The current Chapter facility, originally constructed in 1949, continues to serve as the focal point of SigEp life at WSU. While experiences with KS Eta have all been more than ‘bricks and mortar’, the facility plays a significant role as the living and learning center for our members. For several years, your Alumni Board has been assessing SigEp’s future at Wichita State. We have examined the needs and desires of today’s undergraduate men. We have looked at what other fraternities have done to upgrade their facilities, both at WSU and elsewhere. Through that work, it is clear we must make a major investment in a new Chapter House to remain competitive. Undergraduates’ expectations in collegiate living are changing. Many of us experienced our SigEp days sleeping in dorms and having separate study rooms. Today, most college undergrads prefer to have a room similar to the traditional home environment. Studying and sleeping in a more “suitelike” setting with fewer persons in a cluster of rooms is their preference.

Our current facility continues to show the “wear and tear” of nearly 50 years of continuous use by over 1,000 brothers. Coupled with that heavy use, serious maintenance (roof replacement, repairs to insect damage, utility upgrades, structural strengthening, etc), the facility will require the infusion of an unknown, albeit large, amount of capital to maintain it’s current state. In addition, it is very difficult for our undergraduate brothers to recruit to a facility which shows significant wear and has had few improvements since 1959. With the renovations and construction by other fraternities, we’ve found competition is up SIGNIFICANTLY for new members.

Men join fraternities for any number of reasons. While today, we are among the top fraternities on the WSU campus, we believe our recruiting has been hampered by the current age and condition of our Chapter House. By upgrading our facility to current collegiate expectations, we will increase our ability to recruit the high-quality members we seek.