David A.B. Brown, ΕΦ ’66 Distinguished Alumnus Award

So many Psi U’s have chosen to honor Henry that it is no accident that the Henry B. Poor Scholarship Fund is the largest fund in the history of the Psi Upsilon Foundation and it is the investment income generated by this money that funds the Henry B. Poor Scholarships. In the last few years of Henry’s life, before he succumbed to cancer, many Psi U’s felt it was appropriate to honor this special man who has meant so much to Psi Upsilon. Thus, this scholarship was created in his honor while Brother Poor was still alive.

Thomas resigned his membership in the Augusta National Golf Club to protest its refusal to admit women. He remained a member of the Country Club of Brookline and The Charles River Yacht Club of Cambridge.
A moving tribute delivered at Amherst by Allan S. Lerner, Gamma ’51

Since being initiated by the Epsilon Omega chapter at Northwestern University, Brother Robie has be intimately involved with Psi Upsilon. As an undergraduate, Brother Robie served as chapter president, steward, and secretary of the Epsilon Omega Chapter. Brother Robie continued his dedication to Psi Upsilon after graduation as General Chairman of the 1969 Psi Upsilon Convention. Brother Robie was also a member of the Epsilon Omega Alumni Association Board of Directors and Chairman of the Building Fund Campaign.

In 1969 he expanded his efforts on behalf of Psi Upsilon beyond the Epsilon Omega by being elected to the Executive Council. After moving to Virginia, Brother Robie continued his commitment to the undergraduate brothers by serving as alumni advisor to the Nu Alpha chapter at Washington and Lee University and then later as the Alumni Advisor to the Phi Beta chapter at the College of William and Mary. Brother Robie also served as the President of the Psi Upsilon Alumni Association of Virginia.

Brother Robie’s commitment to the fraternal movement has not been limited to the fraternity or just to Psi Upsilon. He has served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Psi Upsilon Foundation and as a chairperson of the By-Laws Committee.

He has been a delegate to the National Interfraternity Conference annual meeting, has served on several NIC committees, and is a founding member of the National Capital Interfraternity Forum.

All of these noteworthy achievements have been undertaken against the backdrop of an impressive law career. Brother Robie served in the United States Department of Justice, during which time he variously held the positions of Counsel to the Associate Attorney General, and Director of the Office of Attorney Personnel Management. Brother Robie holds the singular distinction of serving ass the Chief Immigrations Judge, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice. Since graduation from Northwestern University Law School Brother Robie has been an active member of several professional associations. As a member of the American Bar Association Brother Robie has served as Vice Chairman of two committees and as President of the Federal Bar Association. He has taken on these heavy responsibilities while being a true leader within Psi Upsilon.

His legacy to us all is the six years he served as President of the Executive Council of Psi Upsilon Fraternity. During Brother Robie’s tenure the Fraternity installed two new chapters (the Kappa Phi and Phi Beta) and reactivated three chapters (The Sigma, the Epsilon, and the Mu). We adopted a comprehensive Risk Management policy to protect the safety of our members and made liability insurance available to all of our chapters.

Brother Robie has guided the Fraternity with distinguished leadership and deep and abiding Fraternal devotion. It is with deep gratitude that we bestow upon him this award. 

Throughout his life Bother Leedy demonstrated a commitment to serve the educational environment, his community, and his country. A frequent attendant at Psi Upsilon Conventions and gatherings, he was widely respected for his soundness of judgement, his strength of conviction, and his straightforward approach. Brother Leedy served Psi Upsilon most notably as a member of the Psi Upsilon Foundation Board of Directors for fourteen years and as Vice-President of the Foundation for eight of those years. Brother Leedy was active in many facets of the Foundation including the Nominating Committee and the Scholarship Committee. It was his serves on the Scholarship Committee that marked him as a brother with the true spirit of Psi Upsilon. Through the Scholarship Committee Brother Leedy was able to assist many undergraduate brothers with the completion of their education. This devotion to scholarship reminds us how important learning is to the Psi Upsilon experience. 

While serving the Foundation Brother Leedy had a distinguished career in the magazine publishing industry. At the time of his death he was senior Vice President and publisher of “Financial World” magazine. Prior to that he help senior advertising positions with Fortune, Time, and Discover magazines for twenty-five years and was associate publishers of Manhattan Inc. before it became M Inc.

We are touched by few people in this life, and even fewer in death, but Brother Leedy touched all of us in both ways. It is with great humility and gratitude that we bestow upon him posthumously this award.