Sigma Nu's 2020-2021
Sigma Nu Epsilon Eta Chapter
The University of Tennessee
Knoxville
Commander Kris Brucker appointed to Sigma Nu Education Foundation
Each year the Sigma Nu Fraternity organization appoints six brothers from chapters across the nation to serve on two different national boards. This year Epsilon Eta is represented by Commander Kris Brucker as a Collegiate Board member on the Sigma Nu Education Foundation Board. Brother Brucker is the first undergraduate member of Epsilon Eta to serve on the Foundation Board. He served the chapter as Recruitment chair in 2020 and will continue to serve as Commander until early 2022.
Academics Success
The chapter had another successful year in academics. The chapter had 36 brothers during the fall semester and 34 brothers during spring semester make the Dean’s List. Students are recognized on the Dean’s List who have a semester GPA of above a 3.50. The chapter ended spring semester with an average cumulative GPA of 3.27.
Family Weekend Dinner 2021
Each year the chapter hosts a Family Weekend dinner. This year the chapter moved the event to April and let families choose between attending lunch and dinner to limit attendance at each event. The chapter hosted over 230 brothers and family members at the two events at The Foundry in downtown Knoxville. It was awesome to have an event after the past year of very limited activity.
Chapter Enjoys Outdoor Activities
This was a very different year with COVID limitations for Sigma Nu. Both semesters the chapter reserved Egwani Farms Golf Course for 60 brothers to spend a Sunday afternoon playing golf. The brothers enjoyed an afternoon of free golf and friendly competition. In addition, several members of the chapter spent an October afternoon whitewater rafting.
Tindall/Curtis Alumni Scholarships Presented
Each fall semester the alumni of Epsilon Eta award four $3,000 scholarships. The scholarships were presented over Zoom during a meeting with alumni. The alumni of the Epsilon Eta Chapter have awarded $56,000 in scholarships to 18-chapter members over the past five years. The efforts of Don Fancher (EH #708) and John Shoemaker (EH #708) are appreciated in having the vision to start this scholarship. The Dan Tindall (EH #1525)/Steve Curtis (EH #727) Scholarships honors two brothers who entered the Chapter Eternal.
The winners were ---
Allen Pack graduated in May with a degree in Supply Chain. Allen is from Alpharetta, GA. He served as IFC President during 2020. Allen is with Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, OH.
Phil Deaton is a senior from Memphis, TN majoring in Electrical Engineering. He served the chapter as Commander and Treasurer over the past two year.
David Plante is a senior from Cummings, GA majoring in Global Studies/Politics. He served IFC over the past year as Vice President for Health & Safety.
Nick Hunter graduated in May with a degree in Business Analyst and from Roswell, GA. He served the chapter as Lt. Commander during the past year. Nick accepted a position with Kaiser Permanente as a Strategy Analyst.
Sigma Nu wins Big Orange Give Third Year in A Row
Each November, the UT Foundation conducts Big Orange Give. As part of the Big Orange Give 2019, UT conducts The Greek Challenge. The Greek Challenge is sponsored by Ron and Don Frieson (Kappa Alpha Psi). All Greek organizations compete against each other in two categories: Large Chapter (100 members or members) and Small Chapter (less then 100 members). There were two competitions this year and $2,500 was awarded to the winner in each – the chapter with the most donors and the chapter who raised money. Sigma Nu won the competition for the third year in a row by raising over $14,000 and winning an additional $1,500 for winning the Big Orange Give.
Recruitment in a Pandemic
Fall recruitment was held both virtually and in person this year. The first two of rounds were conducted online. Each chapter on campus had the opportunity to prepare a presentation for all potential new members (PNMs). The next night each chapter had breakout rooms and PNMs met with brothers in the rooms. On Saturday all chapters were divided between Circle Park and FIJI Island. Sunday each PNM visited up to six houses. The final night each PNM visited only two houses. The chapter made the new process work this year. It was challenging due to the COVID and social distancing policies put in place by the University. The Epsilon Eta chapter signed 46 candidates and initiated 37 in November. Fall initiation was conducted over Zoom. Spring 2021 the chapter signed 12 candidates and initiated 11. The chapter did a great job navigating the requirements of the University during the pandemic and initiated 48 new brothers into Epsilon Eta over the course of the year. Fall semester recruitment marked the ninth straight year that they chapter signed 29 or more candidates. Sigma Nu is one of only three chapters who have maintained this high level of consistency.
Spirit Week 2020
The All Campus Events committee held Sprint Week, instead of Homecoming this year due to COVID. The chapter participated with Sigma Kappa in the following competitions – Large Banner, Large Float, Smokey’s Howl, Chalk Ped Walkway, and Cornhole. We won the Cornhole competition.
