Amid an excitement-packed week in Houston last month at SigEp’s Grand Chapter Conclave, Connecticut Alpha brother Van Augur, class of 2020, was elected and installed into one of SigEp’s highest offices – a seat on the fraternity’s National Board of Directors.
Above: The installation of officers at the 56th Grand Chapter Conclave in Houston
Sigma Phi Epsilon is one of the few national fraternities that is directly governed by its undergraduates. Every two years, at Conclave, delegates from every active undergraduate chapter come together and vote on key legislation that defines the future of our fraternity. At the end of the week, the undergraduates are tasked with electing a Board of Directors, which is responsible for the governance of the fraternity in the two year period between each Conclave. The Board makes key decisions about granting charters, passing budgets, and providing strategic direction to Headquarters staff.
The Board is composed of 8 alumni, 2 higher education professionals, and 3 undergraduate brothers. Connecticut Alpha is excited that after serving as a Conclave committee chair, Van was recognized by the Grand Chapter as having the institutional knowledge, confidence, and experience to represent the undergraduates on our board. In Connecticut Alpha, Van has served as BMP challenge coordinators, BMS Chairman, and Chaplain. Van has also attended all five of SigEp’s Leadership programs, including Tragos Quest to Greece, and has facilitated at the Carlson Leadership Academy. Throughout, Van has forged a wide variety of friendships and working relationships that will serve him well on the Board.
Van in excited for the opportunity ahead of him: “I’m grateful that I have this chance to serve an organization that has given me more than I can ever repay,” Van adds. Among Van’s goals going into the position are finding new innovative ways to engage and train volunteers and providing chapters with enhanced resources for Ritual and values-based education.
Van is not the first Connecticut Alpha brother to hold this role, however. 1982 alumnus Bob Flynn, pictured with Van to the right, was elected to the board in 1981. Brother Flynn remains an active volunteer and mentor in the Connecticut Alpha chapter, and has been a regular Conclave attendee for nearly four decades.
Connecticut Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon as a whole look forward to Van and the National Board’s continued leadership. Those seeking to contact Van can contact the Connecticut Alpha chapter of SigEp for his contact information.