Jones and his parents in Oxford, OH
Dallas Jones, Nebraska Wesleyan ’17, is the winner of the 2021 William H. Shideler Award!
The Fraternity’s highest undergraduate honor, the Shideler award is presented annually to the most outstanding graduating senior of Phi Kappa Tau. The award memorializes Honored Founder William H. Shideler, Miami ’06.
Jones has been an extremely active member since his initiation in 2017. He’s held positions as President, Vice President, and Social Chair. He has attended Presidents Academy, Regional Conferences, Leadership Academy, Convention, Conclave, and a Building Men of Character Retreat.
“I have given every ounce of effort I have to my chapter. Since associating my first semester on campus, I knew that Phi Kappa Tau was home. I wanted to get involved early and stay involved throughout the duration of my four years,” Jones said in his essay.
His freshman year, Jones earned a 3.75 GPA to make it on the Deans List and raise the Upsilon chapter GPA. He organized three successful formals, hosted socials with every Greek chapter on campus, and underwent a massive communication effort to collect emergency information such as allergies and contact numbers. He was elected the most outstanding freshman based on academic achievements, campus involvement, and commitment to the values of the fraternity.
In his sophomore year, Jones earned a perfect 4.0 GPA. He was elected Vice President where he assisted with chapter operations, took the lead role within the executive committee during recruitment, and added 25 new brothers. With his help, Upsilon was selected for a Founders Four chapter the next summer.
As a sophomore, Jones also took a lead role in house updates such as new computers, chairs, vacuums, furniture, and other improvements. He launched a capital campaign for the chapter by creating a committee to put together a master plan for what their backyard should look like in the next five years and went through a yearlong process of developing a landscape plan and coming up with a $100,000 donation goal.
Junior Year, Jones earned a 3.95 GPA to make Dean’s list. He was elected president and was involved with developing extensive programming. He led a an executive retreat where brothers grew as a team and prepared to make operations more efficient, such as transparent financial records and better reporting reimbursements.
When COVID hit, Jones’ goal was to keep the chapter financially viable and retain as many members as possible. Under his leadership, the chapter was not only able to reimburse members upwards of $1,500 and maintain strong financial standing but retain 100% of initiated members. They were the only Greek chapter on campus to do so.
Jones’ Shideler speech at Convention
Senior Year, Jones planned and led a Building Men of Character Retreat. He organized an entire month dedicated to brotherhood to raise morale before the end of the semester. He worked within the budget to spend around $3,000 on various events and programming throughout the month of October 2020. Later in the year, Jones served on the Borradaile Committee to help plan the association program for the Spring 2021 semester.
Now, Jones continues to serve as an advisor for the new executive board and help organize the campus and national awards to give his brothers the credit they deserve.
“I truly believe Phi Kappa Tau is a better chapter now than it was four years ago when I first associated. I have so many meaningful memories and lessons learned that I will never forget. I will always be grateful for the opportunities PKT has given me and the deep trust my chapter has shown me over the years,” Jones said.
Congratulations, Dallas!