As most of you are well aware, the alumni association has made an enormous effort these last few years to re-invent itself. Prior to this effort, the extent of our involvement was a reunion every five years and an occasional golf tournament. At most, our board of directors met once a year to discuss different topics, which usually included a lengthy discussion on some problem we were having with the chapter at the time. The chapter struggled so badly that it caused a few very dedicated and hard-working board members to resign, fed up with the endless cycle and inability to make serious improvements with grades and membership. Discussions on whether or not we should permanently shut down the chapter were common.
All this was going on, by the way, while I was president of the association. I had a vision for our organization, but couldn’t seem to do anything with it as I struggled with problems in my career and personal life.
It all changed with an email I received on July 27, 2009. Two of our founding brothers, Bruce Howard and Mike Hartell, had just returned from the DU Leadership Institute at Williams College in Massachusetts, the place of our founding. Both Bruce and Mike were so moved—not only by the deep connection to the history of our international fraternity, but by the unrealized potential of our chapter—that they returned and immediately got to work on turning our organization around. In an email, Bruce had outlined his plan to move our organization forward, which happened to be consistent with my vision. With a large membership, long-standing history at SDSU and prominent alumni, the board of directors knew that though we had our work cut out for us, ours was an organization too valuable not to flourish. We just needed to convince a wary membership that this time, we were for real.
Indeed, it did not happen overnight, nor was it easy, but we turned the ship around and are now moving, full steam ahead, in the right direction. The “we” has not only included directors, but both actives and alumni at all levels who wanted to get involved. I’ve written many blog posts and newsletter articles about all our accomplishments so I won’t repeat all of them here, but suffice to say, we are rolling.
Not only do we have an eleven member board of directors that meets quarterly instead of annually, we have committees with committee chairs that meet regularly as well. Bruce Howard has won the Chapter Advisor of the Year Award, both at San Diego State and Delta Upsilon International. Tyler Deary, the Chapter’s immediate past president, won both Chapter President of the Year at SDSU and Delta Upsilon International as well. Our association received the Outstanding Alumni Organization of the Year among all alumni chapters in Delta Upsilon.
Much of this recognition was due to our involvement with the undergraduates. We have an active scholarship and mentorship program. We have alumni advisors that help chapter officers in their respective leadership roles. Our alumni host presentations to the chapter to help them prepare for their careers. We’re participating with DU’s Global Service Initiative and have been a resource for other alumni organizations throughout Delta Upsilon. The DU alumni are the most active fraternity alumni organization at San Diego State. Nobody is doing what we are doing.
Never too indisposed to have a good time, the association continues to host our usual golf tournaments, ball games, founders days, wiffle ball tournaments, happy hours and reunions. Not everything has gone off as planned, but the fact is we are now a functioning organization that has become an asset to SDSU, the international fraternity and the community. And as always, we’re able to have a great time doing it.
Finally, I would like to ask that you come celebrate with us at our newest and biggest event yet, the DU Spring Gala. We are honored to have the president of Delta Upsilon International and High Impact motivator, Bernard Franklin, as our keynote speaker. Dr. Franklin will speak about the challenges faced by the San Diego chapter and the relevancy of fraternities in today’s college environment. We have also invited a special guest speaker, former Aztec Quarterback and New England Patriot, Kevin O’Connell, who will talk about the SDSU sports program.
Please join us for a Mexican Fiesta dinner and presentation on Sunday, May 5th from 5-7:30 pm. For questions, contact Joe Duffel at jdxd@hotmail.com. To register, please visit the Spring Gala Registration Page on this website.
