A Letter from Stephen DiOrio ’78

Brothers,

Exciting times for our Chapter and certainly exciting times for our undergraduate student leaders as they plan their return to the Chapter house this week.

As you will see in an adjacent article prepared by brother Tom Robinson, a lot of work was completed over the summer thanks in large part to the generous financial support and professional guidance of Jason Borelli, ’94, whose son Drew is now a brother and resident of the Alpha Mu Chapter.  Jason has enabled us to complete a variety of projects that have been on the radar of the Board for several years but that have just not been possible because of the dollars needed to complete the work.    This work remedies a variety of issues confronting the Chapter and provides a much better quality of life for our undergraduate brethren.  It represents just the beginning of what can ultimately be accomplished at Pi Kappa Phi Penn State if we pull together the resources necessary to not just survive but to thrive at Penn State.

The future of fraternities and Greek Life at Penn State has never been better and, in fact, never more necessary than today.  Opportunities for leadership training and life long friendships are identified by new students entering the University as primary goals as they come to University Park and no other type of residency offers the fulfillment of these needs like that of fraternities and sororities.  The vision of the students may be a little different than those of previous eras and the societal norms and expectations those of 2022 but in the end, the desired outcomes are the same as all of us—a great education, life long friendships and a desire to succeed in our personal and professional adult lives.

To that end, please know that there will be opportunity for all of us to provide support to both our own beloved Pi Kappa Phi and to our University’s mission of supporting safe living for all of our students at Penn State and more specifically, our Undergraduate Student Leaders involved in Greek Life. 

In addition all the great work being done at the house, the Alpha Mu Board has been in discussions with Stevan Veldkamp, Executive Director of the Piazza Center, to find ways that we as a Chapter and a Fraternity can lend support to Penn State’s Timothy J. Piazza Center that will allow scholars to be brought together to formulate and test prevention techniques for fraternities and sororities to make them safer, healthier and life affirming so that hazardous behavior can be reduced.  This purpose aligns well with the vision and goal to have fraternities identified and perhaps even credited by the University as formalized leadership training when students become involved in Greek Life.

The Board has recently voted to provide a 4 year commitment to the Piazza Center totaling $80000 ($20000/year) to come from the collective contributions of our Pi Kappa Phi alumni.  You will be hearing more about this in the near future.  Our individual contributions will qualify as a tax deductible contribution to the University, directed to the Piazza Center and credited collectively to the goal of the Alpha Mu Chapter.  Each dollar contributed will be matched dollar for dollar by the University.  Our students will benefit from this research in the form of better safety, stronger leadership skills and a thriving Greek environment.

Stay tuned as we work to build a better Pi Kappa Phi and support the needs of our undergraduate leaders, all the while helping to build life long friendships and a stronger community.

Thanks for all of your support,

For the glory,

Steve