quality of man, and among other things they've concentrated on their academics." Gradually as the alumni group got the word out about the chapter's improvement, more renewed their membership and involvement in the chapter. "It's brought us all closer," said Brother Dodd. When there was lots of construction on the chapter house, Brother Dodd spent far more time there. "It may have been four or five visits a week when all the work was going on. "If the undergraduates have run into trouble, such as with the housing inspector, then through my contacts we've been able to get those concerns satisfied. And as we worked on the house, I'd try to help the men if they had questions about other areas." Brother Dodd said he hasn't spent so many years helping the Miami Chapter for what benefits it gives him, but to repay a debt he felt he owed. "When I was in college, my family broke up, my parents separated, and the Fraternity became my home," he explained. "At a time when I needed the Fraternity, the Fraternity came through. Undergrads came along and offered me help I couldn't have had in any other way. I felt an indebtedness, and since my college days I wanted to repay the Fraternity for what I derived from it. "It's been such a rewarding experience for me." Certainly, Brother Dodd has repaid that debt, and more, and the men of the Miami Chapter have derived much from Frank Dodd. The satisfaction of "now turning out a wonderful product" is what keeps Ed Ripke, Wisconsin '56, active and enthused as head of the Wisconsin Chapter's alumni corporation. As another chapter which has had its ups and downs, Wisconsin is a prime example of a chapter where steady, involved alumni advisors have paid dividends over the years. "I was chairman of the alumni corporation from about 1970 until 1978, and then I thought it was time I should get off and have someone else do it. "Then we had a big problem with vandalizing in the house," and when that was resolved, it was suggested Brother Ripke serve as president again. "The key to good advising is either to be able to wear many hats, or to have a mix of men who can do so," said Brother Ripke. "You have to approach things differently, when it's helping with finances, or to set up a program to prevent a repeat of some problem," he said. "If you have the right person who can use the different styles it takes, that's great. Otherwise you have to build the right team." Brother Ripke likens advising to parenting. "We know that for young men in a DU chapter, it is no good if we solve all their problems for them. They have to be the ones to decide what to do." But alumni advisors can guide the process and help undergraduates figure out what they need to attack a problem, and what the various options are.
Living in Milwaukee, Brother Ripke is about 70 minutes from the campus. One day a month he visits the chapter house, meets with the alumni and undergraduates he needs to see, looks at the house and the projects that are planned, and has whatever meetings are scheduled. "My wife thinks I have a girlfriend in Madison," he said. The chapter has recently undertaken a $400,000 fund raising project, for house improvements and for scholarships. The Syracuse Chapter has two alumni bodies. One is the Dikaia Foundation, which gives $7,000 or more in scholarships to deserving members of the Syracuse Chapter every year. The other is the Delta Upsilon Society, which is the combination alumni association and chapter house owner. That's where Knowlton Foote, Syracuse '61, gets his weekly workout with Delta Upsilon.
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"You have to enjoy working with young men, and you must believe in the fraternity system." Living just 10 miles from the campus, Brother Foote attends weekly meetings "for the business of running Delta Upsilon," he said. "We take the first half of the meeting and discuss the concerns of the Society, whether it's risk management, or academics, or damage to the chapter house. Then the chapter president takes the second half to talk about the chapter's concerns. "I always say that governing a chapter is like running a business, and that's the approach that both the alumni and the undergraduates take to the process," he said. To be a successful chapter advisor, "you have to enjoy working with young men, and you must believe in the fraternity system" said Brother Foote. "You have to realize the amount of good you can do, working with men on a college campus. "We just had our annual Dikaia Foundation scholarship dinner, and in my remarks, I asked the men how many dormitories were having a dinner like this for their residents." To see the men mature and show their concern for one another is most rewarding, Brother Foote said. "It's also great to see that after they graduate, these men do an awful lot of networking. They keep an eye on one another." In a way, that's a great description of what DUs who advise chapters as alumni do for their chapters. DELTA UPSILON QUARTERLY/JANUARY 1996
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