By Dalton Lee, Baldwin Wallace ’11
Men of the Beta Theta Chapter at Kansas.
For Phi Kappa Tau, the year 2022 has been one of growth in many respects. The Foundation has added multiple new scholarships, offering even more support for our members pursuing degrees of all levels. The Executive Office Staff has grown, allowing us to better serve our organization as a whole. Our number of donors and the support they offered increased on our second annual Founders Day of Giving, showing that we could continue to build upon this new tradition. Most notably, our organization grew its influence on more men around the country through inspired recruitment efforts by our chapters and successful expansion projects by our Executive Office team.
With the addition of four new recruiters who are guided under the tutelage of our Associate Director of Organizational Growth, Hunter Pemberton, Akron ’18, the Expansion team continues to build upon their success and has paired with the Chapter Services team to launch a brand-new revitalization program. Targeting chapters who are struggling to meet the standard requirement of our active chapters, this program will offer direct guidance and assistance. The first assignment for the revitalization team was at the University of Kansas with our Beta Theta Chapter. Recruiters Domenic Mularo, Mount Union ’19, and Ryan Callahan, Tennessee ’20, arrived in Lawrence during a particularly hard time to undertake such a project—with Thanksgiving and finals looming—but were able to successfully steer the Beta Theta Chapter in the right direction. With the aid of the KU Sorority-Fraternity Life staff, the Panhellenic community, and Phi Tau alumni, the duo helped Beta Theta double in size during the duration of the trip. Following their departure, the new foundation of Beta Theta men was able to recruit even more members and continue on their redemptive path.
This project in Lawrence is coming off the heels of success at both Clemson and Wright State. At Clemson, the expansion team garnered 60 new members in just two months, who now comprise the Epsilon Nu associate chapter. In addition to recruiting a strong class of distinguished young men, the expansion team was able to make strides in establishing their foundation on the Clemson campus. Up north at Wright State, the team was able to recruit an associate class of 11 men who are hoping to reach the campus average (around 20 members) throughout the academic year. Already eyeing the future, interest groups at both Grand Valley State and Colorado State Pueblo have arisen over the past few months. These interest groups are already brandishing extreme potential, having been assisted by alumni who are driven to see success on both campuses.
Newly initiated men of the Epsilon Tau chapter at Arizona State.
The Expansion Boys aren’t the only ones working hard to help our brotherhood flourish. Chapters around the country have had outstanding fall recruitments; growing their numbers and bringing more men into our fold. There are five chapters that were particularly successful: Epsilon Tau at Arizona State recruited 44 men, Kappa at Kentucky recruited 43, Delta Kappa at Tennessee recruited 36, Alpha Eta at Florida recruited 35, and Alpha Kappa at Washington State recruited 34. These five chapters helped contribute 192 of the 965 total new associate members reported around the country. The diligent work of all our undergraduate men has showed the heights our fraternity can continue to reach. Through their work and the commitment of our staff and alumni, this brotherhood will continue to expand its mission through 2023 and beyond.