in many roles over the years, he joined the Executive Council in 1997 and became an Honorary Life Member of the Board in 2013. He also served as a Director of the Foundation in the early 2000’s and was very involved with the Annual Fund Campaign even after his time on the board. He was a regular presence at Psi U events, especially those held on the west coast, and was known for his kindness and warmth.
Most notably Bill was a longtime advisor of the Lambda Sigma Chapter at Pepperdine University; he became re-engaged with Psi U in the 1990s when the local fraternity, Lambda Omega Sigma, approached Psi Upsilon to become a chapter. Bill’s counsel was instrumental in building that relationship and making the transition a successful one. In 1999 and again in 2000 Bill was named advisor of the year by Pepperdine University for his work with the chapter. In 2017 the Lambda Sigma Chapter nominated Bill for the Psi Upsilon Distinguished Alumni Service Award at the 174th Psi Upsilon Convention for his years of support.
Bill joined Psi U as a sophomore at Williams College in September 1960. The Delta Delta chapter was known as an outstanding fraternity on campus, filled with many student leaders. “For a rather shy young man from a small high school in Indiana, becoming part of Psi U was a huge highlight of my years at Williams … My acceptance and assimilation into, for me, such a diverse group, was a big step – a hallmark for what has continued to be my experience with Psi U brothers I have met since then.”
Originally from Indianapolis, IN, Bill led a full life and service was always an important part of it. Bill was a leader in Up With People, the1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and Wishard & Associates, organizing international peace events. He was very involved in Rotary, and a past president of the Malibu, CA chapter where a number of Psi U’s were involved.
If you knew Bill and would like to leave a comment or a story for his family please leave it below and share your name. We will be collecting them and sharing them with his daughters Keri and Alison.
You can view Bill’s obituary at the IndyStar website. In lieu of flowers the family has asked for donations to Psi Upsilon, you can use this link.
Bill receiving an award from the Lambda Sigma Chapter in 2001
At the Sam Schmidt Racing to Recovery Gala in 2016. Sam Schmidt was a founder of Lambda Omega Sigma Fraternity.
Bill with William Webster, Gamma ’47 at the 168th Psi U Convention
With members of the Lambda Sigma Chapter at the 174th Convention
With members of the Lambda Sigma Chapter at the 174th Convention
Fall 2021 at a Lambda Sigma Reunion in Santa Monica
Bill is seated in the front row, 4th from the left.
We are proud to announce that a group of students at Columbia University have formed with the intent of restarting the Lambda Chapter of Psi Upsilon as a recognized fraternity on campus. The Executive Council has accepted this group of students as the Lambda Owl Club and we’ll be holding the Founder’s Pledge Ceremony to introduce these students to Psi Upsilon at the Delta Yule Log dinner on Monday, December 4th. This event is open to all members of Psi Upsilon – for more information and to RSVP for this event please go here. Owl Club is the term used to identify a group of uninitiated students who are looking to restart a dormant chapter of Psi Upsilon.
After the Lambda chapter went inactive due to low membership in 2014 an opportunity to return to campus didn’t present itself until recently and we’re excited by this opportunity and have seen good activity and growth in the short amount of time since this interest group formed. While we don’t have recognition from Columbia at this time, we are hoping that occurs soon once the group grows to a larger size.
We are looking for alums, from all chapters, to help support the Owl Club. If you have any interest in being more involved please take a moment to fill out this form. We’ll be hosting a Zoom meeting the last week of November to discuss roles and ways alums can help support the students as they seek to restart the Lambda Chapter and bring Psi Upsilon back to Columbia’s campus.
Also, if you know of any Columbia students who would be good candidates to join Psi Upsilon please pass along their information to us by filling out this form.
