President’s Letter 2014

Hi Brothers!

I hope you are all having a safe and fulfilling summer! Covering a years worth of news, I’m thrilled to finally present to you our new and enhanced Briarfield Newsletter! In addition to this digital copy, you can also expect a hardcopy to arrive in your mailbox later this month.

Reflecting on the past year, I can confidently conclude that it has been a journey chalked full of remarkable accomplishments, unanticipated challenges, and, of course, inevitable surprises. In recent years we have seen A LOT of policy change at Lehigh, but we continue to adapt successfully, staying a step ahead of the constantly evolving Greek culture. While change can often bring frustration and growing pains, we continue to remain positive and support our active chapter to success.

For the first time since our repopulation in 2010, we are on average, over 60 brothers strong! This success is a direct reflection of the incredible support and contributions from all of you. The Briarfield Association still remains one of the strongest alumni organizations not only at Lehigh, but also on a Chi Phi national level; thank you!

Before delving into the details of the past year, it is essential that I share with you a note I received from our Grand Alpha in response to his trip to the Psi chapter this spring semester. His touching remarks eloquently embrace the current state of the chapter and assist in setting the tone for this newsletter.

“I only wish some of our other Chapters could spend some time visiting and observing the men of the Psi Chapter. By men, I am referring to both Alumni and Undergraduate Brothers. If all of our Chapters looked like the Psi Chapter, we would be the “Best Fraternity in America”!

“Life as a college fraternity is a constant challenge and occasionally poor choices arethe result,but it is what we do thereafter that reveals true character. As rough as your road has been, I am convinced that your Chapter is stronger and better from the journey.

“On behalf of myself and the Staff, we thank the Alumni of the Psi Chapter for making the difficult decisions and the Chapter Actives forembracing the accountability that followed.

“I was honored to visit and spend time with this remarkable Brotherhood.”

Fraternally, Jim Soderquist Grand Alpha

Fall Semester

We began the fall semester with a Gold accreditation rating awarded from the prior year. This was a huge achievement for our chapter, and it is the highest form of recognition that can be awarded to Greek organizations at Lehigh. On a National level, we were recognized as Accredited with Distinction. We also won a pile of awards over the summer at Congress that acknowledged both our alumni and the active chapter, some of which are noted on page nine.

In other news, we recruited and initiated three new brothers; a solid number for the fall. We were ranked 8th on the hill amongst fraternities with an average GPA of 3.1. As we do every semester, the Briarfield rewards the brothers with the highest GPA with checks and also treats everyone that received a 3.0 or higher to a dinner in Philadelphia.

One of the major challenges we faced all year was sorting out the alcohol incident that occurred in early December. Presumably, you know I’m referring to the image of the out-of-season rush event depicting a massive beer cup setup that went rapidly viral on the Internet, gaining much unneeded attention for our chapter. Given our recent hazing incident and repopulation in 2009/2010, and the current policies for Greek life, we knew the University would be firm with their response. Our immediate concern was the loss of our chapter; these types of events put the survival of our chapter in severe jeopardy. It’s moments like this that require the leadership to of the Briarfield to intervene and make important decisions. Moving swiftly, we worked with the actives, national office, and university to develop an 8-Point Action Plan. Some of the items in this plan consist of education, retreats, membership reviews, discipline, and most significantly, the removal of six brothers onto alumni status, restricting their involvement with the actives. While the removal of brothers was an incredibly challenging decision for our trustees to make, it was by far, in the best interest of our chapter. Being pro-active with our action-plan resulted in a sanction that was not decided in a trial, as it formerly was for the hazing incident in 2009. The sanctions are as follows:
1) Disciplinary Deferred Dissolution (Jan 16, 2014 – May 31, 2014)
2) Disciplinary Probation (May 31, 2014 – May 31, 2015)
3) Alcohol Free (until Feb 15, 2015)

In the formal sanction letter from the university, it is important to note that the rationale for the sanction reads: “The sanctions in this case could have been more severe including dissolution or termination of the organization. However the alumni association has developed a meaningful plan to hold the chapter and the individual members accountable. Within that context these sanctions are appropriate.”

Spring Semester

We began the spring semester with an Alumni/Active Realignment Retreat that lasted two days. This was one of the requirements from the 8-Point Action Plan. We had over ten alumni back from a range of eras to work with the actives on four areas identified as needing improvement: Briarfield relations, recruitment, risk management, and accountability. The goal was to have an honest discussion and critique of each of these topics, analyze the challenges and current procedures, and create an action plan for each area to address how the chapter will move forward. While the action plans were sent to the university upon completion, the primary function of the document set was to serve as a template for the chapter to utilize on their path towards success. Overall, the retreat was incredibly productive and, per the actives request, we’ll continue to do this on an annual basis at the beginning of the spring semester.

The actives had a successful recruitment period with 21 accepted bids out of 26 issued, pushing the active membership comfortably above 60 men! One new member ended up dropping out before New Member Education, so in total, we initiated 20 new brothers into our chapter.

On a somewhat related note, for a number of years, we have mentored and worked with the Rho chapter at Lafayette as they rebuilt their chapter off campus. Even though they are now over 30 men strong, we continue to allow them to use our chapter house for portions of their new member education weekend. Their alumni and actives are outstanding men and we are working towards having alumni events with both our chapters.

Undoubtedly, the greatest surprise during the fall semester was the collapse of the FMA (Fraternity Management Association). The FMA acted as the money management company for the chapter. A large portion of the money covered food expenses and the chef’s salary. In March, Betty Fisher, former Director of the FMA, sent a letter to alumni leadership and active treasurers noting they were having cash flow problems since spring 2013, and might file for bankruptcy. From that point forward the FMA ceased operations and we realized that, along with other Greek organizations, all our monies they held presumably spent (in excess of $125K). There has been a lot that has transpired between now and then, much of what I covered in a former email. With a few sacrifices and the financial assistance/general guidance of the Briarfield, the actives made it through the semester. The Briarfield paid for the Chef’s salary, overdue taxes, secured a loan from the Chi Phi National office, waived the semester fee to the Briarfield, and gave them any additional financial support and guidance as needed. After Betty Fisher and her staff fled the company, Theta Chi alumni Gary Tilles was appointed as the new director by the voting undergraduate delegates on the newly elected board. He has been sorting through mountains of files, unearthing all the critical documents required for each Greek house to recover. In the process, he has secured boxes of records that indicate how corrupt the FMA had become. Since Tilles’ appointment, we have hired common counsel to represent all the Greek houses affected. So far, the Briarfield has contributed $1500 for our share of the retainer fee for the attorney. The total estimated loss is $2 million. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that Fisher and her staff were comingling company funds, engaging in fraudulent activities, and embezzling funds for quite a few years. The FBI has been contacted and is involved in the case. We hope to potentially recover funds through D&O and/or general liability insurance. We will continue to pay for legal representation as long as it is financially responsible.

If you have any questions regarding details of the FMA situation, please visit the Briarfield website to see the latest report, or contact our treasurer Alan Abels. Br. Abels has been working tirelessly with the active treasurer cleaning up the FMA corpse. His knowledge and efforts have been a tremendous asset to steering the chapter back on track, and certainly deserves a round of snaps. Since this incident, the actives are now signed up with a new management company called OmegaFi. More information about OmegaFi can be found on page eight.

At our Spring Briarfield meeting we were very excited to introduce two new awards onto the walls of our chapter house: the “Grand Council Membership Award” and the “Eustace B. Rodgers Lifetime Achievement Award.” The Grand Council Membership Award was created for brothers who have served on the Grand Council. We have had eleven brothers in our history to hold this honor; many held numerous roles or multiple terms. In 1880, Boudinot Keith served as the only Grand Alpha from Psi. The living recipients of this award are:
Matthew Chiaverini ‘14 (Member at Large 2012-13, Grand Iota 2013-14)
Barry Kraver ‘04 (Grand Iota 2000-2001)
Alan Abels ‘74 (Member at Large 2013-2014, 2014-2015)

The second award we created, The Eustace B. Rodgers Lifetime Service Award, recognizes members of the chapter that have eternally dedicated themselves to the betterment of the fraternity. This award is named after Brother Rodgers, the 15th brother initiated into Psi. Although he soon left Lehigh for UC Berkeley, he had a fondness for Psi that brought him back to Bethlehem whenever he was in the area. At Berkeley, he was integral in founding the Lambda chapter. After college, Rodgers entered the Navy. Whenever he had shore leave on the east coast, he would spend his time working with Psi in Bethlehem. There are five brothers to date deserving of this honor, and three of them are no longer with us: Eustace Rodgers 1876, Boudinot Keith 1880, Jack Coneen ‘30. The two living brothers we honored are:
Ned Spitzig ‘57
Ardie Emery ‘61

The dedication of these brothers through the years is unparalleled, and they are certainly more than deserving of this prestigious honor.
In April, we had a very special dinner at the chapter house. We hosted the Grand Alpha Jim Soderquist, and from the National office: Executive Director Michael Azarian, Assistant Executive Director Collin Zimmerman, and Assistant Director of Member Services Barbre Berris. Per the quote on the first page of the newsletter, Br. Soderquist had very touching remarks about his visit to the Psi chapter. Before the dinner, Berris held a learning module regarding Bystander Intervention, a requirement of the 8-Point Action Plan from the fall.

The active chapter ended the year receiving an accreditation rating of silver. While a drop from gold the following year is disappointing, the chapter certainly had a significant set back with the fall alcohol incident. Briarfield will continue to educate, guide, and support the actives as needed to help them regain gold status. Moreover, on a National level, we were recognized as “Accredited.”

In June, at Congress in Austin, TX, we had an unprecedented 11 Psi brothers present; six actives and five alumni. We had Psi alumni representation on the National staff, the Grand Council, and as a voting delegate. The alumni that were there sponsored by the Briarfield were: Alan Abels, Jay Crosby, and myself. We made many essential connections to better our chapter and also a few exciting changes that will help better all the Chi Phi chapters. The Psi chapter continues to leave its mark on the Chi Phi Fraternity. Please read page nine for more details!

We have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming year, including the highly anticipated 150th Lehigh/Lafayette Football game at Yankee Stadium. We have reserved 80 seats for alumni. Unfortunately, every ticket has been accounted for and we are unable to purchase more. Stay tuned for more information pertaining to Psi chapter gatherings both before and after the game. If you reserved tickets with me, you’ll be receiving an email soon with payment details. At the end of the newsletter, you’ll see a list of upcoming events, including the 24th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament, happy hour dates in Philadelphia and New York, and the Fall Briarfield meeting.

If you have a Facebook account, please join our “Psi Chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity Alumni” page. Membership will enable you to stay more connected with updates, including photos and general news of the fraternity. Also, you can learn more about the Briarfield Association at briarfieldassociation.org, and about the active chapter at chiphilehigh.org.

Lastly, and most importantly, is your continued support. Despite the challenges we’ve had, it’s exciting and promising to realize we are truly stronger than ever. We’ve developed a model that is forward thinking that other chapters are emulating. This model will assure us of a long existence at Lehigh. While it is easy to get frustrated by the change, change is something that we’ve always had to adapt to, and our track records proves we are very successful at doing so. The best way to contribute and stay involved is to join our alumni Facebook page, attend events and meetings, share new ideas or suggestions, organize an alumni event in your city, and, most importantly, pay your annual dues to the Briarfield. Since we repopulated in 2010, and especially after the FMA incident, our Briarfield account has been heavily depleted with little replenishment. We have put out A LOT of money towards successfully getting the chapter back on track. We certainly wouldn’t be here today without the donations of the past. In order for us to continue to run a successful alumni association and offer meaningful alumni events, keep the chapter active during challenging times, reward actives for their academic achievements, maintain a beautiful chapter house, send alumni to Congress, and SO MUCH MORE, it is critical that you show your financial support and pay your annual dues! Please refer to the last page of the newsletter to see how to contribute!

In conclusion Brothers, it has, and continues to be an exciting and rewarding journey for our fraternity. As your President, it is an honor to be at the wheel of such a dedicated, engaged, and supportive alumni base. I will continue to put forth as much effort as possible to see our chapter succeed. I will also work towards developing events to connect our alumni. We are in the process of organizing an annual cocktail and dinner gathering at Lehigh in February for our chapter’s birthday. Part of this event will take place at our chapter house. Most of us have very fond memories of our time at the Psi chapter, and it is my goal to give you all the opportunity to come back to the house and reminiscence about those special moments.
Long live the Psi chapter, Brothers! Please feel free to reach out to me at anytime! In Scarlet and Blue –

Matt Scheller
mattdavidscheller@gmail.com / 484-553-1072