Coronavirus (COVID-19) Statement

Phi Kappa Theta Brothers, Mentors, and Volunteers – 

Doug Dilling, National President

Like you, we have been closely monitoring the evolving coronavirus situation. The most difficult part is knowing when to act – not to be an alarmist but not to act too late. We are taking our cues from the updates provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Departments of Health, local authorities, and our host institutions.

At this time, the Leadership and staff of Phi Kappa Theta believe it is our role and responsibility to focus on two priorities:

1. the health and safety of our members and staff and;

2. ensuring ongoing service to our members and chapters as we all maneuver our unique local circumstances.

Phi Kappa Theta staff already are primarily working remotely, and those who report to the office regularly have worked out remote policies. The staff will remain accessible during published office hours to serve the needs of our members and chapters.

We recommend chapters and housing corporations to closely follow the guidance of their respective host institutions and local authorities. Chapter meetings, housing board meetings, even new member education, can be held virtually. We also have an innovative and cutting-edge member development curriculum available online for those members electing to engage in these courses.

We encourage chapters to think creatively about recruitment and ongoing chapter operations. Even one term of no recruitment can result in long term damage, so explore new ways to reach out and connect virtually or in small groups with potential new members. Keep existing conversations going and utilize the online new member education program to move existing member classes forward. If you decide to postpone the formal initiation ritual due to local group gathering guidelines, let us know so we can note this in your chapter file.

We have the technology in place; it just isn't our usual way of meeting. Until further notice and as a precautionary step, we are canceling, postponing, or utilizing video conferencing for all scheduled board and national activities and events. We all expect this to be temporary, so at this point, we are not canceling the National Leadership Summit scheduled for July 17-18 in San Antonio. We will closely monitor the situation, so check back periodically for updates.

We appreciate your understanding and support, and we will continue to provide updates as this situation is ever-evolving. Phi Kappa Theta will continue to post updates to our website at www.phikaps.org.

For additional information, please review the updates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, your local host institution, and our resource guide for chapters and volunteers.

Sincerely,

Doug Dilling

National President

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James “Jim” Victor Leaves a Lasting Legacy at Iowa Xi

(July 29, 1946 —July 27, 2018)

James “Jim” William Victor (Iowa Xi, 1965) of Davenport died in a tragic motor sports accident in July 2018. His example of planned giving is a model to inspire all Phi Kaps.

Jim Victor (Iowa State University, ‘68) was known as a top-notch investment advisor in the Quad Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, but he was undeniably more. A motorsports racer, a newspaper carrier, an altar boy, a fraternity brother, a newspaper columnist, a television personality, a philanthropist... the list can continue.

The son of Al and Marjorie (Pirk) Victor, Jim was born in Wisconsin but made his name in Iowa. In describing Jim, his Iowa Xi fraternity brother and fellow Morgan Stanley investment advisor Jim Willer recalled Victor as a “true, true friend.”

 A MARION, IOWA, BOYHOOD

James William Victor was one of five children with sisters Barbara and Mary Anne and brothers Tom and Mick. His father Al took a job with Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids in 1956. The family lived in the nearby community of Marion where Jim attended St. Joseph School and served as an altar boy. He played piano and performed in the 1957 and 1958 recitals at St. Joseph. In a 1960 Cedar Rapids Gazette profile of Jim as one of their newspaper carriers, 14-year old Jim stated that he wished to become an architect, though he did not know which college he might attend. He attended the local Catholic high school Cedar Rapids Regis and used his newspaper profits to pay tuition, purchase his clothes and keep a bit of spending money. As a teenager, he “took care of his own financial affairs.”

 JAMES IN AMES

Jim came to Iowa State University in the fall of 1964. He pledged Phi Kappa Theta and was initiated in the spring of 1965. He served as house social chairman and worked hard to get the men of Phi Kappa Theta to learn fraternity songs and serenade sororities. He made sure the men knew the songs of Phi Kappa Theta including “The Sweetheart of Phi Kappa.” He initiated social gatherings, including an Easter Break party at his family home in Marion for college friends. He loved interacting with others.

Victor, shown in this 1966 photo, joined Phi Kappa Theta in the fall of 1964. He said that his time at Iowa State University changed his life. (Courtesy of Iowa State University Bomb).

As a senior at Iowa State, he served as president of the Newman Club, the Catholic student organization, and was on the Interfraternity Council Board. He was a member of the Science & Humanities College’s Science Council and the Homecoming Central Committee. He was invited to join Alpha Kappa Psi, the national business honorary.

 A MULTIMEDIA INVESTMENT ADVISOR

One of Jim’s first jobs out of college was with Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Company in the Quad Cities. In the early 1970s he started working as an investment advisor. He became prominent in the community and trusted in his knowledge. Victor wrote a regular column for the Quad City Times and later appeared on KWQC.  He created a stock index of Quad Cities’ businesses that appeared in the paper. He was on the station’s first morning show and was a genial personality with a welcoming laugh.

Jim wrote a regular column on finances for the Quad City Times. Readers knew he was writing with an informed and beneficent perspective. (Courtesy of the Quad City Times)

QUAD CITIES & BEYOND

Jim continued to enjoy socializing. He maintained friendships and developed new ones. He met people in the Quad Cities and joined a local ski club. He traveled to Europe with the club and took annual trips to Colorado. A favorite memory of Iowa Xi brother Jim Willer’s was a 1972 trip to Council Bluffs for a wedding of a Phi Kap and an Alpha Chi Omega. The group then traveled north to visit college friend Diane Pattee’s family in the northwest Iowa town of Pocahontas. Willer recalled it was like the film, The Big Chill, though it followed a wedding, not a funeral. The group sang popular songs including “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night and reveled in each other’s company. It was hard for the group to separate.  Some, including Pattee, Willer and Victor, would remain lifelong friends.

 A CREATURE OF HABITS

Jim got his rest, but when he was awake, he was focused. He read about new stocks or researched those that might be in trouble. He took his daily run and drank plenty of water. He attended one Iowa State Cyclone football game a year. He valued relationships. He never owned a smartphone, but he would gladly talk to friends and clients on a cellphone. His business partner Sheila Volrath told the Quad City Times, “He utilized his time to help people, whether it was with our business, his clients, other folks in the office, his family, his friends, but most importantly his volunteer work.” His obituary asserted, “Being together, loving life, never losing your childhood enthusiasm, staying committed to your principles and continually searching for the magic in even the smallest moments. This is how Jim lived.”

MOTORSPORTS

Jim participated in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) with the “Arms Up Racing” team. He had a B 17 Chevron Formula 3 racing car and often finished on the podium. He participated in a 24 Hours of Daytona racing team in 2004 as part of a five-man team that finished 13th in the Super Grand Sport class in a Corvette. His racing friends were stunned when he was killed in a crash during practice at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on July 27, 2018. A fellow racer commented on Facebook, “Jim was one of the nicest men I’ve ever met in racing. He was as fierce as any competitor once the visor shut. He will be missed.”

Among his philanthropic interests was Junior Achievement, the organization’s annual fund-raising golf tournament in the Quad Cities was named in his honor. (Courtesy of the Victor Family)

CHAPTER ETERNAL

“Give, expecting nothing thereof.”

Jim Victor lived the Phi Kappa Theta motto. He supported Junior Achievement in the Quad Cities where the annual fund-raising golf tournament is named in his honor. He created a scholarship at Iowa State. In Jim’s will, he bequeathed to Iowa Xi one of the largest posthumous gifts to a Phi Kappa Theta chapter ever.

When describing their brother, his siblings named the following traits: curiosity, engagement, children, learning, and family. Jim explained his time at Iowa State saying, “My experience at Iowa State truly changed my world – it enlightened me, it inspired me, and it empowered me.”

Jim was a model Phi Kap in life and in death. He embodied the leadership, fraternal, intellectual, social and spiritual values of Phi Kappa Theta. The men of Iowa Xi are proud to have known Jim as a fraternity brother and friend. His legacy will continue to help develop and define Phi Kaps at Iowa State for generations to come.

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A resolution was passed by the Phi Kappa Theta Foundation in January to honor Brother James Victor.

Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity Closes Chapter at Lehigh University

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA– Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity is disappointed to announce the closure of the Pennsylvania Alpha Chapter at Lehigh University, effective immediately. The unanimous decision to suspend the Pennsylvania Alpha chapter came from the Fraternity Board in March and resulted in the revocation of the charter, finalized this summer. The Executive Offices learned the chapter lost university recognition as the result of a university hearing regarding a code of conduct violation in November 2019. The chapter’s charter will remain suspended and in the care of the Board of Trustees. The Pennsylvania Alpha chapter was chartered in 1919 as Theta Kappa Phi and was the first chapter in Pennsylvania. This chapter was the founding site for Theta Kappa Phi—one of two fraternities which joined together in 1959 to create Phi Kappa Theta.

A Legacy of Leadership

Excellence has its ripple effects. And today, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Jeb Vavak’s dedication to excellence is echoing in the lives of the chapter brothers to whom he’s passed the baton of leadership.

From left to right: back row, Caston Stack 17, Cole Jedlicka 20, Jeb Vavak 19, Brenden Owens 19, Father Robert Matya,NE-Pi chaplain and founder, President Adrian Gonzalez

Front row, Cameron Downey 22, Joshua Froeschl 20, Ian Wollway, 22, Jacob Sullivan 21, Jacob Baumert 20

This past spring, as president, Brother Vavak accepted the Founder’s Cup for Phi Kappa Theta’s most outstanding chapter. He credits others with helping him bring Nebraska Pi to new heights. Specifically, he points to Dr. Michael Brown’s guidance during the Foundation’s IMPACT 18 (revamped Regional Leadership Conferences), along with his chapter’s campus chaplain.

“I think we’ve been a good, strong chapter as far as programming. But a couple years ago we were struggling with members not living in the house in their junior and senior years. That hurt us financially.”

Jeb had been attending the Regional Leadership Conferences, and says that since the introduction of curriculum by DMB, it’s become transformational. “I got really excited after IMPACT 18 to take on more leadership roles. It is evident to me that the national fraternity really does care about our development.”

Coupled with suggestions from the Nebraska Pi chaplain, Jeb introduced changes to inspire more brothers to live in the house. A spring “Signing Day” ceremony, coupled with discussions about the importance of sustaining their in-person daily bond, made a big difference. “Last fall, we filled the house to capacity. And that allowed us to finally start focusing on more of our goals – the pillars that matter most.”

For Brother Vavak, chief among the fraternity’s pillars is the SPIRITUAL.

“I am proud to be part of an organization that embraces and values spiritual development. A new curriculum called Beyond Belief, developed by the Fraternity, is another great example of Phi Kappa Theta investing in developing well-rounded, passionately driven men. I believe this dedication will allow us to truly distinguish ourselves as the premier organization for developing servant leaders who passionately serve society, Fraternity, and God.”

Brother Vavak commends alumni for their generous support of the Phi Kappa Theta Foundation’s educational initiatives that promote and encourage excellence at every level.

Jeb Vavak graduated in 2019 after serving Nebraska Pi Chapter as President, Philanthropy Chairman and Recruitment Assistant. He has accepted a missionary role with Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) beginning this fall at the University of Washington-Seattle. Brother Vavak was involved with FOCUS at Nebraska. He looks forward to hosting Bible studies, forming committed disciples, leading mission trips, and engaging with students by inviting them into a community of people who share similar values.