State of the Fraternity

Written by Andy Huston (Minnesota, '01), Executive Director

Charting a Future of Growth, Resilience, and Brotherhood

Overcoming adversity is woven into the very fabric of Sigma Alpha Mu. It’s part of our founding story: eight sophomores from the College of the City of New York gathered to discuss how they would regain their honor after being bested by a freshman class. Today’s challenges—rising antisemitism, anti-Greek sentiment, and broader distrust in institutions—may look different, but our fraternity remains as committed as ever to providing a safe space where young men can face challenges, build resilience, and learn the value of collaboration. This spirit of perseverance and problem-solving is as much a part of ΣAM’s DNA now as it was over a century ago.

The ΣAM 2030 Strategic Plan sets ambitious goals to reshape the fraternity and align it with the aspirations of Gen Z and beyond.

At its core, ΣAM 2030 envisions transforming Sigma Alpha Mu into a welcoming and supportive community that enriches the college experience and prepares members for fulfilling lives. ΣAM’s core beliefs— Simplicity, Holiness, Purity, Justice, Sincerity, Fraternalism, Idealism, and Truth—serve as a steadfast foundation for new initiatives that embrace diversity, shape character development, and promote strategic growth. Our infrastructure goals reflect ΣAM’s commitment to organizational sustainability and efficiency. By leveraging our scale, we can provide essential tools and support to all chapters, ensuring smooth operations and a high-quality experience for members. As a result of this strategic priority, the Octagon adopted a recruitment CRM (customer relationship management)

software called ChapterBuilder for all chapters. Most businesses today operate a CRM platform to organize and manage customer interactions, track sales pipelines, automate marketing campaigns, and improve customer service, with the goal of increasing sales and retention. The same is true of ChapterBuilder. The added bonus is that we are providing hands-on professional development experience to undergraudate members as they manage this user-friendly platform. Recruitment teams able to manage their list of prospective members leads with greater efficiency. Our chapters can also get immediate and direct access to hundreds of men on campus who have signed up for fraternity recruitment, due to ChapterBuilder’s campus partnerships. Gone are the days of waiting for IFC to share a list and then manually entering data for

follow-up. Chapters are able use data-driven insights ensure focus high-quality potential new members and streamline outreach efforts - including text messaging through ChapterBuilder. This platform is adaptable to any chapter size or campus environment. While technology can’t solve every challenge in recruitment, finances, and operations, we are teaching students leverage these applications as leaders.

ΣAM remains dedicated to the sustainable growth of its chapters, focusing on both expansion and supporting established locations. This past year undergraduate membership increased by 323 fratres. With an average chapter size rising to 49.3 members, we’re nearly back to pre-COVID membership numbers. This fall's recruitment results point to even stronger growth ahead,

with more than 500 candidates reported. The establishment of new provisional chapters at Purdue and NYU in the past year opens up more opportunities for young men seeking a values-driven fraternity experience. We are also working with students to bring Sigma Alpha Mu to Rutgers (Sigma Delta), Binghamton (Gamma Sigma), and New Jersey Institute of Technology (Kappa Xi Kappa) this fall. In the case of Binghamton, Gil Goldstein didn’t find a home on campus among the active fraternities and reached out to the headquarters to learn how to go about the process of bringing Sammy back to Binghamton. He shared, “I want to be a founding father of Sigma Alpha Mu at Binghamton due to my devout Jewish heritage and the values that are instilled in a Jewish fraternity. My favorite part of Sigma Alpha Mu's vision is their dedication to the betterment of men which to me is something that truly believe in.”

Did you know that less than half of our active chapters have a recognized chapter house?

Sigma Alpha Mu’s housing initiatives aim to create environments where members can bond, grow, and lead. These investments in time and energy to secure housing reflect our commitment to meeting local chapter needs while fostering a strong sense of home and community. This fall, we celebrated the ribbon-cutting of Beta’s new chapter house at Cornell University.

Sigma Chi chapter has secured 2 Fraternity Row at the University of Maryland—our historic home. This marks Sigma Chi’s first official chapter house since its refounding in 2016. The successes at Beta and Sigma Chi were only possible due to the outstanding investment of time and resources by their alumni in partnership with the undergraduate members.

Sigma Alpha Mu is also optimizing revenue streams through diversified funding models to ensure a robust and financially sustainable future which includes Sigma Alpha Mu Foundation’s Chapter Educational Fund, the Bridge Builder Campaign, and launching an advertising opportunity in the Octagonian. These efforts provide alumni with a variety of opportunities to support the fraternity experience while making it more affordable for today’s college students. Our focus on financial health, alongside our other strategic initiatives, ensures that ΣAM will continue to provide an impactful, supportive fraternity experience for generations to come.

As alumni, we can all take pride in ΣAM’s direction and its commitment to adapting and thriving in changing times. Sigma Alpha Mu’s dedication to growth, resilience, and brotherhood is unwavering—and we look forward to a bright future built on these values.