Indiana State University Newsroom

The North American Interfraternity Conference has chosen Indiana State University’s Pi Kappa Alpha chapter to be listed among the top ten of the conference’s 5,500 chapters.

The conference, the umbrella organization for 74 national and international fraternities, presented the Chapter Award of Distinction to the Theta Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha.

The award is based on reports that chapters are high functioning, in compliance with conference standards and seek to educate others about benefits of value-based fraternity experience while maintaining healthy relationships with their international/national organizations.

Combined, the ten chapters boast $300,000 in philanthropic donations, a 3.27 cumulative chapter GPA, top honors on their respective campuses and within their international/national organizations as well as over 40,000 hours in community service. Last year, Indiana State’s chapter donated more than 3,000 hours of community service and raised more than $17,000 through various philanthropic events.

The honor is also in response to the many other achievements the men of the Theta Omicron chapter have accumulated through the years, according to Bo Mantooth, director of fraternity and sorority life at Indiana State.

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life in partnership with Order of Omega, a Greek honor society, has awarded Indiana State’s President’s Cup to Pi Kappa Alpha for the past 10 consecutive years as the highest achieving Interfraternity Council chapter on campus. For 24 years of the chapter’s 36-year history, it has earned Pi Kappa Alpha International’s Robert Adger Smythe award for being among the top 10 percent of all Pi Kappa Alpha chapters.

While the awards are impressive, the accomplishments the men have earned, and the influence the organization has, extends far beyond those who hold membership, Mantooth said.

“The impact the Theta Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha has made on the fraternity and sorority life community, the Indiana State University community, and the greater Terre Haute community is unmatched by any chapter in recent years,” he said.

Brandon Nettrouer, a junior insurance and risk management major and Pi Kappa Alpha chapter president at Indiana State, was present at the April 19 award ceremony and said, “This award is extremely humbling to receive and it fills me with pride and appreciation for the efforts of my fraternal brothers. For me to witness our members get rewarded for their extraordinary efforts, and for our alumni and advisers to share this first time North American Interfraternity Conference recognition with us, is what truly means the most to me.”

In a nomination letter, Indiana State University President Dan Bradley said the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter’s accomplishments are “important to the university and to me personally.”

At times, it can be easy to simply see all of the fraternity’s accomplishments and forget the core reason why these groups of students do all that they do. According to Dan Bradley, “What is of greatest importance is the alignment of the chapter’s values with those of the university.”

At the heart of the chapter is the care of their brotherhood, the Sycamore community, and the place the Theta Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha calls home, Terre Haute, Bradley said.

The chapter’s accomplishments have been recognized and awarded on many levels and the actions of its members, as a whole impresses Mantooth.

“This award will motivate them to continue to excel,” he said. 

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Photo: http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-nH3jHpW/0/XL/i-nH3jHpW-XL.jpg - Indiana State University Pi Kappa Alpha undergraduate members and alumni pose with the international fraternity leaders Justin Buck (back left), chief executive officer and Vice President John Bobango (front right). (North American Interfraternity Conference)

Photo: http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-HH5PHWs/0/O/i-HH5PHWs.jpg - Brandon Nettrouer, president of Indiana State University’s Pi Kappa Alpha chapter, accepts the Chapter Award of Distinction on behalf for the chapter. (North American Interfraternity Conference)

Writer: Haley Sluboski, media relations assistant, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3773 or hsluboski@sycamores.indstate.edu