During the 2020 Greek Awards announced in April, Pi Kappa Phi won three major awards including the top fraternity chapter at Purdue.
On April 24 through Purdue’s Office of Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life social media pages, the chapter was announced as the 2020 RB Stewart Award winner signifying it as the best fraternity on campus.
According to the qualifications, the winner “has demonstrated its excellence in a variety of categories that measure the health and overall chapter achievement including: Academics, philanthropy/service, programming, attendance, accountability and their ability to provide an overall values-driven chapter experience.”
Chapter president Erik Wilson sees the award as recognition for how Pi Kappa Phi sets the standard on campus.
“It’s great to see our chapter continually set the standard as not only at Purdue, but nationwide as well,” Wilson said. “As someone who was on the fence about joining Greek Life as an incoming freshman, it’s very encouraging and important that our chapter continues to challenge stereotypes set by many other fraternities in this day and age.
“I never could have imagined just how enriching of an experience it has been being a part of this chapter and I’m thankful every day that I joined Pi Kappa Phi,” he said.
The 2020 award was selected from among 42 chapters. It was the 10th time the chapter has been selected in the last 13 years.
Nathan Longo, a senior from Dublin, Ohio in electrical engineering with minors in computer science and management, was announced as the Greek Man of the Year.
“I am honored humbled to receive the Purdue Greek Man of the Year award,” Longo said. “Pi Kappa Phi and the entire Purdue Greek community has given so much to me. Along with the lifetime friendships, I have grown immensely as a man and as a leader, and my time here has undoubtedly left a lasting impact on my life. The men of Pi Kappa Phi continue to amaze me, winning the RB Stewart 3 out of my 4 years here and 10 of the last 13 really shows that it’s not just a few individuals, but an entire chapter dedicated to our common cause.”
Longo’s accolades are numerous during his Greek experience. He was named the 2019 Pi Kappa Phi Student of the Year and the 2019 Purdue Fraternity President of the Year.
It was Pi Kappa Phi’s fourth Greek Man of the Year Award winner in the last three decades. Others include Doug Teany (1994), Steve Holtsclaw (2008) and Dan Cronin (2010).
“This one is special to me because it represents my time and dedication to the Purdue Greek community,” Longo said. “I poured my heart and soul into helping Purdue continue to have the best Greek community in the country, and it feels great to be honored for such work.”
Furthermore, Campbell Boston, a sophomore from Palatine, Illinois majoring in film and video, received the Philanthropist of the Year Award.
He was the chapter’s Ability Experience chairman for the last two semesters and was a member of the 2019 Gear Up Florida team.
“What helps Pi Kappa Phi set the standard for community service and philanthropy is the culture of the brothers in the chapter,” Boston said. “I never had to ask more than once for help with any philanthropic event. Service and philanthropy are at the core of our values and that’s what helps make us so successful.”
Boston was the 4th chapter member of the award in the last 9 years. Others include: Peter Bassick (2011), Jarrod Wagner (2016) and Pranit Das (2018).
“I’m just proud to be able to add to the legacy of our chapter’s exceptional philanthropy and hopefully inspire some of the young brothers to do the same,” Boston said.
Pi Kappa Phi ended the spring semester with 150 members from a wide variety of academic majors.