Pi Kappa Phi was named Purdue’s top fraternity for 2017-18 on April 9 at the annual Greek Awards Gala.
The fraternity was chosen among six finalists that qualified in each of the judging categories for best chapter. Then the IFC finalists were evaluated statistically to determine the winner.
In the Fall 2017 semester, for example, Pi Kappa Phi was No. 1 in philanthropic dollars raised ($112,354 with the closest competitor having raised $38,259), No. 1 in service hours (5,040, more than double any other fraternity), No. 2 in grades (3.27 average GPA, with 74.0 percent earning at least a 3.0 and fraternity average being 2.95) and No. 6 in chapter size (145 members when IFC average was 86) among Purdue’s 40 IFC chapters.
“Winning the RB Stewart Award means so much to me and to every man in this chapter,” said 2018 president Nate Longo. “It represents what we all do, day-in and day-out, to live true to the values we preach. I could not be prouder of what these men have been able to accomplish.”
The 2017 president echoed the sentiment.
“It really is a great reflection of our achievements and it is rewarding to see all the hard work every single brother put into making this goal a reality,” said Chad Hellan. “I’m proud of all my brothers for the ongoing drive to be the absolute best fraternity we can be.”
It was the second time in the last three years that Pi Kappa Phi has won the Stewart Award and 8th of the last 11 years.
Associate dean of students for fraternity, sorority and cooperative life Brandon Cutler made the announcement at the awards event. Right before he announced the award, he quipped that it might be time to rename the award since Pi Kappa Phi has won it so much.
Throughout his career at Purdue, Cutler has emphasized that Greek organizations need to prove their value to the educational mission of the university. Furthermore, they need to exceed be better than the average student.
“Pi Kappa Phi has consistently recruited members and elected leaders that believe they can make the world a better place,” he said. “They work hard and expect their members to give generously of their time, talent and treasure. Their humble approach, commitment to their mission and continuity throughout fraternity leadership has allowed them to sustain a progressive and transformational organizational culture.”
Also at the awards ceremony, Pi Kapp Pranit Das was named the IFC Philanthropist of the Year at the Greek Gala.
“Not only does Pranit live what our philanthropy stands for day in and day out, he has a lot of accomplishments as a leader to showcase his efforts,” the chapter’s nomination for Das said.
“This is the first award that I’ve ever won so it’s very special,” Das, an international student from India, said. “I’m pleased we could raise as much money as we did for a great cause and I’m glad that I was able to do justice to the position of Ability Experience chairman. Lastly, I would like to thank my committee, all the members of the chapter and all the sororities that helped us have a great philanthropic year.”
Das was Ability Experience chairman in the spring and continued to assist his successor and the chapter with various outreach programs for people with disabilities.
It also marked the second year out of the last three that Pi Kappa Phi has had IFC’s top philanthropist.