The work Ball State University's Theta Chi fraternity did Spring Semester to improve itself paid off, allowing the house to win a chapter excellence award.
Theta Chi President Brandon Steinbrook said he was excited to receive the award especially because this was the first time the house has won since it was first presented in 1985.
"We've been close to getting it for the last four to five years, so it was surreal to finally receive it," Steinbrook said.
He wants to congratulate the guys who put in the work and effort to receive it, he said.
Ball State's Theta Chi and eight other chapters throughout the country received the Howard R. Alter Jr. Award for Chapter Excellence, which was created in 1984 for Howard Alter's retirement as executive director of Theta Chi Fraternity. The award is given to those chapters that meet or exceed the standard of excellence.
Steinbrook said his chapter had a good chance of winning the Alter Award this year but would have a better chance next year. The chapter had a difficult Fall Semester, but Spring Semester was strong, and the men took major strides toward improving themselves, he said.
"It came as a shock we got it when we did," he said.
Some of the initiatives Steinbrook said his chapter did to improve during Spring Semester was bringing back Water Daze and raising $2,700 for Riley Children's Hospital the past two years. He said Theta Chi also completed five times as many community service hours during the Spring Semester as it did in the fall. The fraternity also worked to improve alumni and university relations.
Jereme Grinslade, the national director of alumni and real estate of Theta Chi Fraternity Inc. and a 1999 Ball State alumnus, said chapters have guidelines and an application process they must submit by April 10 each year to be considered. The chapter president and executive board members and officers might work on the application for one to two months, he said.
Of the 131 active Theta Chi chapters in the United States and Canada, it is up to each fraternity to decide if they will submit an application, Grinslade said. The application length depends on each chapter because there are about 15 areas to complete.
Some of the areas include scholarship programming, recruitment programming, alumni programming, chapter finances and chapter operations.
"If the group is excelling in one area, there's more to fill out, and if not, they might leave it blank," he said.
Grinslade, who became Ball State's Theta Chi co-adviser in 2000 but stopped about a year ago, said it was a wonderful feeling to see Ball State's chapter finally recognized for some of the things it has been accomplishing the past several years.
"It's an awesome feeling, and I'm proud of the guys," he said. "It's great. It really is for them. They are doing a lot of good things, and I feel they are one of the best chapters we have in Theta Chi Fraternity. I feel like a proud dad. It's a great feeling."
Steinbrook said he thought winning the award would help with recruitment and would help the men take leadership positions.
"They can finally get the sense of excelling and can use this to fulfill their college career," he said.
Theta Chi plans to have Water Daze on Sept. 20 and have a larger homecoming by bringing back more alumni, Steinbrook said. Generally Theta Chi has about 35 alumni come back, but he said since winning the award a couple weeks ago, about 40 alumni have called.
Theta Chi also is leasing a house from Ball State, but that lease ends soon, Steinbrook said. The chapter is hoping to buy the house from the university within a couple years, he said.
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