Zeta Alpha Chapter
Zeta Alpha Chapter (founded 3 April 2010) is located at University of California, San Diego in San Diego, CA. The Chapter has 32 Active Brothers and is a member of the Southwest Region. Zeta Alpha Chapter is a founding Chapter of Team Zeta.
Contents
Chapter History
Founding
Efforts to found a Phi Sigma Pi chapter started when Alumna Kathryn Lieber, a graduate student at University of California, San Diego, contacted the National Office for expansion assistance during Fall Quarter of 2009 at the university. At the end of the quarter, only seven undergraduate students were interested in the fraternity. Seeing low turnout, the Director of Expansion Ryan DeGuzman and Kathryn Lieber decided to extend recruitment drive to the beginning of Winter Quarter. However, the stability of the group of students decreased when four of the seven withdrew from expansion effort over Winter Break. Moreover, the four students requested the UCSD Center of Student Involvement to revoke Phi Sigma Pi as an official student organization at UCSD. However, the other three students held their spirits high, and committed themselves to starting a colony. The three Founding Members (Hana Lee, Natasha Best, and Martin Kwok), the Alumni Advisor Kathryn Lieber, the Staff Advisor Colleen Garcia, and the Director of Expansion coordinated and prepared for the recruitment drive for the beginning of Winter Quarter.
After days of informational sessions during Winter Quarter, at the first organization meeting, 26 undergraduate students pledged themselves as the Founding Class, the Charter Class, the Colony Class, and the Alpha Class of Phi Sigma Pi at UCSD. Executive Board Officers and Committee Chairs were elected, and the Colony Class was finally established. However, through the course of the quarter, many Initiates withdrew from the Initiation Program, and only 18 Initiates stayed by the end of Winter Quarter. The Zeta Alpha colony bonded cohesively throughout the quarter as it fulfilled its requirements to request a charter. Nevertheless, under the leadership of the Colony Class President Natasha Best, the charter petition was finally approved at the beginning of Spring Quarter on April 3, 2010. Thus, Zeta Alpha Chapter was inducted into Phi Sigma Pi with 18 Charter Members.
The Active Chapter
Immediately after Induction and the Chartering of Zeta Alpha Chapter, the Rush and Initiate Advisor Daniel Coffee and the Rush and Initiation Committee coordinated a successful Rush Week. By the end of the first quarter of Zeta Alpha Chapter, the size of the Chapter Brotherhood nearly doubled with the induction of Beta Class. During the first quarter, the Chapter expanded as Officers, Chairs, and Brothers solidified the Chapter Bylaws, programming, families, and traditions. Moreover, Zeta Alpha provided support and assistance to the Zeta Epsilon colony at University of California, Santa Barbara and oversaw its Induction. In addition, to address the safety concerns for fraternal events, the Chapter implemented Chapter's Risk Management Policies to ensure proper preparation and care of risks and emergencies.
After the following quarter, Zeta Alpha Chapter expanded its size and inducted Gamma Class. Furthermore, Zeta Alpha Chapter created a new standing committee, the Brotherhood Development Committee, to address larger Chapter events such as retreats, banquets, and formal dances to foster a greater sense of Brotherhood and fraternal fellowship as a whole. The Chapter also split the Secretary and the Rush & Initiate Advisor into two positions each to address the growing workload on the Officers. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Executive Board and the committees, the Chapter adopted a set of Operating Policies to bolster the Chapter Bylaws and Chapter's Risk Management Policies. Meanwhile, Zeta Alpha also provided support and assistance to the Zeta Eta colony at University of California, Riverside and oversaw too its Induction. Excited to join the Southwest Region, the Zeta Alpha Chapter placed a bid to host the Regional Conference, and is now enthused to host its first ever Southwest Regional Conference just a year after its founding.
Chapter Structure
Executive Board
The Chapter currently has a nine member Executive Board. Officers are elected at the end of each Winter Quarter to serve till the following Spring Quarter.
Executive Board Officers 2010-2011
- President- Martin Kwok
- Vice President- Maclen Zilber
- Parliamentarian- Glenn Laursen
- Epistolarian- Melanie Zelikovsky
- Registrar- Elaine Yu
- Treasurer- Jocelyn Villatoro
- Recruitment Advisor- Daniel Coffee
- Initiate Advisor- Britton Langford
- Historian- Samir Mathur
Committee
The Chapter currently has eight Standing Committees. Each Standing Committee represents an unique aspect of Zeta Alpha Chapter and Phi Sigma Pi. Each Chair is responsible for leading his or her committee to accomplish its goals and carry out its responsibilities. The Judicial Committee only convenes at the call of the Chapter or the Executive Board.
Committee Chairs
- Fund-raising Chair- Derek Lu
- Service Chair- Graeme Moody
- Social Chair- Garrett Somers
- Public Relations Chair- Dishita Desai
- Alumni & Inter-Chapter Relations Chair- Vindy Yang
- Scholarship Chair- Melanie Zelikovsky
- Rush & Initiation Committee Chair- Britton Langford & Daniel Coffee
- Brotherhood Development Chair - Kimberly Huynh
- Judicial Committee Chair - Glenn Laursen
Advisors
- Staff/Faculty Advisor- Colleen Garcia
- Alumni Advisor- Kathryn Lieber
- Alumni Advisor- Natasha Best
Past Chapter Presidents
- Natasha Best- Colony President (2010)
Initiate Classes
Main Article: List of Zeta Alpha Chapter Initiate Classes
