News

New Volunteers Assume Positions 

Pi Beta Phi is proud to announce new Collegiate and Alumnae Regional Specialists have assumed their volunteer roles. The Fraternity would like to congratulate and thank these servant leaders for aiding Pi Phi in becoming a premier organization for women.

Pi Beta Phi Foundation Announces new President Emerita

 It is with great pride Pi Beta Phi Foundation announces Texas Alpha Ann Dudgeon Phy has accepted a permanent designation as Foundation President Emerita. This title recognizes Ann’s  years of service and support for the Foundation. A member of the Charter Board of Trustees, Ann became the Foundation’s first President in 1990. Her exemplary leadership within the Foundation and Fraternity, her legacy of service and her personal and financial commitment are attributes to her dedication to Pi Beta Phi and reflect her qualifications as President Emerita. (To read more, visit www.pibetaphifoundation.org.)

Vote Weekly and Help First Book Provide 100K New Books to Kids

Our friends at First Book have been selected as one of 50 nonprofits showcased in this year’s Members Project from American Express and TakePart. If First Book can garner the most votes between now and August 22 they will win $200K – enough funding to provide 100K new books to children in low-income communities throughout the U.S. To win, First Book needs the women of Pi Beta Phi to show their support by voting weekly!
 
To vote, please visit http://takepart.com/register. After you are registered, you can vote once per week at www.takepart.com/membersproject/vote until August 22. On behalf of First Book and our Pi Beta Phi Headquarters team, thank you for your enthusiasm and your support!

Illinois Epsilon Chapter Honored at Northwestern University

At the annual Greek Awards, the chapter received the Outstanding External Relations Award. Pi Beta Phi Leadership and Nominating Committee Member and Illinois Epsilon Alumnae Advisory Committee (AAC) Chairman Brenda Wirth was honored as Outstanding Chapter Adviser. Outgoing Chapter President and Region Three Chapter Service Winner Lauren Armstrong was selected as the Outstanding Chapter President of the Year. Kristin Cragwell, the Illinois Epsilon Chapter Amy Burnham Onken Award winner, was named as a finalist for Outstanding Senior. Illinois Epsilon Chapter House Director Chris Ellis was a finalist for Outstanding House Director, and Illinois Epsilon new initiate Amalia Namath was named the Northwestern University Emerging Student Leader. Current AAC Chair Dorina Aguilar-Rasmussen was named to the University's Faculty and Administrator Honor Roll for her role as Assistant Director of Student Life in the Medill School of Journalism. Congrats to the chapter and members!
 

Pi Beta Phi wins Communications Awards
Missouri Gamma and Arrow Editor Jenny Whittom chaired the annual Fraternity Communications Association conference May 6-8 in New Orleans. Pi Beta Phi won three awards: the Fraternity won second place for Total Communication for the 2009 Convention materials, the Foundation won first place for its annual report and the The Arrow won first place for its Cookie Shine story from the Winter 2009 issue for story packaging. Congratulations to Jenny for a wonderful conference!

Pi Phi Announces Literacy Committee
To celebrate 100 years of its commitment to literacy, Pi Beta Phi has created a committee to celebrate the Fraternity's past philanthropic achievements and plan for the next 100 years. Read the full story and meet the committee members!

Holt House Welcomes Monmouth Community at an Open House
To celebrate the renovations of Holt House, the historic monument will open its doors to alumnae and Monmouth area Pi Phis on May 22, 2010. Holt House will be open that day from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Local collegians and alumnae are encouraged to attend.

Foundation Awards Scholarships
Congratulations to the Foundation scholarship recipients for the 2010-2011 academic year! The Foundation awarded $164,900 to 90 Pi Phis, the largest amount of awards and the largest number of recipients in Foundation history. Check out the full list of scholarship recipients.

Celebrate National Volunteer Week April 18-24
National Volunteer Week, first recognized by President Nixon in 1974, celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation. Pi Beta Phi members have played an active role in the spirit of volunteerism for more than 143 years. In 2009, Pi Phi collegians performed nearly 260,000 hours of community service. This week, join us as we honor the many volunteers who donate countless hours of their time for Pi Beta Phi.
 

Alumnae News 

Six Regional Alumnae Leadership Summits to be held in May and June
Each Summit will bring "Pi Phi for Life" to you with common programming and topics tailored to regional interests. Whether you are a Fraternity officer, alumnae organization leader of member or an alumna living in an area without an alumnae organization, you are invited to attend the Alumnae Leadership Summit nearest you. Stay for the entire Summit or come for a few hours! The Alumnae Regional Leadership Teams look forward to seeing you at a Summit in 2010. Check out the official page for more information!

Regional Director Featured in New York Times Article
Julie Carney, Collegiate Region Four director, was featured in a New York Times article about entrepreneurship education. Julie is the senior manager for the Young Entrepreneur Foundation programs. Read the full article!

Regional Specialist Accepts Greek Adviser Position
Carly Giesbrecht, chapter operations/adviser specialist for Collegiate Region Seven, has accepted a position as Greek adviser for the University of Alberta. Carly has volunteered for the University of Alberta Panhellenic Council as an adviser and has been actively involved in successfully mentoring collegians and their alumnae advisers. Congratulations, Carly!

RIF Forms
(RIF) forms should be sent to the Vice President of Membership at the chapter address. The list of Vice Presidents of Membership and addresses is in the Members-Only site now.

AAC Volunteers
AAC volunteers should contact Alison Bauer at Headquarters. To work with a chapter's Chapter House Corporation, contact Housing Coordinator Jen Fetter.
 

Collegiate News

Ohio Alpha Update
Pi Beta Phi’s Ohio Alpha Chapter at Ohio University has recently been the subject of unfortunate media attention. National Fraternity officials have been and will continue to work with the chapter to fully investigate the issues. While we believe many comments about the conduct of some of the guests at the Chapter’s formal have been exaggerated, the Fraternity is taking this matter very seriously and deeply regrets the publicity has tarnished the image of Pi Beta Phi and the Greek community as a whole. We are awaiting the University’s judicial affairs process where the Chapter will have the opportunity to address the allegations that have been made.

Washington Beta Regains University Recognition
The Washington Beta Chapter at Washington State University regained recognition by the University. The University team saw alumnae involvement, a return to the Fraternity's values and community involvement by the chapter. Congratulations to the chapter on receiving recognition back!   

California Chapter Wins Community Service Award
The California Theta Chapter at the University of California, Davis recently received the 2010 Community Service Award  from the campus Community Service Resource Center. The award acknowledges the chapter for its commitment to serve others and the community.   

Mississippi Gamma Chapter Breaks Ground on Chapter House
A ceremony was held for the Mississippi Gamma Chapter on Thursday, April 8, 2010, to celebrate the groundbreaking for its first chapter house on the Mississippi State campus. The building is designed to be LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), making this structure the first sorority house in the U.S. with such distinction. Construction of this 16,000 square foot home is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2011. The house will be ready for move in prior to the 2011-2012 academic year. The Pi Beta Phi house at Mississippi State is the first chapter house to be built by Pi Beta Phi’s Fraternity Housing Corporation.

Illinois Zeta Wins Top Awards
The Pi Beta Phi chapter at the University of Illinois was recently honored with high awards. Members Brooke Hurst and Kathleen Bowman won prestigious individual awards, and the chapter was recognized with second place in Excellence in New Member Programming, the Top Service Award, the Most Oustanding Philanthropy, the Most Oustanding Scholarship Programming and the Most Oustanding Panhellenic Chapter. Illinois Zeta Ashley Dye, assistant dean for fraternity and sorority affairs, said, "Their commitment to philanthropy and community service is oustanding, and they are a leader in this area on campus." Congratulations, Illinois Zeta!

Kansas Beta Wins Campus Awards
The Kansas Beta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi at Kansas State University took home five campus awards, including Best Chapter, Greek Woman of the Year and Best House Director. Congratulations, Kansas Beta!

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