Members of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
OXFORD, Miss. – The options for Greek life at University of Mississippi officially grew by one earlier this month. Pi Kappa Phi fraternity recolonized Oct. 11 after a more-than-six-decade absence from campus.
The Alpha Lambda chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity chartered on at Ole Miss in 1927. For 22 years, the fraternity was a prominent student group, producing many leaders in the campus community. However, when World War II affected many of the “Pi Kapp” members, the chapter was forced to dissolve. Over the next 60 years, the Alpha Lambda chapter struggled to regain a presence on campus.
In 2012, the Pi Kappa Phi national staff started conversations with a few undergraduate men who they thought might be interested in joining their brotherhood. Representatives from the fraternity traveled to the Ole Miss campus in spring 2013 to conduct information sessions and recruit students. A leadership consultant helped recruit 28 men.
“We recruited, raised money and awareness for people with disabilities through our philanthropy, stayed in the top three fraternity GPAs on campus, held fun and safe social events, and we made lifelong bonds and friendships with the men around us,” said Phillip Schmidt, Pi Kappa Phi president.
Over the course of the first year on campus, the fraternity formed an executive council, successfully participated in formal recruitment and gained a total of 67 men by December 2013 to help celebrate its first Founder’s Day.
“As a veteran of 25 years in the Army, these young men have embraced high standards that I respect and I’ve been honored to help them work through the process of colonization,” said Michael Howland, veteran and military services coordinator in the Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience and Pi Kappa Phi faculty adviser. “Their hard work resulted in a very diverse group of 102 young men who chartered and initiated, and that makes me proud of what they have accomplished.”
It wasn’t until Oct. 11 that the fraternity regained its charter and recolonized on the UM campus.
“Pi Kappa Phi is honored to return to the University of Mississippi,” said Mark Timmes, CEO of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. “We are proud of our newest brothers who have embraced our mission to create an uncommon and lifelong brotherhood that develops leaders and encourages service to others for the betterment of our communities. We look forward to being an integral part of the Greek system.”
The fraternity has already made a name for itself on campus through Pi Kappa Phi’s national philanthropy, The Ability Experience, which raises awareness and money and recruits volunteers for those with mental and physical disabilities. The chapter held a 24-hour bike-a-thon called Pedal for a Push, raising $2,900. Pi Kappa Phi is the only national Greek fraternity to operate its own philanthropy.
“I am extremely proud of what we have become and the way that we have already begun to do things differently, but I know that this is just the beginning of the legacy that we are leaving with Pi Kapp,” Schmidt said. “I am so thankful to the Greek community and the university for being supportive and always willing to help and of course to our advisers and the rest of our volunteers and parents for their unwavering support.”