After a nearly a decade, Wabash’s plan to renovate and/or rebuild the nine College-owned fraternities is drawing to a close. The very latest additions to Greek life include a brand new house for Tau Kappa Epsilon, a second round of renovations for Delta Tau Delta, and the beginning stages of a new house for Kappa Sigma.
The plan began ten years ago when former Director of Development Carroll Black ’66 and current Senior Major Gifts Officer Steve Hoffman ’85 drafted it to improve Greek life at Wabash. Houses such as Phi Delta Theta and Phi Gamma Delta have received new houses through the fundraising efforts of alumni and Wabash personnel, and houses such as Delta Tau Delta and Phi Kappa Psi have received extensive repairs and remodeling.
The TKE house, which was finished earlier this summer, is ready to host its brothers at long last. Recently the Alpha-Alpha chapter left their old house on Grant Avenue next to the Wabash Center, a building they shared with the College Hall dormitory. Last fall the brother left the building, which was renovated into a full dorm hall, and moved into the swing space, or old FIJI house, for the 2007-2008 school year. The house has a capacity of forty brothers.
“Our push into the new house has been surprisingly quick and easy,” said Richard Hogue ‘09, TKE president. “We’ve had great cooperation from alumni, brothers, and Wabash itself. The building is quite nice, with the highest quality facilities available. We’re very excited to get more acquainted with our new neighbors and everything looks like it will kick off a fantastic year for Alpha-Alpha.”
Hogue invites anyone in the Wabash community to visit the house for a tour.
The Delt house will soon face a second round of renovations, the first having taken place last year. In the second round, there is a south side addition, which includes a new entrance, and will also form a spine hallway connecting the front and rear entrances. On the east side of the house, the courtyard has been expanded, and student rooms have been reconfigured.
“The men of the house could not be more excited,” said Thomas Hanewald ‘09, Delt President. “We are waiting for a few more landscaping touchups but the house is nearly finished. Our alumni, national fraternity, and most importantly, Wabash College has done a tremendous job of renovating and revitalizing our house.
The improved house has made a powerful impact on rush.
“As all other fraternities know,” Hanewald said, “it is very easy to sell a newly renovated house to incoming freshmen and their parents. The men of Delta Tau Delta look forward to enjoying this new house for years to come and we will do our very best to maintain this new living unit.”
Kappa Sigma is the last of the nine College-owned houses in the renovation program. Plans for the new house began last fall, when the brotherhood hosted a fundraiser to assist alumni in financing the program, which costs just under $5 million. The old chapter house, which was famous for being two wings that formed a U shape, was razed to the ground this summer, and immediately after construction began on the new house. The brotherhood moved into the swing space on the heels of the TKE’s, where they patiently await the groundbreaking of their new home, scheduled for August 2009.
Although Kappa Sigma was the last house scheduled in the program, there is no bad blood between the brotherhood and Wabash.
“There are reasons why the timing worked out the way it did, and I think everyone understands that and no one is bitter,” said Royce Gregerson ’09, Kappa Sigma Ritualist. “The College has learned a lot over the past few years constructing these houses, and being the last one built means that we are on the receiving end on a lot of accumulated wisdom.”
The Kappa Sigs are also adjusting to life in the swing space, which has housed nearly every other fraternity on campus over the last decade. So far, there is little indication, other than a campus map error, that the old FIJI house is effecting rush this fall.
“It has goods and bads,” said Seth Einterz ’11. “Obviously, there’s a lot of sentimental attachment to the old house, but we really enjoy the layout of the new house. Some of the rooms are bigger, and of course the courtyard is ridiculously sweet.”
When Kappa Sigma’s new chapter house is finished, it will be approximately the same size but will expand brothers’ rooms, decreasing the old capacity of 72 to about 40.
The renovation plan, solely under the control of Hoffman following the recent retirement of Black, should be finished in its entirety with the groundbreaking of Kappa Sigma.
Hoffman also projected that upon completion of the program the Old FIJI House would in all probability be demolished.