2024 September Psi U Today

181st Convention Awards

Awarded at the 181st Convention in Syracuse, NY

For a full list of criteria, past recipients, and award histories, visit our full awards page.

Garnet and Gold Award for Academic Excellence

The Garnet and Gold Award for Academic Excellence is given out to those chapters who achieve
above the campus average across multiple semesters.

Zeta, Dartmouth College
Upsilon, University of Rochester
Eta, Lehigh University
Tau, University of Pennsylvania


Owl Award for Exceptional Academic Performance

The Owl Award for Exceptional Academic Achievement recognizes chapters that demonstrate
truly significant academic achievement

Delta, New York University
For maintaining a GPA above 3.7
Upsilon, University of Rochester
For having 80% of chapter members on the Fall 2024 Deans List
Omega, University of Chicago
For maintaining a GPA above 3.7
Eta, Lehigh University
For having a higher than average ranking on campus, as well as creating an academic Big Brother Program and mandatory study groups.
Epsilon Nu, Michigan State University
Improved their academic ranking on campus from 15th to 5th of 28 fraternities
Phi Beta, The College of William & Mary
For improving its academic ranking from 13th to 6th of 15 fraternities on campus

Clasped Hand Award for Outstanding Philanthropy & Service

The Clasped Hand Award for Outstanding Philanthropy and Service recognizes those chapters
that go above and beyond. During the 2024-25 Academic Year Psi Upsilon chapters contributed over 8,000 hours of service in their communities and raised more than $240,000 for charities.


Pi, Syracuse University
raised over $160,000 with the majority coming from their November fundraiser and averaged 12 hours of service per a brother
Tau, University of Pennsylvania
averaged 17.5 hours per brother with most of their fundraising going towards helping people re-join the work force
Omicron, University of Illinois
averaged 16.8 hours per brother through their service volunteering at food banks, schools and other organizations
Epsilon Iota, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
averaged 17.8 hours per brother through a vast number of events including a bake sale for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and crocheting for various charity organizations
Phi Beta, The College of William & Mary
raised almost $400 per brother for charity and averaged just over 10 service hours per a brother
Lambda Sigma, Pepperdine University
raised $20,000 through their annual “Psi U Think U Can Dance” event and averaged 13.4 hours per brother
Alpha Omicron, New Jersey Institute of Technology
averaged 21.5 hours per brother, more than any chapter on a per brother basis

Award of Distinction

The Award of Distinction was established by the 142nd Convention in 1985 to recognize Psi Upsilon chapters when they perform in an extraordinary manner. The award may be given annually to one or more chapters for any project, service, program, activity, or accomplishment performed during the year, which merits special recognition.


Tau, University of Pennsylvania
For giving over 980 hours of service to charities, more than any other chapter of Psi Upsilon.
Eta, Lehigh University
For implementing a study program and academic big brother program to bolster its academic performance, which has resulted in 40% of the chapter’s membership on the University Dean’s List and the chapter having the highest academic ranking among fraternities at Lehigh.

Diamond Award for Exceptional Chapters

This award recognizes chapters that distinguish themselves by exceeding the Psi Upsilon Fraternity chapter standards and is the top award a chapter can receive.


Pi, Syracuse University

The Pi Chapter has exemplified Psi Upsilon’s highest ideals by graciously hosting the 2025 Convention for its 150th anniversary, raising an extraordinary $164,000 for philanthropic causes—more than half of the combined total raised by all other chapters—while contributing 972 hours of service (an average of 12 hours per brother). In addition to partnering with other fraternities and sororities to broaden the impact of their philanthropy, they have maintained a GPA above their university’s men’s average and cultivated a deep sense of brotherhood through intentional events like sports outings and campfire gatherings. For these outstanding achievements and their unwavering commitment to service, scholarship, and fellowship, the 181st Convention proudly awards Pi Chapter the Diamond Award for Exceptional Chapters.


181st Convention Awards Read More »

180th Convention Awards

Awarded at the 180th Convention in Boston’s North Shore

For a full list of criteria, past recipients, and award histories, visit our full awards page.

Garnet and Gold Award for Academic Excellence

The Garnet and Gold Award for Academic Excellence is given out to those chapters who achieve
above the campus average across multiple semesters.

Alpha Omicron, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Sigma Phi, Saint Francis University

Owl Award for Exceptional Academic Performance

The Owl Award for Exceptional Academic Achievement recognizes chapters that demonstrate
truly significant academic achievement

Delta, New York University
Omega, University of Chicago
Xi, Wesleyan University
Gamma Tau, Georgia Institute of Technology
Epsilon Iota, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Alpha Omicron, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Sigma Phi, Saint Francis University

Clasped Hand Award for Outstanding Philanthropy & Service

The Clasped Hand Award for Outstanding Philanthropy and Service recognizes those chapters
that go above and beyond. During the 2022-23 Academic Year Psi Upsilon chapters contributed over 7,100 hours of service in their communities and raised more than $202,000 for charities.


Pi, Syracuse University
Zeta Zeta, University of British Columbia
Epsilon Nu, Michigan State University
Epsilon Iota, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Lambda Sigma, Pepperdine University

Diamond Award for Exceptional Chapters

This award recognizes chapters that distinguish themselves by exceeding the Psi Upsilon Fraternity chapter standards and is the top award a chapter can receive.


Epsilon Nu, Michigan State University


180th Convention Awards Read More »

Individual Awards from the 180th Psi U Convention

Two alums were recognized at the 180th Psi Upsilon Convention during Saturday evening’s Awards Banquet for their service to Psi Upsilon and commitment to the values of our fraternity.

First, Dr. Richard Rasmussen, received the David A.B. Brown Award for Lifetime Achievement, the highest award which may be bestowed upon an alum of Psi Upsilon for bringing honor to the Fraternity by exemplifying the true spirit and meaning of brotherhood in all that they do and say, for dedicated and unselfish service in pursuit of the advancement of the Fraternity, and for demonstrating a commitment to serve the educational environment, their community, and their country.

Brother Rasmussen has served as the Executive Director of the University Athletic Association since it’s inception in 1987. The UAA is a NCAA Division III Conference of highly selective Universities that has served as a bold statement of what college athletics can and should be – that it is highly desirable and possible for a group of committed institutions to conduct a broad-based program of intercollegiate athletics for men and women; to compete with like academic institutions spread over geographically expansive areas; and to seek excellence in athletics while maintaining a perspective which holds the student-athlete and the academic mission of the institution as the center of focus.

He was the keynote speaker at our Awards Banquet and addressed the importance of our members to live our mission and values, and to remember that correlates with the academic mission of our Colleges and Universities – and we must be partners, not apart, from our hosts.

View a list of past recipients of the David A.B. Brown Award.

The Distinguished Alumni Service Award recognizes brothers whose service to their chapter, or the International Fraternity, is worth special commendation. Since its creation by the 155th Psi Upsilon Convention in 1998, 38 alums have received this honor. It is customary for a recommendation to come from an alumni association or another member of the fraternity and then is discussed by the Awards and Recognition Committee, who then recommends to the Executive Council or the Psi Upsilon Convention to consider the alum for the award. All award winners are presented with a medallion recreated by our Director of Member Engagement, Jonathan Chaffin, Gamma Tau ’00 (Georgia Tech) and originally designed by Murray Eskenazi, Lambda ’56 (Columbia).

This summer at the 180th Psi Upsilon Convention presented Steve Moore, Eta ’84 (Lehigh) with this award.

Brother Moore has served as the president of the Goodale Literary Society, the Alumni Association of the Eta Chapter at Lehigh University, for a number of years, and during that time he has helped balance a commitment to connecting alums with one another, the chapter, and the University. He was recognized by Gary Pan, Eta ’86, who introduced Brother Moore by reading the preamble of our Constitution:

We who are or were students in universities and colleges throughout the United States and Canada and who believe in similar principles of life and standards of human conduct, consider that the existence of a fraternal bond among us is eminently calculated best to promote our educational achievements, the development of our personal character and happiness, and the overall interests of the universities and colleges of which we are a part. We believe further that we may thereby better contribute to a continual improvement and expansion of the educational system of these two great nations.

Brother Moore has done much to help promote those values and keep those traditions alive at Lehigh, at a time when many other fraternal organizations have closed or faded away.

View the full list of recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award at the 178th Convention in 2022: Eldred Halsey, Delta ’58 (NYU), Brad Corner, Omicron ’72 (Illinois), Dick Rasmussen, Upsilon ’72, Bob Dorigo-Jones, Epsilon Nu ’85 (Michigan State) and Gary Pan, Eta ’86 (Lehigh)

If you know of a deserving alum, and would like to recommend them for an award, please submit their information to the Executive Director of Psi Upsilon, Thomas Fox at tfox@psiu.org.



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Announcing the 2024 Summer Leadership Series

In an effort to help prepare undergraduate leaders as they return to campus this fall we’ve renewed our online Summer Leadership Series Program. Chapter Services staff identified 11 programs to focus on – each session will have specific officers and chairs invited and encourage to attend, so as to not overwhelm leaders, and offering advice specific to their roles. These sessions are focused around our new chapter management tool, Asana; event planning; recruitment (and a specific program for our chapters that are coed); new member education; marketing and more. The topics and times can be found below, you can click on a session for a better description as well as the intended audience and Zoom information, all times are Eastern:

Tuesday, August 20th @ 5PM
Building a Successful Academic Program

Tuesday, August 20th @ 6PM
Planning a Successful Event

Tuesday, August 20th @ 7PM
Making a Judicial Process Work for your Chapter

Tuesday, August 20th @ 8PM
Focusing on the FUNdamentals in Recruitment

Wednesday, August 21st @ 5PM
Using the Asana Project Management System

Wednesday, August 21st @ 6PM
Psi U Cares: Supporting our Members Mental Health

Wednesday, August 21st @ 7PM
Your Chapter’s Brand

Wednesday, August 21st @ 8PM
Budgeting, Dues and 990s: A guide for the Chapter Treasurer

Thursday, August 22nd @ 6PM
What Makes Great New Member Education

Thursday, August 22nd @ 7PM
Our Ritual

Thursday, August 22nd @ 8PM
Recruitment Best Practices for Co-Ed and Gender Inclusive Chapters

Since the Covid-19 Pandemic we’ve greatly redesigned our Chapter Leadership Program, some by necessity and some due to lessons learned from a remote workplace. Specifically we’ve been focused on doing a better job of measuring chapter performance and improving our online support to meet the specific needs of chapters.
These changes include:
In 2020 we improved our online education by moving to the Tightrope Risk Management Program, introduced the Inclusive Practices Cultural Competency Program for New Members, Adopted the Phired Up Recruitment Certification Program for chapters and moved our support model to increased virtual meetings and started having monthly Town Hall meetings for Chapter Archons and Alumni Presidents and Advisors to better connect these cohorts as well as first introduced programming like our Summer Leadership Series.
In 2021 our staff was able to grow in size so we were able to return to in person visits while keeping our regular virtual meetings. We also began the Psi U Cares Program to better encourage ways our chapter members could support one another’s mental wellness as well as introduced the Treasurers Academy to compliment the Archons Academy.
In 2022 we began building our Chapter Classification Program, where we improved measuring our chapters performance and providing that feedback to Alumni Presidents, Advisors and Chapter Presidents so they can better understand their chapter’s performance over time and in relation to other Psi Upsilon Chapters.
In 2023 we introduced Spring Roundtables to our virtual meetings, focused on chair positions that were sometimes being overlooked by our traditional programming and introduced our new Project Management tool Asana to our chapters, to help them delegate tasks to other officers.
In 2024 we’re introducing an additional component to our online educations – Aboveboard for Chapter Officers which will focus on running meetings, committee work, and goal setting and we’re continuing to build out our Asana Projects to include videos like Summer Leadership Series and Officer Introductions so chapter leaders can receive training on their own schedules.

Announcing the 2024 Summer Leadership Series Read More »

2024-25 Certified Recruiter Program launches!

Psi Upsilon Fraternity is continuing to partner with Phired Up to train members of our chapters to become a Certified Recruiter. This 2-hour program will help teach brothers how to improve their recruitment efforts and drive both the quality and quantity of new members. Every member who is dedicated to helping your chapter attract, select, and secure the right members should become Certified Phired Up Recruiter. Also, upon completion be sure to share this certification on your LinkedIN Profile!

Each lesson is packed with videos and resources to help brothers learn:

  • The Fundamentals: Dynamic Recruitment Principles and the Fraternity Recruitment Funnel
  • How to maximize your recruitment efforts with technology
  • How to market your chapter (including a sample marketing plan)
  • How to grow your names list and fill your prospect funnel
  • The art of Social Excellence™ and how to make authentic connections with Potential New Members
  • How to use values-based selection to find the right members
  • How to give a bid the right way
  • How to systematize recruitment for the future (including an example of a successful recruitment plan!)

Chapter Alumni and Advisors who would like to ‘refresh’ their own recruitment skills are also encouraged to take part in the program and become certified as well.

To access the course you can go here (each course usually costs $60, but is free of charge for members of Psi Upsilon if you use this link).

We also have this flyer you can distribute to your chapter members to encourage them to participate:

Psi Upsilon IFC Certified RecruiterDownload

For more information about our Certified Recruiter Program, or if you are looking for additional recruitment assistance, please contact our Director of Growth, Travis Smith.

2024-25 Certified Recruiter Program launches! Read More »

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