"IT'LL BE ONLY TWO YEARS"

“I promised Connie I’d take the job at Pi Kappa Phi for only two years. She said it was the longest two years of her life.

BY RACHEL GREENE

When Greg Elam, Beta (Presbyterian), informed the National Council in January of 1959 that he would step down from his role by September 1, 1959, the search began for his successor. At this time, Bernie Jones Jr., Alpha (College of Charleston), was serving as National President. In the National Council’s conversations about who should fill Elam’s vacancy, Bernie remembered two young alumni from the Xi Chapter (Roanoke) whom he had met when he visited the chapter on two separate occasions, while each young man was serving their respective term as archon: Bobby Thomas and Durward Owen. Jones decided to see if either of these promising young brothers would be interested in the position of executive secretary. He tasked the newly elected National Historian, a young man by the name of Packy Jervey, Mu (Durham), with reaching out to each of them.

First, Packy contacted Bobby, who was then the personnel director for the new General Electric plant in Salem, Virginia. While he was flattered by the offer, he had no interest in leaving his current role or taking on the daunting task of being executive secretary.

Later that day, Packy called Durward’s home and spoke with Connie, who directed him to Durward’s whereabouts: the Xi Chapter house. So, Packy drove to the house, where he was told a group of alumni had gone to a nearby bar. There, he found Durward, and over a pitcher of beer, the two discussed the future of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity.

Just a few weeks later, Packy flew Durward to the National Council meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Brown Hotel, where Durward, swayed by the Fraternity’s great need and the idea that he might be able to help save it, tentatively agreed to move to Sumter, South Carolina, on July 1 of that year to work for Pi Kappa Phi for a period of two years. After those two years were up, he would leave Pi Kappa Phi to a successor and return to his hometown of Roanoke, Virginia. Or, at least, that was the plan.

From that hotel in Louisville, Durward called Connie, told her where Sumter was, explained the opportunity he had been offered and famously told her, “It’ll be only for two years.” She agreed, and with her blessing, Durward accepted the role.

Durward spent the next three months settling his affairs; selling his two service stations, sporting goods shop and automobile leasing operation.

Yet even then, Durward saw Pi Kappa Phi not for what it was, but for what it could become.

After his affairs were in order, the Owen family, which at that time consisted of Durward, Connie, their daughter Melissa and their son David, headed to Sumter. Durward reported to work on July 1, 1959.

Durward’s early days in Sumter were modest by any standard. He inherited a bare-bones national office, a storefront with less than 700 square feet, one full-time office manager and a part-time assistant. The Fraternity had only 46 active chapters and a financial base barely sufficient to maintain their limited operations. Yet even then, Durward saw Pi Kappa Phi not for what it was, but for what it could become.

His solution to the crisis at hand was simple: grow.

In the face of declining national fraternity trends during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, Durward doubled down on expansion. Drawing inspiration from a Ford executive’s lesson on the power of incremental gains, he implemented a nationwide strategy focused on both growth and chapter development. He set a goal to expand by three new chapters a year, and by the end of his tenure, Pi Kappa Phi had a roster of 136 chapters and six associate chapters, growing by 208 percent from when he had inherited it.

Durward also recognized that with growth came the need for infrastructure. In 1965, he led the relocation of Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters from Sumter to Charlotte, North Carolina; a move that would provide greater access to transportation, resources and a growing alumni network. It was the first of many strategic decisions that would shape the modern Fraternity.

With no surplus funds, Durward launched what would become a masterclass in grassroots fundraising, raising $56,000 in one year through hand-written pledges, brother-to-brother appeals and personal commitments, including $250 of his own money.

His vision extended beyond securing an office space; he wanted to secure the Fraternity’s future. He helped establish Pi Kappa Phi Properties, giving chapters access to housing support and building homes for brotherhood nationwide. He revitalized the Pi Kappa Phi Foundation, not just as a fundraising arm for the Fraternity, but as a lasting source of scholarships and resources for brothers. And, he helped found The Ability Experience, originally called P.U.S.H., to serve people with disabilities, placing servant leadership at the heart of Pi Kappa Phi.

Long before risk management became common practice, he spearheaded industry standards emphasizing safety, responsibility and accountability. He took the hesitation and criticism of others in stride, understanding that meaningful change often meant leading where others had yet to follow.

Still, he remained humble. He often said that he owed the Fraternity a debt for what it had given him, not the other way around.

Durward never saw his role as a job. It was, in his words, a “labor of love.” He built a career on the belief that Pi Kappa Phi could do more than exist; it could matter. And in doing so, he left an imprint on the Fraternity that will endure for generations.

His leadership extended far beyond strategy; he cultivated a culture within the National Headquarters that reflected the very values Pi Kappa Phi sought to instill in its members. Over the years, he mentored and empowered 110 staff members, many of whom went on to lead within the Fraternity or make their mark elsewhere in higher education and nonprofit work. He led with high expectations and a deep sense of care — part coach, part father figure. Former staff recall how he balanced humor with

humility, discipline with trust. He knew when to give direction and when to simply listen. Durward believed in hiring people with heart and giving them room to grow, and in doing so, he built relationships that lasted long after his employees’ tenures at Pi Kappa Phi. Connie, always by his side, was at the heart of that workplace family, hosting staff dinners, welcoming new employees and offering the same quiet strength and warmth that she gave to Durward. Together, they created more than an office. They created a home.

After the longest two years known to man, Durward officially retired on August 15, 1994 – just before his 64th birthday. But he never truly left Pi Kappa Phi. He remained a teacher, a mentor and a brother to all who would carry the mission forward.

As he once said of his time in office: “I want to make it clear — I have always received more than I have given. This has never been an even relationship.”

Durward gave everything he had to Pi Kappa Phi, but he still believed that it had given him more. That’s just the sort of person, and brother, that he was.

I want to make it clear — I have always received more than I have given. This has never been an even relationship.