Thanks to so many volunteers, the Foundation has been able to create exceptional opportunities as showcased in the following pages. A portion of those who we engage with have returned after years or even decades of time away from brotherhood activities. It is a joy to bring them back into our programs and build new relationships and find new ways for them to share their expertise, nurture personal interests, and be inspired by other each other. We now turn to grow our relationships and look through these annual and more frequent programs, stay connected through these long-form journalistic publications and convene more forums for substantive discussion and deeper connection. We are indebted to our generous community of donors who play such an important role in supporting the Foundation’s work to make Psi Upsilon a place of connection, joy, renewal, and inspiration!
Psi Upsilon Beacon, Leadership & Service Highlights. published Fall 2024. The Beacon highlights the grant, scholarship, and fellowship programs of the Psi Upsilon Foundation in support of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity. This issue highlights our 2024-2025 Social Impact Fellows, alumni doing philanthropic works, and more.
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.
Jeremy McKeon Eta, ’08 (Lehigh) President of the Executive Council
Given by the Executive Council President Jeremy McKeon, Eta ’08 (Lehigh), to the Convention attendees, the Annual Communication of the Executive Council reports on the state of the Fraternity and addresses issues to be dealt with by the Convention.
Alex Senchak Eta, ’06 (Lehigh) President and Chairman of the Foundation
The Report of the Chairman of the Foundation, Alex Senchak, Eta ’06 (Lehigh), captures the state of the Foundation and the work being done to support the educational goals of the Fraternity.
We would like to thank Brighten Meade, Phi Beta ’21 (William & Mary) for his work on the Executive Council last year, and welcome new term member, Steven Malinski, Epsilon Iota ’09 (RPI) who was elected for a one year term.
The 2023-24 Officers of the Executive Council were also installed at the Annual Meeting: Jeremy McKeon, Eta ’08 (Lehigh), President James Platner, Phi Delta ’10 (Mary Washington), Vice President David Hollis, Gamma Tau ’11 (Georgia Tech), Secretary Timothy Zepp, Chi Delta ’08 (Duke), Treasurer and President-elect
For a full list of members of the Executive Council please go here
The Officers of the Foundation were also appointed for the 2023-24 year: Alex Senchak, Eta ’06 (Lehigh), Chairman Matthew Eckenrode, Epsilon Nu ’04 (Michigan State), Vice Chairman J. Martin Brayboy, Gamma ’84 (Amherst), Secretary John Ong, Gamma ’82 (Amherst), Treasurer
For a full list of the Directors of the Foundation please go here
Another important business item at our Convention is the election of two brothers to the Undergraduate Advisory Board (UAB). This board serves to facilitate input from the undergraduate chapters to our Executive Council. We’d like to congratulate Ethan Francoeur, Delta Omicron ’24 (Purdue), and Isaac Lam, Theta Theta ’25 (Washington), on being the elected representatives for the 2023-24 Academic Year.
The keynote of the 2023 Summer Leadership Institute was Dr. Michael Dunphy who led a workshop on Situational Leadership and how to best lead given your individual skill set. Dr. Dunphy is a trained martial arts instructor and his highly interactive session incorporates martial arts with practical applications to help explain emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and leading highly effective teams in an engaging way. Dr. Dunphy currently serves as the VP for Academic Affairs at Walsh University and is a leadership coach who has worked with many companies and sports teams in his professional career.
The Psi U History and Archives Committee gave a presentation on the founding of the Gamma Tau Chapter at Georgia Tech and its prior locations through the current house it owns today led by Heather Burns Edmisten, Gamma Tau ’02 and Jonathan Chaffin, Gamma Tau ’00. International Office Staff reviewed programs and current operations, Psi Upsilon’s policies, and engagement opportunities. We also continued our roundtable programs and had discussions focused on recruitment, diversity and inclusion, utilizing the connects grant, chapter services programming, the Psi U Cares Program, and more.
In addition, after soliciting feedback from attendees, we had roundtable discussion groups covering topics asked for by the members; including recruitment, diversity and inclusion, the Psi U Cares Program, alumni fundraising, and more. You can read a more detailed summary of our programming and topics here.
You can view the photos of the 179th Convention on our Flickr account album for the Convention. Thank you to Steve Malinski, Epsilon Iota ’09 (RPI) who served as our Convention Photographer and Tuna Ergan, Gamma Tau ’23 (Georgia Tech) for assisting.
One of the most meaningful pieces of our annual gathering is our Awards Banquet where we are able to honor both individuals and chapters for their outstanding accomplishments to Psi Upsilon. We had the honor of Charles M. Hall ESQ, Nu Alpha ’71 (Washington & Lee University) as the keynote speaker to close our convention. Chuck is a former president of the Psi Upsilon Executive Council and Foundation and a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award for his ongoing service with the Psi Upsilon Society of Georgia, including being instrumental in purchasing the Gamma Tau Chapter House.
This year we had three additional alumni in attendance who were able to receive their medallions for the Distinguished Alumni Service Award along with Brother Hall: Robert McIntire, Omicron ’68 (Illinois), Jesse Scherer, Gamma Tau ’05 (Georgia Tech), and David Hollis, Gamma Tau ’11 (Georgia Tech). You can read more about the award and their impact on Psi Upsilon here.
In addition, chapters were recognized for Garnet and Gold Award for Academic Excellence, The Owl Award for Exceptional Academic Performance, the Clasped Hand Award for Outstanding Philanthropy and Service, the Award of Distinction and the Diamond Award for Exceptional Chapters was presented to the Gamma Tau Chapter at Georgia Tech. You can view all chapter award winners here.
Over the weekend Convention delegates split into five committees to discuss the work of the fraternity, these committees are: Nominations and Credentials, Awards, Budget and Development, Unfinished Business and New Business. The Convention Records below document the actions taken by the 179th Convention.
You can also view an updated Psi Upsilon Constitution and the policies of the Fraternity on our website here and view the 179th Convention Binder – which includes items on the Fraternities Budget, Membership Statistics, Chapter Reports and more.
Thanks to many volunteers, the Foundation has been able to create exceptional opportunities as showcased in the following pages. A portion of those who we engage with in 2022 have returned after years or even decades of time away from brotherhood activities. It is a joy to bring them back into our programs and build new relationships and find new ways for them to share their expertise, nurture personal interests, and be inspired by other each other. We now turn to grow our relationships and look through these annual and more frequent programs, stay connected through these long-form journalistic publications and convene more forums for substantive discussion and deeper connection. We are indebted to our generous community of donors who play such an important role in supporting the Foundation’s work to make Psi Upsilon a place of connection, joy, renewal, and inspiration! 2022 Impact Report
This is your last chance to be a part of the Psi Upsilon Oral History Project, led by Publishing Concepts Inc. (PCI). This project will let us hear the unique experience from all our members, and also help update information and ensure your connection to Psi Upsilon remains strong.
The stories will be packaged in a book that is available for purchase and will live on forever in the history of our organization. Can you attribute your success to Psi Upsilon? Did a brother leave a lasting impact on you? What tales of leadership and camaraderie that brought the chapter together can you share with our younger brothers? All of these moments make up Psi Upsilon, and we want to hear them.
We urge every alum to please participate! It costs no money to share your story and you are under no obligation to purchase a book! Submissions close at the end of the month so please be sure to call 855-376-5979 today and share your story. To learn more details about the project visit here
The History and Archives committee has recently redesigned and expanded the presentation of the digital archives on Psi’s website. Go take a look! If you would like to get involve with the committee, or have a research project about a chapter or brother, contact jonathan@psiu.org.
Bridging the divide: How best to honor one another as we engage in civil/political discourse. A fireside chat on engaging civil political discourse with Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith, Gamma ’73 (Amherst)
The author of Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms and Party Lines, Mark Beckwith is a co-founder of Bishops United Against Gun Violence, and a leader in Braver Angels, a national movement to depolarize America. He is passionate about helping people move beyond the confines of their political and religious silos in order to find common ground. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Yale Divinity School. A retired bishop in the Episcopal Church (Diocese of Newark, NJ), he is an avid hiker, tennis player and competitive swimmer. He lives in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. He blogs weekly on markbeckwith.net
Have a perspective or expertise to share? ♦ NOW BOOKING speakers for the 2023-24 Virtual Speaker Series Direct inquiries to Director of Member Engagement Jonathan Chaffin jonathan@psiu.org
Please check to see if your company does Donation Matching for 501c3s. (Google, The Home Depot, Microsoft, and many more match 50 to 100%, some up to 500%!). https://doublethedonation.com/psiufoundation
Have news to pass along? We’d love to hear from you! Please contact Executive Director Thomas Fox (tfox@psiu.org) with anything you would like to share.
Psi Upsilon has a tradition of recognizing upperclassmen who go above and beyond in their service to Psi Upsilon with the Outstanding Junior and Griffin Awards. Each chapter selects the recipients of this award and reports them to the International Office. You can click on the images below to read more about the award and see a photo gallery of the recipients. We would like to thank these outstanding individuals for their dedication and service to Psi Upsilon Fraternity and their respective chapters!
For 3 years the Psi Upsilon Social Impact Fellowship initiative has provided funds and development opportunities for some of our brightest lights striving for a better society. We’re excited to continue this initiative and announce applications for the 23-24 Social Impact Fellowship are open.
The fellowship is granted to support the professional leadership development of emerging leaders striving for the common good. The fellowship is appropriate for brothers working or volunteering in the environmental, education, social equality, medical, and related fields for good of society (including chapter advisors needing training!)
The Psi Upsilon Foundation published their 2023 Garnet Report, an annual publication reviewing programs of the Foundation and a listing on contributors to the Annual Fund.
Articles Include:
The Scholarship Announcement Keynote presentation by Mark DiPasquale, Pi ’88 (Syracuse)
The President’s Circle Annual Giving recognition
Announcing Jay Riemenschnieder, Beta Alpha ’90 (Miami Ohio) joining the Foundation Staff
Foundation Grants and Stipends
Creation of the Charles Hall, Nu Alpha ’71 (Washington & Lee) Fund
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.
Psi Upsilon has partnered with Publishing Concepts (PCI) to undertake a massive Oral History Project. This project will let us hear the unique experience from all our members, and also help update information and ensure your connection to Psi Upsilon remains strong.
The stories will be packaged in a book that is available for purchase and will live on forever in the history of our organization. Can you attribute your success to Psi Upsilon? Did a brother leave a lasting impact on you? What tales of leadership and camaraderie that brought the chapter together can you share with our younger brothers? All of these moments make up Psi Upsilon, and we want to hear them.
We understand that it’s not everyday that you receive a post card or an email asking you to call a number to verify your information and share your Psi U story – so to put you at ease, we’ve compiled some frequently asked questions below that should help to clarify the process. But we urge every alum to please participate! It costs no money to share your story and you are under no obligation to purchase a book!
Jay Berwanger, Omega ’36 (Chicago), has a storied football history with the Chicago Maroons where he earned the nickname “The One Man Team”. While his position was officially halfback, he played all over the field even handling some of the kicking duties. His senior year he rushed for 577 yards, passed for 405, returned kickoffs for 359 and added five PATs. All his accomplishments led him to be the Big Ten Most Valuable Player, a unanimous All-American, and was the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club trophy in 1935 – which was renamed the Heisman Trophy in 1936. In addition, he was the first player ever chosen in an NFL Draft! Read more about his career and influence here!
The University of Chicago has a long tradition of honoring distinguished and committed alumni who have shaped the world and strengthened their global alumni community. This year two Omega brothers from the same class were recognized for their contributions: Doug Jackman, Omega ’89 received a 2023 Alumni Service Medal and Ken Ono, Omega ’89 received a 2023 Professional Achievement Award.
We’d like to congratulate the 30 brothers from 16 chapters who received scholarships for the 2023-24 Academic Year from the Psi Upsilon Foundation, including four graduate awards! Below is the list of recipients based on their award.
We held an online announcement for the Scholarship recipients on May 4th hosted by the Psi Upsilon Foundation’s Chair and President, Alex Senchak, Eta ’06 (Lehigh), and our keynote speaker Mark DiPasquale, Pi ’88 (Syracuse), offered comments on how Psi Upsilon has positively affected his life. You can view that speech in the video below.
We would like to thank all the generous donors to the Annual Fund and everyone who has helped make these named scholarships possible. Since 1959 The Psi Upsilon Foundation has awarded over 1.2 million dollars in scholarships to our members because of the generosity of our donors!
Have a perspective or expertise to share? ♦ NOW BOOKING speakers for the 2023-24 Virtual Speaker Series Direct inquiries to Director of Member Engagement Jonathan Chaffin jonathan@psiu.org
Please check to see if your company does Donation Matching for 501c3s. (Google, The Home Depot, Microsoft, and many more match 50 to 100%, some up to 500%!). https://doublethedonation.com/psiufoundation
07.28 – 07.31.2023 179th Psi Upsilon Convention July 28th – July 31st, 2023 Atlanta Sheraton Downtown Atlanta, GA Hosted by the Gamma Tau chapter Register Here
09.23.23 Phi (Michigan) Homecoming – Save the Date
10.21.23 Omicron (Illinois) Homecoming – Save the Date
11.04.23 Chi Delta (Duke University) 50th Anniversary Reunion Weekend Details Here
Have news to pass along? We’d love to hear from you! Please contact Executive Director Thomas Fox (tfox@psiu.org) with anything you would like to share.
Thanks to so many volunteers, the Foundation has been able to create exceptional opportunities as showcased in the following pages. A portion of those who we engage with in 2022 have returned after years or even decades of time away from brotherhood activities. It is a joy to bring them back into our programs and build new relationships and find new ways for them to share their expertise, nurture personal interests, and be inspired by other each other. We now turn to grow our relationships and look through these annual and more frequent programs, stay connected through these long-form journalistic publications and convene more forums for substantive discussion and deeper connection. We are indebted to our generous community of donors who play such an important role in supporting the Foundation’s work to make Psi Upsilon a place of connection, joy, renewal, and inspiration!
The Psi Upsilon Foundation published their 2023 Garnet Report, an annual publication reviewing programs of the Foundation and a listing on contributers to the Annual Fund.
Articles Include:
The Scholarship Announcement Keynote presentation by Mark DiPasquale, Pi ’88 (Syracuse)
The President’s Circle Annual Giving recognition
Announcing Jay Riemenschnieder, Beta Alpha ’90 (Miami Ohio) joining the Foundation Staff
Foundation Grants and Stipends
Creation of the Charles Hall, Nu Alpha ’71 (Washington & Lee) Fund
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.
• Keynote Address: Mark DiPasquale, Pi’88 (Syacuse) • President’s Circle Announcement • Grants & Stipends Recap • Introducing the Charles Hall Fund • 2022-23 CUMULATIVE GIVING to the Foundation and Fraternity •2nd Fishfund Venture Summit recap • Pillar Society
Reflections: A Journal of Psi Upsilon History is a publication of the Psi Upsilon Foundation focused on researching and highlighting the stories behind the members, buildings, artifacts, and traditions of our order as we approach two centuries of brotherhood. This issue features: • About Our Founders: George Washington Tuttle, Theta 1836 (Union College) •The Dean of Broadway Showmen – George Abbott, Upsilon 1911, (University of Rochester) • Charles Burnham “Bud” Wilkinson, Mu ‘37, (University of Minnesota) • THE DIAMOND’S FIRST EDITOR Willard Fiske, Psi 1851, (Hamilton College) • Radio man – Jack Morton, Theta Theta ‘57, (Washington) • Psi Upsilon Legacies: The Piper Family • Rediscovering Phi Beta Lost Items
The 2023 March Challenge is one for the history books! 223 donors from 32 chapters helped us raise over $45,000! THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the campaign so successful, especially those who made generous matching gifts!
In the end, something was achieved that was not expected: The Eta (Lehigh) and Omicron (Illinois) Chapters tied for first place, each having 38 donors when the campaign ended at Midnight Pacific Time! Rounding out the top 5 chapters were the Gamma Tau (Georgia Tech) with 37 donors, Omega (Chicago) with 20 donors, and Chi Delta (Duke) with 12 donors.
Earlier this month, the Psi Upsilon Foundation held the Social Impact Fellowship Retreat & Reception to honor and teach our Social Impact Fellows. Distinguished facilitators Kevin A. Klock, Chi Delta ‘01 (Chi Delta), Roberta Hunter, Epsilon Iota ‘ 94 (RPI), Dr. Elise Walton, Kappa ‘80 (Bowdoin), Lance Miller, Epsilon Nu ‘80 (Michigan State) and David Miller of OrgForce Consulting LLC facilitated leadership development sessions with the 2022-23 cohort of Fellows, including Christopher Lawrence Tang, ESQ, Gamma Tau ’01 (Georgia Tech), Devon Trotter, Phi Beta ’06 (William & Mary), John D. Hatfield. Iota ‘94 (Kenyon), Dr. Audrey Fisch, Gamma ‘87 (Amherst), Dr. Alison Munzer, Ph.D., Gamma ‘09(Amherst). The retreat was followed by a reception for fellowship supporters and leadership.
Psi U is excited to have hosted a series of smaller venue and in-home gatherings in February and March of 2023 throughout the country. With generous brothers opening their homes to enjoy fellowship and catch up with our beloved fraternity, we aimed to make these events complimentary to brothers living or staying in the area. See pictures from Akron, DC, Atlanta, Tampa, Vero Beach, West Palm Beach, and more on our Flickr account. https://www.flickr.com/photos/psiupsilon/albums
Consider becoming a sponsor of an eventat $300 donation to the Foundation. Contact Bethann Taylor at Bethann@psiu.org or 317-571-1833 x102 if you have any questions or interest in helping.
This exciting online event consists of a series of ~45-60 minute afternoon zoom sessions focused around key venture and entrepreneurial topics held by accomplished brothers in the respective fields. This small series of zoom forums in April are for founders, CEO’s, investors and advisors to gather to ask questions and receive brief perspectives around very pointed topics of relevance. We anticipate about 15-20 people joining for free via zoom each week in April. The series will lead up to our Venture Summit on May 11 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is meant to energize the network of brothers who are venture-minded from both the investor and the start-up side. The Psi U “Ask an Expert” series starts Thursday April 6th!
Richard Barthelmess, Beta Beta 1917 (Trinity College) was a star of the silent film era and influential in Hollywood, helping build it to the institution it is today. He was a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts in 1927 and is one of the few actors that has been nominated twice in one year for an acting award. Read more about his career and influence here!
Fraternal Law Partners is a respected law firm dedicated to the issues impacting fraternities, sororities, student life organizations, and their related charitable foundations – from tax to corporate governance to civil litigation. We recommend all advisors, and any alumni who are passionate about the interfraternal movement, to sign up for their newsletter which addresses current issues, scroll to the bottom of their website and click on “join our newsletter”. They also have an exhaustive list of past articles, searchable by topic, viewable here.
You are cordially invited to our FishFund Venture Summit & Presentations next month
Our keynote will be Doug Sweeny, Pi ’90 (Syracuse University). Doug is CMO at ŌURA. Hear from thought leaders and investors in the innovation space and learn about new startup projects helmed by Psi Upsilon brothers. Guests and Significant others are welcome.
To qualify to present, the startup must have a fully developed and working product. A founder, C-Suite leader or key investor must be a Psi Upsilon brother.
May 11th, 2022 6:00 pm The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel 495 Geary Street San Francisco, CA 94102
Please check to see if your company does Donation Matching for 501c3s. (Google, The Home Depot, Microsoft, and many more match 50 to 100%, some up to 500%!). https://doublethedonation.com/psiufoundation
05.11.2023 – FishFund Venture Summit – San Francisco, CA Date: Thursday May 11th, 2023 Time: 6pm Start Location: The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel 495 Geary Street San Francisco, CA 94102 To qualify to present, the startup must have a fully developed and working product. A founder, C-Suite leader or key investor must be a Psi Upsilon brother.Spouses, Guests, and significant others are encouraged to attend Ticket prices: $65 Alumni • $25 2017-2021 Recent Undergrad • $300 Sponsor the event Regster Here
07.28 – 07.31.2023 179th Psi Upsilon Convention July 28th – July 31st, 2023 Atlanta Sheraton Downtown Atlanta, GA Hosted by the Gamma Tau chapter Register Here
Have news to pass along? We’d love to hear from you! Please contact Executive Director Thomas Fox (tfox@psiu.org) with anything you would like to share.
