Protect Purdue guidelines do not allow large gatherings for the recruitment process for the entire Greek system or any chapter. Thus, prospective new members must schedule a time to meet with someone from the chapter (this is true of all fraternities this fall).
Spring 2021 recruitment chairmen are Vince Giglio, vrgiglio@comcast.net, 630/750-6213 and Calvin Whetstone, whetstoc@purdue.edu, 317/694-6866.
Erik Wilson is the 2020 president (aka archon). His contact information is:
erikscottwilson@gmail.com, 440/318-5630. 2021 president is Jack Wagner, wagne261@purdue.edu, 812/583-3794.
Potential new members either need to make contact with Giglio or Whetstone directly (information is listed above) or use the link below to schedule a meeting time:
https://forms.gle/RBDvtSCc5Pawf3X29
Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house is located at 330 N. Grant St., across the street from Purdue’s Grissom Hall (which is located just north of the Purdue Memorial Union and just south of Knoy Hall of Technology). It is the most honored fraternity in Purdue history. You can see a list of recent awards elsewhere on this website.
Pi Kappa Phi looks for three things in prospective new members:
• Academic Achievement
• Service
• Leadership
The Spring 2020 Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life statistics compiled by bear that out. Here’s where Pi Kappa Phi ranks among the 42 fraternities at Purdue:
- No. 2 in philanthropy dollars raised at $17,701. Of the 42 chapters, only 19 reporting raising anything
- No. 3 in chapter size at 147 members. The Interfraternity average membership was 75
- No. 15 with 157 service hours
- No. 17 semester GPA at 3.48 and No. 5 cumulative GPA at 3.32Among individual grades, here’s the chapter breakout:
- 31 members had 4.0 GPAs in the spring, 21.1%
- 122 members had a 3.0 or higher in the spring, 83.0%
- 84 members were either on the dean’s list or earned semester academic honors, 57.1%
The national Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity has its own outreach program – The Ability Experience – and the Purdue chapter is very committed to it. You can read more about the chapter’s commitment to the effort here and can look in our photo gallery for more details.
Overall, we raise money and awareness for people with disabilities nationally and locally through various events. There are details about such elsewhere on this website, too. Events include:
• 72-Hour David Feltner Memorial Bike-a-Thon
• Arctoberfest
• War of Roses
• Second Chance Prom for people with disabilities
• Lafayette Jefferson High School special needs classroom volunteering
• Pi Kapp 100 in conjunction with Moms Day (the spring 2020 Pi Kapp 100/Moms Day did not occur due to in-person classes cancelation, but this link will show what we did in 2019)
If you are interested in new member recruitment and have further questions, contact our Recruitment Chairman or fill out a form here.
Pi Kappa Phi prides itself in developing leaders, serving others and personal growth. As such, it has been honored as Purdue’s top fraternity – RB Stewart Award winner – 10 of the last 13 years including 3 in a row (in 2018, 2019, and 2020. It also won the 2019 NIC Award of Distinction recognizing it among the Top 5 fraternity chapters in the nation).
Terminology:
Rush, aka new member recruitment. This is an opportunity to meet brothers at various chapters. There is no commitment made by you just to visit chapters during rush. It’s an opportunity to learn about the members and the chapters. If you find fraternities you are interesting in potentially joining, you are encouraged to attend as many rush events as possible. The earlier the better.
Meet the Greeks. This is a Greek system-wide event held each semester. The various fraternities (spring and fall) and sororities (fall only) set up tables in a large area. Potential new members can meet representatives of the various chapters, pick up recruitment information and sign up on a specific chapter list. Attendance is not required to become part of the Greek system, but it’s a way to visit with many chapters at the same event. Because there are so many chapters at Meet the Greeks, you might consider doing some online research of the various organizations through Google searches and the Purdue Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life reports (grades, service hours, philanthropic fund-raising, etc.; https://www.purdue.edu/fscl/ )
Bid. This is an invitation to join the chapter. You are welcome to visit as many chapters as you wish and get as many bids as you want. However, once you accept a bid you are committed (it’s not a contract, it’s a commitment).
Legacy. This is when you have a relative who is a member of a specific chapter. Preference is generally given to those who have relatives among the chapter’s membership or alumni rolls. There is no guarantee that a legacy will receive a bid at Pi Kappa Phi.
Induction. This is a formal event at the start of the new member education (aka pledgeship and/or associate membership) starts where each member of the class commits to seeking to become an initiated member into the chapter.
New Member Orientation/Pledging. After accepting a bid, there will be a formal ceremony welcoming you into the new member education plan. New Member education programs can be 2 to 30 weeks long, depending on the chapter. The most common timeframe is completion in the same semester as you start.
Initiation. This is a formal ceremony inducting you into a chapter. It occurs upon your successful completion of the new member education process. If you so choose, you typically can relinquish your bid (quit) to a chapter up to initiation time. It’s during the initiation ceremony that you typically learn the secret meaning of the chapter. At Pi Kappa Phi, initiation occurs after the start of the semester following induction. Our initiation order is determined by the prior semester GPA (reinforcing the chapter’s commitment to academic achievement).