Gamma Alpha Chapter (Founded 22 October 1995) is located at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Chapter is a member of the Upper Midwest Region.

Chapter History

Founding

On October 22, 1995, Christine M. Blank, the national director of expansion, and James O. Tisdale III, the national Vice President of Chapter Development inducted 135 students into Fowler Hall on the Purdue University campus. This was the beginning of the Gamma Alpha Chapter of Phi Sigma Pi.

Gamma Alpha Timeline

Early Years

This dynamic and dedicated group’s first and most important task was to establish the Gamma Alpha Chapter as a recognized student organization on Purdue’s campus. While official recognition by the university requires only paper work and an advisor, recognition by the student body proved to be much more difficult. Though they worked diligently, most of the first executive board never experienced this kind of recognition. Only through the continued efforts of following members did the chapter achieve campus-wide recognition. This group’s contribution, however, should not go unnoticed. They gave the chapter definition and laid a solid foundation for others to build upon.

Despite the hard work of the first executive board, the chapter was in trouble by the end of its first year. Apathy, one of the most threatening problems for a chapter to face was rampant among its members. Many members dropped out of the organization, meeting attendance was very low, and chapter lacked focus. Though many members did not realize it, the chapter was on the verge of folding altogether. Even at the most important meeting of the Fall 1996 semester – officer elections- less than half the chapter attended. Despite this, the chapter elected the second executive board.

Even though the first executive board had solved many of the well-defined problems of founding a chapter, a difficult and unclear task awaited the second. Chapter participation was at an all time low. Dissension was even present among the executive board, as several officers left the organization. Though troublesome at the time, this turnover was probably best for the chapter. It left a stronger, more dedicated group in charge of the chapter’s welfare. The second executive board decided to make major changes to the way the chapter operated, including increasing meeting frequency, restructuring committees, and completely overhauling the initiation program. Eventually, these changes had a profound effect, and with the help of a few strong initiate classes the chapter grew stronger than ever before.

Recent Years

In 2003 the new executive board there developed two new traditions for the Alpha Gamma Chapter: Project C.A.R.E. for the Service Committee and Callback Rush events for the Initiation Program. In the second semester, Gamma Alpha had a successful interchapter event, inviting brothers from Eastern Illinois and Central Michigan to a Barn Dance.

The Gamma Alpha Chapter is currently working on a national project called Project C.A.R.E., Children Are Reading Everywhere. Book drop stations have been dispersed around the community, and a bowl-a-thon is underway. Brothers have been reading to children and grading writing for story contests to support this project. Working toward success, the brothers of Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity Alpha Gamma Chapter push forward to make a difference.

2004 marked the introduction of a Brother Retreat, held every semester. A round table discussion was held about the goals of the Fraternity, and it was a time that committees became more united. Also, the initiation program responsibilities were split up into a Rush chair, responsible for Rush activities, and the Initiate Advisor, in charge of all events during the Initiation process. Once again, we had a successful CARE week. 2004 saw the continued success of the Bowl-a-thon, raising $1300 for Head Start. The chapter also combined the Senior Banquet with a formal dance, also inviting other chapters to increase interchapter relations. Brothers from Eastern Illinois University and Ohio State were in attendance. This turned out to be as successful as the barn dance in creating interest at Purdue with other nearby chapters.

The spring and fall semesters of 2005 brought exciting change to the Gamma Alpha chapter. The new executive board looked to uphold the standards set in past semesters and to incorporate new and exciting ideas into all events, such as new fundraisers and a more interesting and active brother retreat. These goals were easily met due to the hard work of Fundraising chair Molly Sliger and AS&S chair Lindsaey Huml and their respective committees. In the spring, Molly introduced the SCRIP program and in the fall she planned a fundraiser with Cedar Point, which not only made the chapter a lot of money, but was great fun. Lindsaey and the AS&S committee provided chapter with two excellent brother retreats. In the spring, brothers attended a ropes course held by Purdue University and in the fall, brothers had a great time on a day long canoe trip.

Forrest Judd, one of the founding members of the Gamma Alpha chapter, returned to Purdue to attend our annual formal. He was impressed by the improvements made to chapter and by the commitment of many of the Brothers, but warned against apathy, which was becoming a problem. Many Brothers were missing chapter meetings and not reaching the semester point requirements. This problem was frequently addressed in executive meetings and it was decided that it was necessary to enforce probation on those who did not meet their requirements, but more importantly, Gamma Alpha needed to find more dedicated prospectives. This was a goal set by the 2005 executive board before they left office and continues to be important each semester.

The Active Chapter

For the Fall 2008 semester, the Gamma Alpha chapter will consist of 36 Active Brothers, as well as 2 Inactive Brothers who will be studying abroad. The chapter also has many active Alumni. At the moment, work is being done to implement an Alumni Advisory Board for the chapter.

Past Chapter Presidents

First President: Tracy Howard (October 1995-1996)
Forrest Judd (1997)
Christina LaPan (1998)
Adam Ketterman (1999)
Jill Schlotterback (2000)
Lance McGrath (2001)
Sean Duff (2002-2003)
Chris Carter (2004)
Michael Armbrust (2005)
Molly Sliger (2006)
Claire Walther (2007)
Noah Myrent (2008)
Nick Madison
Jessica Wilson (2012)
Michael Hartel (2013)

Initiate Classes

Main Article: List of Gamma Alpha Chapter Initiate Classes

Current Executive Board and Committee Chairs

The following Brothers will hold these positions for the Fall 2013 semester:

President: Michael Hartel
Vice President: Nicholas Terry
Secretary: Natalie Smith
Treasurer: Kelsey Campbell
Initiate Advisor: Irina Hariri
Historian: Erika Marticia
Parliamentarian: Katherine Dennis

Awards, Standards & Scholarship Chair: Megan Spitznagle
Alumni Chair: Tomer Kimia
Fundraising Chair: Andrew Facemyer
Interchapter Relations Chair: Tomer Kimia
Public Relations Chair: Ashley Bonifield
Recruitment Chair: Kayla Donaldson & Jasmine Crawford
Service Chair: Alice Grasso
Social Chair: Tyler Grey

Chapter Events & Activities

Founder's Weekend

Alpha celebrates the Chapter's founding...

Other Event or Activity

This activity is...

Notable Alumni

Name (Chapter year)

Founding Member

Name (Chapter year)

DSK year

Name (Chapter year)

Office Held (year-year)

Chapter Honors and Awards

National Awards

2003 Outstanding PR and Community Relations Award
2004 Dr. Eldo L. Hendricks Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Programming
2005 Most Spirited Chapter Award
2005 Top in Region Award
2009 Most Spirited Chapter Award
2013 Sanders P. McComsey Most Improved Old Chapter Award
2014 Top in Region Award

Chapter Awards

Awards given each semester by Gamma Alpha:

Forrest Judd Award: Named after an original Brother of Gamma Alpha who served as both Initiate Advisor and President, this award recognizes an Executive Board member who has demonstrated exceptional leadership.

Purple Heart Award: Awarded to an active Brother who has provided exceptional effort to the chapter and who demonstrates the ideals of Phi Sigma Pi.

Outstanding Service Award: Awarded to an active Brother, other than the service chair, who has made an outstanding contribution to the service efforts of Phi Sigma Pi.

Best Big Award: Awarded to a Brother who has served as a Big Brother and receives the highest combined vote total from both other Brothers and Initiates.

Broken Chair Award: Presented to an active Brother who has done something unusually funny or entertaining that semester.

Further Resources

In the News

Gamma Alpha Chapter
Founded October 22, 1995 • Purdue University
Presidents	Tracy Howard • Forrest Judd • Christina LaPan • Adam Ketterman • Jill Schlotterback • Lance McGrath • Sean Duff • Chris Carter • Michael Armbrust • Molly Sliger • Claire Walther • Noah Myrent • Nick Madison • Jessica Wilson • Michael Hartel
History	List of Gamma Alpha Chapter Initiate Classes • List of Gamma Alpha Family Lines
Chapter Service Keys	unknown
National Council Members	none
Torchias	none

Collegiate Chapters
Alpha • Beta • Gamma • Delta • Epsilon • Zeta • Eta • Theta • Iota • Kappa • Lambda • Mu • Nu • Xi • Omicron • Pi • Rho • Sigma • Tau • Upsilon • Phi • Omega • Alpha Alpha • Alpha Beta • Alpha Gamma • Alpha Delta • Alpha Epsilon • Alpha Zeta • Alpha Eta • Alpha Theta • Alpha Iota • Alpha Kappa • Alpha Lambda • Alpha Mu • Alpha Nu • Alpha Xi • Alpha Omicron • Alpha Pi • Alpha Rho • Alpha Sigma • Alpha Tau • Alpha Upsilon • Alpha Phi • Alpha Chi • Alpha Psi • Alpha Omega • Beta Alpha • Beta Beta • Beta Gamma • Beta Delta • Beta Epsilon • Beta Zeta • Beta Eta • Beta Theta • Beta Iota • Beta Kappa • Beta Lambda • Beta Mu • Beta Nu • Beta Xi • Beta Omicron • Beta Pi • Beta Rho • Beta Sigma • Beta Tau • Beta Upsilon • Beta Phi • Beta Chi • Beta Psi • Beta Omega • Gamma Alpha • Gamma Beta • Gamma Gamma • Gamma Delta • Gamma Epsilon • Gamma Zeta • Gamma Eta • Gamma Theta • Gamma Iota • Gamma Kappa • Gamma Lambda • Gamma Mu • Gamma Nu • Gamma Xi • Gamma Omicron • Gamma Pi • Gamma Rho • Gamma Sigma • Gamma Tau • Gamma Upsilon • Gamma Phi • Gamma Chi • Gamma Psi • Gamma Omega • Delta Alpha • Delta Beta • Delta Gamma • Delta Delta • Delta Epsilon • Delta Zeta • Delta Eta • Delta Theta • Delta Iota • Delta Kappa • Delta Lambda • Delta Mu • Delta Nu • Delta Xi • Delta Omicron • Delta Pi • Delta Rho • Delta Sigma • Delta Tau • Delta Upsilon • Delta Phi • Delta Chi • Delta Psi • Delta Omega • Epsilon Alpha • Epsilon Beta • Epsilon Gamma • Epsilon Delta • Epsilon Epsilon • Epsilon Zeta • Epsilon Eta • Epsilon Theta • Epsilon Iota • Epsilon Kappa • Epsilon Lambda • Epsilon Mu • Epsilon Nu • Epsilon Xi • Epsilon Omicron • Epsilon Pi • Epsilon Rho • Epsilon Sigma • Epsilon Tau • Epsilon Upsilon • Epsilon Phi • Epsilon Chi • Epsilon Psi • Epsilon Omega • Zeta Alpha • Zeta Beta • Zeta Gamma • Zeta Delta • Zeta Epsilon • Zeta Zeta • Zeta Eta • Zeta Theta • Zeta Iota • Zeta Kappa • Zeta Lambda • Zeta Mu • Zeta Nu • Zeta Xi • Zeta Omicron • Zeta Pi • Zeta Rho • Zeta Sigma • Zeta Tau • Zeta Upsilon • Zeta Phi • Zeta Chi • Zeta Psi • Zeta Omega • Eta Alpha • Eta Beta • Eta Gamma • Eta Delta • Eta Epsilon • Eta Zeta • Eta Theta • Eta Iota • Eta Kappa • Eta Mu • Eta Lambda • Eta Mu • Eta Nu • Eta Xi • Eta Omicron • Eta Pi • Eta Rho • Eta Sigma

Gamma Alpha Chapter

Contents