By Bret Morgan (Z982)
As you are likely aware, we received great news on April 22, 2017: The Grand High Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha voted unanimously to approve the chapter’s Remediation Plan’s results and restore the active chapter to full good standing. The development of the Remediation Plan and other positive action taken by the actives and alumni would not have been possible without efforts undertaken by the chapter’s High Zeta and active brotherhood, along with a core of alumni advisors. A special thanks to alumni Tom Gasbarre (Z966), Luke Taiclet (Z920) and Ed Beard for the significant time they dedicated to the task. According to Tom, in order to ensure the Remediation Plan is completely fulfilled, we will begin working on the next steps for the 2017-2018 year, which will include items such as reporting, compliance, strategic planning, community involvement, and best practices.
Now that the chapter has been restored to good standing with the General Fraternity, it may be a time to reflect on how we ended up in this situation. Such an analysis is important as the chapter has, periodically, had problems that have threaten the viability of Zeta-Zeta over the years. While the specific issues that caused the recent problems and those in the past have not always been the same, one item that appears at the core of all of these problem issues is a break-down in fraternity education. Not that portion of the fraternity education process associated with teaching LXA’s history, mission statement, core values, or brotherhood requirements; however, the portion of fraternity education associated with the practical application of these items. Over the years, the chapter has experienced breakdowns in fraternity education items that include financial (budgeting and receivable collection), recruitment (not enough or inappropriate), and brotherhood (responsibility and respect) aspects. The general reason that these items have become a problem is that, for whatever reason, the active members become unable to adequately operate the chapter. The key take-a-way from this recent occasions the actives and alumni need to focus upon is: How can Zeta avoid these situation in the future? It appears the answer is to ensure that some method of practical fraternity education is continually provided by actives (to newly initiated brothers), the alumni (to actives), or some combination of the both.
Think of practical fraternity education same way an entity (business or other) either conducts training or completes maintenance. If such an entity reduces/eliminates training or maintenance (usually to save time and money), the negative impact on the entity becomes apparent after a short period of time. Usually, to correct the negative impact from the reduction or elimination of training or maintenance, the entity is required to expend significant resources (time and money) to address and correct the aforementioned negative consequence. However, if the entity conducts sufficient training and completes adequate maintenance regularly, it usually continues to operate effectively. While the entity was expend some level of resources continually under the latter option, it is usually the least expensive and disruptive option.
The alumni, with input from the actives, should discuss the benefits of implementing some form of practical fraternity education. Such education could include, at a minimum, financial management, required reporting, compliance issues, strategic planning, and alumni and community programs. While it could take many forms, the goal of any such program would be to ensure the actives have the tools to operate the chapter, on a daily basis, with only limited involvement from the alumni.