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On Saturday, April 23^rd, the Phi Beta Alumni Association initiated sixteen new members to the Undergraduate Chapter as we continue our return to the College of William and Mary. Currently an Owl Club, a term used for an undergraduate chapter returning to full chapter status, the chapter successfully petitioned the campus IFC and became a recognized organization in the Fall.  

After some years of dormancy, the Alumni Association of the Phi Beta became re-invigorated thanks to Steve McCleaf, Phi Beta ’89, Christian Klein, Phi Beta ’92 and several other brothers. In the Fall of 2019, an opportunity to work with a group of undergraduates arose and we were positioned well to support them thanks to the alumni association. The pandemic did cause the return to be slower than we hoped it would be, last Spring the alumni initiated four brothers who were graduating, but wanted to see a larger number before they initiated the entire chapter. The alumni partnered with Phired Up to provide additional recruitment coaching which helped lead to a successful Spring recruitment period.

This initiation was held in the Wren Chapel on campus, where the chapter was originally installed 38 years ago on April 14, 1984. You can read about the original chartering of the chapter at psiuarchives.org.

If you know of any potential members attending William and Mary, or any campus with a Psi U Chapter, please be sure to send us their information using our “Recommend a Brother” form.

The Archons’ Academy is an annual event started in the 1990s that 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. This year we returned to an in person event and 20 of our 26 chapters were represented.

We took some of the best lessons we had from last year’s virtual event and centered much of our leadership program around the Birkman Method, a personality assessment tool, and created the “Know Thyself” program with our partners at Plaid. 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 Indianapolis and much of the programming Saturday was built around helping them understand how they could best relate to others, manage their time, handle conflict and difficult conversations, and best lead their chapters. We’d especially like to Thank Chris Woods, Kappa Alpha Order, who facilitated this program and helped make it possible.

Additional sessions in the academy reviewed Psi Upsilon’s history, values, and rituals, motivating and incentivizing members, reviewed campus resources, how to manage a meeting, and gave Archons a chance to share best practices.

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 compliment these relationships by continuing our monthly Town Halls and chapter visits.

You can view photos of this event on our Flickr site or browse the gallery below.

We’re sure many of you are in anticipation of how recruitment has progressed this Fall and we wanted to take a moment to update you all.

Psi Upsilon has invested in our growth efforts by renewing our partnership with Phired Up Productions and had their president keynote our 177^th Convention last summer in Madison to help prepare student leaders for a return to a more normal rush environment. In addition we renewed our recruitment certification program – free of charge to all members of Psi U who would like to participate. We also hired a Director of Growth at Psi Upsilon to help us better support existing and young chapters, reopen dormant chapters, and bring Psi U to new campuses.

While every campus has had different results, in general, Greek Life is seeing more members come out for rush and look to join fraternities and sororities – and we’ve seen success in some of our chapters so far this Fall. With some chapters having had record setting New Member classes including 41 pledges at the Epsilon Nu Chapter at Michigan State, 30 pledges at the Zeta Zeta at the University of British Columbia, 24 at the Lambda Sigma at Pepperdine University and 18 at the Tau Epsilon at Clemson University. So far 11 chapters have reported 165 new members this fall. Many chapters are just finishing their Fall recruitment periods and we’re optimistic for their success this semester and the next.

A special thanks to all the donors who supported the Psi Upsilon March Challenge last spring and helped us invest and increase recruitment support this Fall. The success we’re seeing wouldn’t have been possible without the support so many of you provided Psi Upsilon by supporting the Annual Fund.

We’re excited to announce a newest team member at the Psi Upsilon International Office – Travis Smith who will be serving in a new role as our Director of Growth! The Director of Growth is responsible for researching, developing and securing expansion commitments with partner institutions, cultivating relationships with interest groups, and supporting new and struggling chapters on operational issues, especially those around marketing and recruitment.

Travis brings with him over 15 years of experience in Higher Education and Fraternity and Sorority Advising. Upon graduating from the University of Miami, Travis joined the staff of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity as a Field Consultant. After his two years on staff he received his Master’s Degree in College Student Affairs from Eastern Illinois University. He has worked as a campus based professional supporting Greek Life at Pittsburg State University, Colorado School of Mines, Florida Gulf Coast University, and most recently Christopher Newport University where he served as the Director of Student Activities.

Travis lives in Newport News, Virginia with his partner, Leah, his tuxedo cat, Vinny, and corgi, Lilly. In his free time he serves as the Coordinator for Educational Programs with the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values, and enjoys golf, travel and the Miami Hurricanes.

To connect with Travis you can reach him at 317-571-1833 x 107, or at tsmith@psiu.org.