Get the latest at www.zetapsi2009.com.
Mark your calendars for CONVENTION 2009!
The festivities begin Wednesday, August 12th through Saturday, August 15th in Cleveland, Ohio with the Nu Chapter. The Nu Chapter can't wait to host you, and the convention planners will be releasing ticket prices in the next couple of months, so don't forget to ask off or write a reminder to yourself to attend. Visit www.zetapsi2009.com for more information about the events planned, or join the facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=52982755137. See you in Cleveland! |
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Upcoming Events
100th Anniversary Lincoln Day Dinner
& Charity Golf Outing Alpha Epsilon Chapter at the
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
The annual Lincoln Day Dinner is an Alpha Epsilon tradition that celebrates the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Gathered in a formal setting, Zetes young and old are able to view historical artifacts from the time of Abraham Lincoln.
Saturday, April 25, 6:00 PM
Levis Faculty Center, 3rd floor, 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana. Formal attire, suit/coat and tie preferred
$50/person, cash bar
RSVP by April 11 to Steve Judd - sjudd06 @ gmail.com or 217-377-7995 with Choice of dinner: roasted pork, chicken marsala, or veggie stuffed peppers.
And join us for our Lincoln Day Charity Golf Outing - the Alpha Epsilon chapter's annual outing raises money for the Crisis Nursery of Champaign, dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect while providing a safe and caring environment for families in crisis. If unable to attend, donations are also welcome.
Tee-off: 9:00 AM on Saturday, April 25
Blue Needles Golf Course, 9202 Blue Needles Dr., Fairmount, IL 61841
Format: Scramble, Groups of four
$50 for Alumni, Parents, and Friends (includes 18 holes and a cart)
RSVP by April 1st with size of group to Dan Abbott - dabbott118 @ gmail.com |
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Government Relations update
Zeta Psi continues to develop a strong government relations program as part of the greater Greek community. CLICK HERE to visit our website.
Next month, 3 Undergrad Zetes are coming to DC for the annual CFC Lobbying Day. They'll be greated at our annual Lawyers & Lobbyists event in DC to network them together with DC-area Zete Elders working in public policy, as well as attending a Capitol Hill reception.
We now have 40 Active & Elder Government Relations Chairman (GRC's) out of 71 total US Active & Elder chapters. HELP LEAD THIS EFFORT and become or work with your Chapter's GRC. Email dbacker@zetapsi.org to learn more.
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 Circle Centennial
Sponsor-a-Circle today!
June 2009 marks the 100 years of the Circle of Zeta Psi. We hope to commemorate this major milestone - and the enduring vision of Bill Comstock - by archiving all 100 years of the Circle online in the coming years!
SPONSOR-a-CIRCLE: This huge task will take many years and many dollars, but with your help we can start now. CLICK HERE to pick an issue and donate the cost of archiving ($200). Sponsors will be recognized in the Circle Centennial's Honor Roll.
CLICK HERE to visit our Circle Centennial webpage. |
Zetes Without Borders lands in India
In mid-January, two Zetes traveled to a small village in Haryana Province, India to help a group of students from the University of Hartford build a rain-water harvesting and filtration system. The students are part of the school's Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter, and were visiting the small village of Abheypur for a third time to help the girl's primary school. In past trips, the students installed solar panels to power a water pump on the grounds and water tanks to store water for use after daylight. They also ran a pipeline to a nearby part of the village to provide them with cleaner water, closer to home.
One ZeteKidz board member David Loomis, planned to work with the group, and petitioned ZeteKidz to donate funds towards helping the school while helping the EWB team. He was joined by another Zete, Sam Dillon Nu 06', who also helped the group. ZeteKidz responded to the request by providing over $250 in school supplies for the children, and helping with costs for materials needed to complete the project. The school teachers were very appreciative of the supplies that would help eliminate costs to the families over the coming year.
Zetes Without Borders is a new philanthropic style internship program. The aim of the program is to give brothers a team based internship program which is focused on addressing the needs of a developing community through engineering projects and social awareness. ZWB is an international program open to any brother who is interested in designing projects to help developing communities and traveling abroad to implement these projects. This program is designed to be a summer internship program with year-round interaction.
Zeta Psi is currently looking for interested brothers who would like to be founding members of Zetes Without Borders Chapter. Alumni who are interested are also welcome to join the group as advisors and have the option to help implement projects abroad. Having a technical degree is not required, but very helpful. Interested brothers should contact David Loomis by e-mail: david.a.loomis @ gmail.com |
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INTERNSHIP UPDATES
WSS Deadline in two days
Ever wanted to work in NYC? Apply today for one of the Wall Street Scholars position in New York City at http://www.zetapsi.org/wss/ The position descriptions are on the website, but applications should be received by March 18 as first-round interviews will begin shortly after that. The position includes housing, a transportation stipend, and a food stipend throughout the course of the internship in New York City, as well as numerous leadership and networking opportunities to enhance the experience. Submit your application today!
SELF at looks to place FIVE interns!
Our Science & Engineering Leadership Fellows continues to grow, with at least 5 interns planned for Summer 2009. Two interns will return to our flagship placement at SibTech, Inc. doing cutting edge bench research, and two others are looking to work in different offices of Rolf Jensen & Associates doing fire prevention engineering. A fifth Internship is being developed in Minneapolis for Eta Chapter Phi, Jon Charest. Under the leadership of Program director Eric Romeril (Waterloo/Alpha Theta '08) SELF continues to thrive and grow. Find us on FaceBook for more information! |
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 ZETE TIES!
CLICK HERE to buy your very own Zeta Psi neck tie - Only a few dozen left, buy soon!
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Ambitious expansion plans
Zeta Psi has embarked on ambitious expansion plans for the coming school years. This month Zeta Psi staff and DC Elders put the newly developed expansion plan into operation and established an interest groups of 15 at American University (our old Delta Chi Chapter) and 11 at George Washington University, both in Washington DC. In February staff met with young men and established interest groups of 13 at Queens University in Canada and 12 at SUNY Stony Brook in New York. Also in February the Dartmouth Elders hosted the first of two information session at Dartmouth and had nearly 40 interested men. Another session is planned for April and the Psi Epsilon reactivation should be underway in fall of 2009.
Later this month we will meet with a group of two legacies and two other young men at Dalhousie University and discuss reactivating the Alpha Mu Chapter. Also this spring a combined effort of the Pi Sigma Chapter, the Nu Chapter, and the Pittsburgh Elders will work with leads provided by those chapters at the University of Pittsburgh and attempt to establish an interest group. This summer, with leads provided by the chapter presidents at Tau and Eta, and with the president of Eta interning in Minneapolis, the Alpha Beta Elders will work on reestablishing our chapter at the University of Minnesota.
Certainly we have a full plate, but with the support of local Elders, Zeta Psi can make this happen - restarting four chapters and establishing four new ones.
 Gamma Epsilon Chapter chartered!On Saturday March 7, 2009 Zeta Psi Fraternity issued its 81st charter to the Gamma Epsilon Chapter at Georgetown University in Washington DC. As part of the Annual Black Tie Banquet hosted by the DC Elder Association, Phi Alpha Dave Busacca presented the charter to the men of the newest member of the Zeta Psi circle. The banquet was a great celebration of the accomplishments of both the Gamma Epsilon Chapter and the DC Elders. Special thanks go out to the Phi Epsilon Chapter, Elders Dan Backer and Rob Trombley, and to the DC Elders.
New Beginnings at Psi EpsilonUnder the watchful guidance of the Psi Epsilon Association, Zeta Psi is poised to return to Dartmouth College after a 3 year dark period. On February 27th, the Psi Epsilon Elders held a very promising informational session attended by over 30 undergraduates (mostly class of 2012), the Dartmouth student newspaper, and the Dartmouth Greek Life Director. The following day, a group of 7 Elders and 12 prospective freshmen conducted a walkthrough of the Psi Epsilon house. The chapter house, built in 1920, has been undergoing massive remodeling to bring it up to code and increase occupancy. Though still in the middle of immense changes, the Elders lead us through each level, recounting stories as they pointed out differences in the new house.  In the Fall of 2009, a select interest group of students, supported by local Elders and IHQ, will participate in Dartmouth's recruitment process. We hope to have a functioning group living together in the chapter house and learning about Zeta Psi shortly thereafter. If you would like to learn more or help our rebuilding at Psi Epsilon, please email us.
T.K.Phi, Dave Hunter, IA '80 (email me) |
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 Active Profile: Ezra Funkhauser
Phi of the Purdue/tau Gamma Chapter
Ezra is the current Phi at the Tau Gamma Chapter at Purdue University. He was first introduced to Zeta Psi when he and his roommate went out to play Frisbee and meet some people their freshman year, a very common activity on Purdue's campus. They met a few Zetes and were invited to attend a few rush events, finding what many have found on our own campuses; Zeta Psi was not the prototypical fraternity, far from the stereotypes and in fact a very relaxed and cool house to join. Since then, Ezra has served the chapter in a variety of ways.
Through Ezra's time at the Tau Gamma, his favorite event is the hog roast. The event is the chapter's opportunity to bring together brothers, Elders, and family to visit the house and enjoy a great day together. It serves as a unifying point to the Actives and a chance to get feedback and advice from Elders who enjoy the chance to come back, reunite, and help out the chapter they once called home.
Recently, Ezra helped organize last month's Midwest LTI, serving as IHQ's liaison to Purdue and providing downtime activities for the visiting brothers. Ezra claims it "was a bit crazy to set up" due to complications from the university, but the chapter pulled together and "we all banded together as brothers and got the job done." Everyone had a great time at the LTI, and Ezra and the Tau Gamma are to be thanked for hosting.
In the future, Ezra would like to spend a few years teaching at the high school level. If he finds this isn't his calling, he would consider returning to school to study one of his other passions - either film or music. |
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2009 LTI's continue our success
Anthony Shibata, Director of Operations
FM Kirby Family Foundation's annual Future Leaders Conference a Success
With over 40 chapter presidents joining us for the Kirby Family Future Leaders Conference (Phi's Conference) at Lafayette College, the 2009 Leadership Training Institute (LTI) sessions began with an amazing kickoff.
Topics covered this year included essentials such as Risk Management, Recruitment, and Strategic Planning. New courses were unveiled such as Civil Liability and Advanced Resume Building. Zeta Psi has already seen a 10 percent increase in overall LTI attendance and would like this trend to continue. This is a credit to our chapters who have implemented a cycle of attendance and to our constantly developing curriculum. Active brothers have expressed that "the courses offer instantaneous benefit and combine it with chapter to chapter social networking experience that will keep us coming back."
Thank you to the Tau Chapter of Zeta Psi for starting a new year of LTI's off right with their hospitality and organization at the Phi's Conference. And thank you to those chapters who have or will be hosting LTI's this year. It is through your help that we are able to offer these programs and we owe you a great debt.
Midwest LTI: communication & expansion
February has come and gone. And now, halfway through March, it seems very distant. However, in its last weekend, February gave us another successful LTI. The Midwest LTI brought over 60 brothers from 10 chapters to West Lafayette, Indiana, where the Tau Gamma brothers at Purdue University welcomed all to their new house. Many thanks are to be extended to the chapter as they opened their 2 year old structure to the demands of dinner and relaxation for all the LTI attendees. The weekend was excellent, despite the frigid temperature, and once again, a central theme emerged from the sessions.
What it boiled down to was communication - both inside and outside the Chapter - with the school, with International, and with each other. This is what we can and must incorporate to move Zeta Psi beyond our current expectations. At the Midwest LTI we saw first-hand the possibility of what communication can offer. Chapters made new rush contacts, planned events, and got philanthropy tips from each other. What began as an inter-chapter contact list grew to incorporate new plans for procedures, growth, and expansion.
In this manner Zeta Psi is beginning to expand, with local members reaching out to friends at other universities. We encouraged all chapters to do the same. Use chapter contacts, reach out, ask for help, and incorporate the positive influence of other Zetes to make your chapter stronger. And as always, come to us if you have any questions. |
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Zeta Psi Active & Elder Services
Get "LinkedIn" with Zeta Psi - CLICK HERE to join our group on this professional networking site.
Kaplan offers Zetes 10% discount - CLICK HERE for GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, DAT and OAT courses.
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5th Annual DC Elders banquet a success!
Gamma Epsilon Chapter at Georgetown University receives its Charter
A record 125 Zetes & dates, representing 26 chapters, attended the combined Georgetown Chartering and 5th Annual Spring Banquet of the Zeta Psi DC Elders on March 7th. The black tie event welcomed the Gamma Epsilon chapter to our Fraternity, acknowledged the contributions made by several Elders in the DC area, and provided all attendees with the opportunity to mix and mingle with six current and past Phi Alphas, the current Alpha Phi Alpha and Delta Alpha, several Zeta Psi and Zeta Psi Educational Foundation Board members, as well as law school professors, congressional and administrative agency staffers, and a federal appellate court judge.
 The highlight of the banquet was the granting of the Charter to the new Gamma Epsilon chapter at Georgetown University. With a little help and guidance from IHQ, DC Elders and the Phi Epsilon chapter at the University of Maryland, these fine young men built their new chapter from scratch. Gamma Epsilon's Phi, Michael Morano, will use these same resources to make sure everyone recognizes Zeta Psi as the premiere Brotherhood at Georgetown.
Also during the evening, DC Elders announced its latest effort to help local actives and young elders: giving out a tuxedo as a door prize at several DC Elders events throughout the year. Owning a tux in DC can save hundreds to thousands of dollars, and enables Zetes to act when spur of the moment black tie opportunities arise.
DC Elders also honored Dan Backer with the Admiral James J. Carey Commitment to Brotherhood Award and MacLane Key with the Commitment to Leadership Award for their contributions to Zeta Psi over the past year. |
Click below to visit our Online Archives of the Circle magazine or our monthly e-newsletter, the UpZete.
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 A New Paradigm
The first weekend in March saw Zeta Psi expand with the installation of the colony at Georgetown as the newest Chapter in our Circle. In many ways, Georgetown [Gamma Epsilon] Chapter is a good example of how we must expand in the future to succeed.
The Chapter had a successful Chapter to "buddy" with it from the beginning of interest and hopefully for the next few years in U of Maryland/Phi Epsilon. As important as that local active support, DC has one of the most cohesive and cross-chapter Elder groups in Zeta Psi. This dedicated core group - young Elders to prospect and work with IHQ as well as a similar group of more "mature" Elders to provide guidance and experience - can provide the extra "support" so often unavailable in some of our expansion efforts.
This success is leading to further "prospecting" within the DC area for additional growth that will push Zeta Psi to more productive size and provide more area cohesion with our Georgetown and Maryland chapters. It is this kind of long range synergy that Zeta Psi must embrace at the Board, Chapter and Elder levels to focus our limited resources and goals to expand and enhance one of the most elite fraternity's in the Greek world.
We have to grow to remain competitive and effective given our size and resources. We need to learn and apply effective rolling recruitment to focus Elders and Actives on the breadth of Zeta Psi's benefits and to educate new candidates who often have no, or even negative, perceptions of the Greek system. Creating "pockets" of chapters with similar academic standards, world views and available Elders immediately gives new chapters a "leg up" on the process to avoid the deadly "sophomore slump" we often see.
The Board is preparing a more measurable and focused policy that will enhance our recruiting, expansion and Active and Elder commitment. More on that later...but right now I was pleased to present the Gamma Epsilon Charter to our 81st Chapter of Zeta Psi in the glow of the Nation's Capital, the DC Elders and the Active and Elders of Phi Epsilon.
We're starting a roll!
Always in Tau Kappa Phi,
David W. Busacca, Phi Alpha CXXXII |
DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROGRAM INFO ONLINE: Information on Zeta Psi's Dispute Resolution Program, now in effect and known as "Binding Arbitration," is available online at www.zetapsi.org. | |
