FEATURE
Re-colonizing Begins at Drexel After being closed in 2006, the Epsilon-Kappa chapter at Drexel Univeristy is being re-colonized this fall. By Jon Williamson (Maryland-Baltimore County)
Alpha Upsilon Mu fraternity was created on March 17, 1924, when 19 students of Drexel Institute established a set of idealistic aims and purposes for which to strive. The first president was Frederick H. Penson. The early chapter membership included varsity athletes, eight editors-inchief of the student newspaper, the Triangle, and Charles Packard, editor of the Lexerd, the school yearbook, and maintained excellent scholarship as a whole.
October 26, 2009, when two members of Lambda Chi’s Headquarters staff will join us and recruitment will begin. During the past few weeks we have run ads in the school newspaper announcing our return. Then next fall, September 1, 2010, we will occupy the Lambda Chi house at 3401 Powelton.” This is not just any fraternity house. The house was built in 1886 by George Burnham, vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It came on the market in 1964 and was purchased by the fraternity on November 30, 1965. Making this purchase possible was the sale of the former property, a loan from Drexel, generous donations from 235 brothers, and the leadership of Mike Boczar , Frank Bokius (Order of Merit 1978), Bruce Evans, Jim Heflin, George King, Evans Morrison, Tom Murphy (Order of Merit 1968), Kent Roberts, and Tony Visco. In addition, Visco, Earl Burrier and George Carey personally renovated the first floor.
On April 4, 1939, the men of Alpha Upsilon Mu petitioned Lambda Chi Alpha and were installed as the Epsilon-Kappa Zeta on April 5, 1941. Over the course of the next 60 years the chapter flourished for the most part. The brothers put together strings of successes with top scholarship rankings, championships in intramurals, elected leaders on the campus, and for a period of 10 years in the late 1990s and early 2000s they received the Dean’s Cup, emblematic of the top fraternity on the Drexel campus.
In 2003, $500,000 was raised for house renovations through the efforts of King, a professional fundraiser, and led by the generous donations of Hal Boyd, also chapter adviser, and Ron Vidal. Today, the house has been designated a historical structure by both the federal government and the City of Philadelphia.
Their outstanding status was recognized by Lambda Chi Alpha in 1991 and again in 2001, when they were awarded the Grand High Alpha Award, given to chapters that have maintained superior operations and fraternal spirit for three consecutive years.
Lambda Chi Alpha has always been able to set itself apart from other fraternities on campuses and our efforts at Drexel will be no different. As McGarrigle continues, “We will focus on the True Brother Initiative which no one else on the Drexel campus can compete with, as well as our history, which goes back to 1924, and by having the best mentoring program on the campus as well. In fact, our alumni, of which we now have 18 involved, will be our driving force for success. Our mentoring efforts will be led by Chuck Persing (1981), chairman of the chapter advisory board, and this core group of alumni will be attending meetings and setting examples for the undergraduates to follow.”
Now comes the challenge....After a period of three years during which the chapter has been shuttered, what steps will be taken to re-establish the greatness that was Lambda Chi Alpha at Drexel? It begins with a dedication to that purpose, with a group of brothers, passionate about Lambda Chi Alpha, who will work together as a team and establish a strategic plan to accomplish that goal. Every team has a leader, and in this case ours is former Order of Merit recipient John McGarrigle (1988), chairman of the Lambda Chi Alpha Alumni Corporation.
We look forward to writing the continuing story of the Epsilon-Kappa Zeta as they regain their stature on the campus of Drexel.
“We have an excellent plan in place and dedicated brothers to bring it to fruition,” he says. “After years of keeping the Lambda Chi Alpha Alumni Corporation together, this adventure will begin on the Drexel campus on www.crossandcrescent.com
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Cross & Crescent
November 2009