TRUSTEE, HOUSE CORPORATION
Since my last note to you, there has been further House Corporation discussion regarding the recolonization of Theta Chapter. During the 164th General Convention, 5 trustees of Theta Chapter House Corporation met to discuss (1) the financial stability of the corporation, (2) the communication between the chapter’s alumni and (3) the possibility of returning to Ohio Wesleyan. The majority of the discussion focused on the latter topic as we were joined by Beta Theta Pi Vice President Kirk Little, East Carolina ’82 and R. Ethan Braden, Willamette ’01, the associate director of expansion for the Fraternity.
It was learned during the meeting with the National officials, that the earliest they would be able to support a recolonization effort at Ohio Wesleyan would be the 2005-06 academic year. While Theta chapter is on the list of “tentative returns”, there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done before moving forward. There are two major obstacles that we as alumni must overcome; first is the recruitment of an advisory team and other alumni who will support the new chapter, and the second is formal approval for recolonization from both Ohio Wesleyan and the OWU InterFraternity Council. I am confident that we will be able to receive the support from the University if we can recruit alumni to volunteer for the key mentoring work to be done. The main focus will now be recruiting alumni who will be willing to serve as advisors to help support and mentor the undergraduate leaders and the chapter.
In the past, the house corporation served as a pseudo advisory team. A new model of advisory team support will need to be created. The structure will consist of two separate entities, the house corporation and an advisory team. The house corporation will continue with many of the same responsibilities as it had in the past. The advisory team will need to consist of at the minimum five people who would communicate and visit the chapter and its officers on a regular basis, supporting and mentoring the men as they work within the guidelines of the Men of Principle Initiative and monitoring their progress towards reaching specific goals. To find out more about the advisory team and its responsibilities please go to: http://www.betathetapi.org/mp/advisotyteam.htm. As we move forward in the months ahead, members of the house corporation will be recruiting Delaware and Columbus area alumni to serve as advisors or volunteer in other ways. If you are interested in serving as an advisor or would like to discuss it, please contact me at (800) 800-2382 or eeickhoff@wooglin.com.
Respectively submitted in —kai—,
Eric Eickhoff, Ohio Wesleyan ’00
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