News

September 4-6. 2024, members of the Psi Upsilon History & Archives committee and guests gathered in Indianapolis at the International Office to celebrate Psi U history, research, and preserve the archives.

The Weekend began with tours of the International Office and a light reception with area alumni. The reception included the unveiling of a plaque honoring recipients of the Willard Fiske Psi Upsilon Media & Journalism Award. New recipients of the Fiske award are: Joshua Rogers, Phi Beta ‘23 (William and Mary) and Gary W. Curzi, Epsilon Iota ’89 (RPI)

Joshua Rogers, Phi Beta ‘23
Nominated for his work documenting the Phi Beta items in the special collections at William & Mary and for  researching multiple articles for Psi U, most recently “J. Allison Binford: A Beacon of Television” pg 10-11 Reflections; A Journal of Psi Upsilon History 2024 Edition. He is a regular contributor to all Psi U publications Josh is a General Management Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Gary W. Curzi, Epsilon Iota ’89 (RPI)
A member of the history and archives committee since its inception in 2021, Gary has been crucial in initiatives like transcribing every brick in heritage square. His nomination is particularly for his work creating and maintaining a best in class image archive and wiki for the Epsilon Iota chapter. This archive documents and preserves all aspects of the chapter’s history for research and presentation. (Most recently showcased in the article HOLDING THE LINE RPI Hockey Line of 1985 in the 2024 edition of Reflections: A Journal of Psi Upsilon History.  Gary is currently a program analyst lead with 27 year’s experience at the US Census Bureau. He is closely involved with the history and archives committee.

Attendees included Jacob Schmidt, Chi Delta ’11, Michael Thibideau, Epsilon Nu ’11, Mark A. Williams, CFRE, Phi ’76, Dr. Elizabeth N. Andresen, PhD, Chi Delta ’04, Mariann Williams, Chi Delta ’17, Thomas Fox, Omicron ’00, Alexander Senchak, Eta ’06, Jonathan Chaffin, Gamma Tau ’00.

Some of our work during the weekend included:
•We researched and pulled some materials of interest to the Pi for display at next year’s convention
•Further work was done describing the contents of various correspondence boxes
•We have re-catalogued and indexed 257 of the 309 boxes in the archives
•We put the new slide scanner and 3.5in diskette reader to work preserving objects in those media for the future.
•We reorganized alumni files from 1940s – 2010s
•We continued to collect petitions to start chapters of Psi Upsilon – and were able to locate the original letter from students at New York University asking for Psi Upsilon to expand in 183x
• We added more scans to our chapter by chapter composites collection.

Items added to the Archives included: 
• Copies of the program from the 2024 Lambda chapter initiation
• 3-decade (1974-2005) archive of the Eta’s newsletter, the Whippoorwill, from John Matthews, Eta 1981
• Additional copies of the book produced for the Xi sesquicentennial in 1993, containing a history of the chapter, donated by Martin Brayboy, Gamma ‘83 
• Personal items from Bill Wishard’s collection including his well-loved copy of the Annals
• Handmade PsiU Banner of Alfred Driscoll, Delta Delta ’25 (Williams College), Br. Driscoll had a distinguished career and served as the Governor of New Jersey from 1947 to 1954 and is largely responsible for both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway!
Excitingly, we discovered that the 1930 convention was captured on 1400 ft of 16mm film and that 3 copies were produced.

Recently we seized on the opportunity to move the archives into an adjacent space within our international office space. Our online index and ability to locate things int he archives becomes ever more precise.

Each time we have met to work on the archives we have also discovered interesting stories, artifacts, or connections to our Fraternity’s past.  It is fascinating to explore and decipher 140+ year old handwriting, reading ceittee’s work; it gives you the satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped catalog and safeguard Psi U’s legacy for future generations, and offers the chance to connect with the Fraternity in a unique way.

“Thoughts on the History and Archives” by Evan Terry, Epsilon Phi ‘ Committee Chair

I have found participating in Psi U’s history and archives committee to be deeply satisfying for several reasons. It offers a unique opportunity to engage with the work of many past generations of Psi U’s to preserve our Fraternity’s legacy; the work of the committee to organize, digitize and make our historical artifacts more accessible help ensure that future generations can appreciate and learn from the Fraternity’s rich history.

It is also a wonderful way to connect with other Brothers:  the chance to work closely with like-minded individuals who share a passion for the fraternity’s mission and values, its past and its future. Collaborating with others to research and curate historical records creates a strong sense of camaraderie, and it is great fun to develop new friendships with Brothers who I would otherwise have been unlikely to meet.

Each time we have met to work on the archives we have also discovered interesting stories, artifacts, or connections to our Fraternity’s past.  It is fascinating to explore and decipher 140+ year old handwriting, reading century-old newspaper articles, or review convention records from 50 years ago.  Our work on the committee offers an opportunity to discover a fresh perspective on what we know about Psi U.

I wholeheartedly recommend participating in the committee’s work; it gives you the satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped catalog and safeguard Psi U’s legacy for future generations, and offers the chance to connect with the Fraternity in a unique way.

Thank you to the Psi Upsilon History and Archives Committee
If you would like to join the committee, contribute an article to the “Reflections: Journal of Psi Upsilon History” or come to an archives weekend for your own family or chapter research, contact jonathan@psiu.org

Evan Terry, Epsilon Phi ’93-(McGill) -(C) Paul Travis, Gamma Tau ’01 (GA Tech) Joseph McCaskill, Chi Delta ’00 (Duke) Clifford Edmisten, Gamma Tau ’00 (GA Tech) Heather Burns Edmisten, Gamma Tau ’02 (GA Tech) Jonathan Chaffin, Gamma Tau ’00 (GA Tech)

Joshua Rogers, Phi Beta ’23 (W & M) Gary Curzi, Epsilon Iota ’89 (RPI) Alex Senchak, Eta ‘06(Lehigh) Madelyn Minns, Delta Omicron ’23 (Purdue) Madison M. Turkette, Delta Omicron ’19 (Purdue) Chip Braulick, Eta ’83 (Lehigh) – copy editor

Making a long-distance phone call may not seem like a big deal today, but in 1915 a phone call between San Francisco and New York City could make it into the newspaper. And at the 82^nd Psi Upsilon Convention, when one occurred on September 4^th, 1915, it most certainly did!

The 82^nd Psi Upsilon Convention was hosted by the Epsilon Chapter at the University of California – Berkeley from September 1^st through 4^th . At the same time The City of San Francisco was hosting the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, a World’s Fair to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. Like all Worlds it was meant to showcase great achievements by nations, mainly it was celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal, but another noteworthy achievement that was being highlighted was the fact that a transcontinental phone line was established in 1915, allowing communication between the coasts for the first time, to kick off the Exposition.

The Vice-President of the Exposition was Thornwell Mullally, Beta 1892 (Yale), and with his connections hosted a special event for the members of the Psi Upsilon Convention to gather at the Hall of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company where the Honorable William H. Taft, Beta 1898 (Yale), and Albert Lee Clark, Epsilon 1907 (Berkeley),  were able to speak with George S. Coleman, Xi 1876 (Wesleyan), who served as the Secretary of the Executive Council, in New York City.

You can read a full transcript of this conversation within the 1915 Convention Records in our digital archives, but a snippet:

Bro. Clark – “Hello, Brother Coleman! I have the honor of introducing Brother Taft, who will speak to the Eastern brothers that were not able to come West for the delegates assembled in the seats before us.”

Bro. Taft – “Hello, Brother Coleman! For the large and robust assemblage of loyal Psi Us in this room I want to send the best wishes to the Eastern brothers.”

Bro. Coleman – “We are highly honored to receive this message and heartily reciprocate.”

Prior to the transcontinental call Thornwell Mullally presented the President of the Psi Upsilon Executive Council, Herbert Bridgman, Gamma 1866 (Amherst), a bronze medallion with the inscription “The Pananama-Pacific International Exposition to The Psi Upsilon Fraternity, San Francisco, CAL, September 4th, 1915” and told a story that the Exposition may not have occurred without the support of Psi Upsilon, which Taft relayed to Coleman on the call.

The Telephone Company sent copies of the photo above to each chapter with a personal letter from Herbert Bridgman explaining the historic interest of the occasion.