CONTINUING OUR WORK IN THE NEW BIENNIUM

By Marc Dumas DePaul ’93

Fraternity is advanced friendship, and we are in the Friendship Business.

Our friendship was on full display at the 2024 Grand Arch Council in Minnesota. I enjoyed spending time with brothers, partners and guests with all Minneapolis has to offer. If you attended, I hope I got to see you, and in some cases, meet you for the first time. More importantly, I hope you come back to future GACs. For me, the GAC recharges my fraternal batteries. The opportunity to engage with brothers and address the business of Phi Kappa Psi never gets old. I get to see familiar faces, tell old stories, and complain about the requisite chicken meals we are going to have over the course of the weekend. Some things never change.   

I’m honored to be elected the 69th President of the Phi Kappa Psi, and excited beyond measure for the opportunity to serve the Fraternity in this role. The promise I made at the podium after my election is that I will do my best to help Phi Kappa Psi be better than when I started. 

How do we achieve this? By continuing the work we began the last biennium. 

We have spent the past two years evaluating the future of alumni engagement. In the next two years, we must act. We nurture engagement when we ask a young man to join our strong band and the likelihood of further engagement grows as our undergraduate brothers experience leadership opportunities and access mentors to help along the way. It blossoms as they leave college, comforted by the thought that brothers will be there for them in times of need. It flourishes as they seek opportunities to help the next generation of undergraduate leaders.

This outcome is more likely when every undergraduate chapter and colony has a functioning Chapter Advisory Team, and House Corporation made up of alumni and friends of Phi Psi. Volunteer involvement provides role models and guidance where our undergraduates need it most.

We must also understand that alumni engagement is different for people at various stages of life. For years, we’ve missed that. No more. As a Fraternity, we will attempt to engage as many brothers as possible by meeting them where they are, to ensure that their membership in the Brotherhood is a lifetime experience, not just a collegiate one.

My journey to receiving the President’s Medallion was possible with the support and involvement of alumni. In 1991, I started a colony at DePaul University and attended my first Grand Arch Council in 1992. For the first time, I had the opportunity to meet people I’d only read about during my new member education. I remember asking about the men sitting at the front of the room, and how they got there. I wanted to represent my chapter, and to prove that a little school like DePaul could build leaders, too. The brothers I met helped me understand the opportunities that existed in Phi Kappa Psi. My trip to the GAC in San Francisco solidified three things: that I belonged, that I would stay involved, and that I would always make time for the GAC. After graduation, I became a Chapter Advisor and volunteered for other roles as time allowed. 

This past biennium, we focused on expanding our membership. As the first Black president of our Fraternity, I’m elated to see diversity among our Brotherhood. Today’s college campuses are more diverse than ever. More and more, the plurality of our country is reflected within our ranks. We must continue to widen our net and ensure our recruitment plan is welcoming and accessible to as many qualified men as possible. From the Executive Council to our chapters, diversity brings new voices and perspectives to the table. 

You play a fundamental role in how we move forward! Are you with me? Here’s how you can help: 

• Speak of your membership in Phi Kappa Psi in an active, positive tense. I AM a Phi Psi. Love and care are action verbs. Use them!
• Stay in contact with your brothers. Many of you already talk to them on a regular basis. Consider opening the circle a little more for your next outing.
• If you’re not already a member of an alumni association, join one. If there isn’t one near you, start one or an alumni club.
• Engage with your brothers: When you go back to campus, let the undergrads know you are coming.
• Volunteer. Several chapters have vacancies on their advisory board or house corporation. Not all roles require you to be in person, nor does the chapter have to be yours.  Young men will forever sing your praises for investing in them. (Just ask Brother Nieslawski Illinois ’79.)
• Support the Foundation in its efforts to help with leadership training, scholarships, and more.

The Fraternity is so much more to me than something I did in college. It has been, and continues to be, a fundamental part of my life.

If you have questions on how to take any of the above actions, please contact me or National Headquarters. I can’t wait to hear from you! Thank you for taking time to read my first President’s Message. I’m glad you’re here with us.

BLSAOET,

SWGP Marc A. S. Dumas…