newsworthy fraternity updates Five Expansion Projects Confirmed for 2019-20
Recognized as one of the top aviation and aerospace schools in America, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been selected as Beta’s fifth and final expansion for the 2019-20 academic year, alongside recolonizations at Bowling Green, Oregon, South Florida and Toledo. A private university located adjacent to Daytona Beach International Airport in Florida, it boasts 5,700 undergraduates, graduates and PhD candidates. Beta will join eight current NIC fraternities, including Delta Chi, Delta Upsilon, Fiji, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi. To become involved as a volunteer for one of this year’s expansion projects, email Director of Expansion Zach Lepperd, Truman State ’16, at zach.lepperd@beta.org. To recommend a young man for membership at any of the Fraternity’s 143 chapters and colonies, complete the referral form at beta.org/recommend.
Membership Decline Continues, Insurance Soars
Consistent with peer fraternities, fall 2018 and spring 2019 marked a third straight year of declining membership. Having pledged 3,633 men, Beta’s 138 chapters and colonies posted their smallest recruitment since 2012-13 – a 12% drop from the all-time high of 4,061 in 2015-16. Related to recent high-profile fraternity risk management incidents, Beta’s insurance rates have climbed to all-time highs, with liability insurance alone increasing 37% year-over-year.
Seven Colonies To Petition for Charters
Seven colonies have been evaluated by the Board of Trustees and approved to petition the General Convention for charter status at the 180th in Oxford. Following years of hard work, the re/founding fathers making a run for their charters include delegations from Delaware, Loyola Chicago, Miami, MIT, New Jersey, Rochester and Rockhurst. Charter voting will occur Friday, August 2, in what is always a Convention highlight. (Above: Elon at the 179th General Convention)
