— Student Advisory Committee Announcement—

Last year, as part of my work as your Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA), I met with your district officers on a monthly basis. During these online meetings, officers would provide updates on the work being done in their districts and I would provide updates on the work of the national council. Coming out of the national council’s winter council meeting in January, I started tinkering with the idea of rebranding this meeting and transforming it into an ongoing Student Advisory Committee (SAC). This committee has historically met only during national convention, but the current national council is looking to leverage our students as resources throughout the coming year in the lead up to the 2017 national convention in Orlando, FL. Per the national constitution, the committee will be made up of current district officers. I want to introduce the current members of the Student Advisory Committee for the 2015-2017 biennium:

CHAIR
Zac Humphrey

SED
Michael Bradford-Calhoun
Ariel Marissa Clouse
Jerome Hall
Evan Schlameuss
 
SWD
George Ishii
Robert Morris
Jayden Goeringer
David Cox
Arjun Jeetan
 
WD
Mitch Mikuchonis
Alyssa Maher
Shi Ya Ni
Jake Rocco

The committee will meet at least once each month to have ongoing work sessions. During these online meetings, at least one member from each district will be required to attend with the rest strongly encouraged to attend, if possible. Each month, a different district will be charged with drafting a report that will be shared with all Brothers via the website. Each session will include a brief update from each district. Following these updates, there will be conversation on a topic submitted by the district officers/active students. Following that first conversation, the VPSA will provide an update on the work being done by the national leadership. The meeting will wrap up with a conversation based on a topic provided by the national council. The session will end with final comments and announcements. These will happen monthly until national convention next summer where a final report will be submitted by the district officers of the 2017-2018 school year. Due to the overlapping nature of bienniums and academic calendars, the makeup of this committee may change due to who is elected in the spring of 2017 to district office.

— Summer 2016 SAC Report —

Brothers,

We held the first official session on Thursday, July 7th, 2016. The following committee members were in attendance: Sarah Person of the MWD, Abigail Johnson of the NCD, Shanon Rubin and Miranda Cook of the NED, Michael Bradford-Calhoun of the SED, George Ishii and Arjun Jeetan of the SWD, and Shi Ya Ni of the WD.

During the conversation, after initial updates by the districts, there was discussion on the upcoming Kappa Kappa Psi Presents podcast as well as the current state and functionality of the national website, www.kkpsi.org.

The conversation surrounding the podcast was both exciting and appreciated. This is a new endeavor, and one in which I am learning a lot. Feedback largely revolved around length and content. The committee members liked the content and were interested in what other areas/topics were in the pipeline for upcoming episodes. As the initial set of episodes erred on the long side, once the podcast rolls out on a more regular schedule in the fall, the goal will be to keep each episode to 20-30 minutes. We ended the conversation by saying that this won’t be the last time this topic is addressed as the growth and development of the podcast will be organic and ongoing.

Regarding the national website, www.kkpsi.org, the conversation was extremely productive. It provided a great look into how our active members make use of the website. Most of the issues brought forward centered largely on technical aspects of the website’s design: dead links, circular redirecting links, blank pages, and non-working aspects of the mobile interface. Content wasn’t an issue and when provided with a brief update on the goals of National Vice President for Programs Marco Kcratovich relating to upcoming content, the committee members expressed approval regarding the future of the website. As with the podcast, this will not be the final conversation as the national council is wanting to create a website that will be a useful tool for our brothers, both active and alumni, advisers and faculty, and the public.

I, as your VPSA, am looking forward to the work that is going to be done throughout the year. If you have any questions, comments or concerns or if you would like to submit something for the SAC to discuss, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself at zac@kkpsi.org or the whole committee at studentadvisory@kkpsi.org.

AEA,
Zac Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs

Brothers of the Northeast District –

I wanted to take a moment to thank Marie Burleigh and John Leonard on their outstanding work this year as the governor team in the Northeast District.  They have each continued a high standard of work and motivation for the active members of the district.

Unfortunately, John has notified the National Council that he is resigning his position as Governor of the Northeast District.  It is exciting, however, that John is doing so to focus on future plans as he pursues his doctoral degree at Western Michigan University.  We are thankful to John for his service to the district, and wish him the best as he continues to support the Fraternity through his work as a collegiate director.

Obviously, this creates a vacancy in the governorship within the district.  After careful consideration and with input from the national leadership team, I am excited to announce that Mike Napolitano will join the national leadership team as a Northeast District Governor alongside Marie.

Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and should be a familiar name for many in the NED.  Mike has recently served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, and was most recently serving as the chair.  He was initiated in to the Kappa Upsilon chapter at Marist College in Spring 2002.  For the past 12 year, Mike has served as the chapter sponsor while he serves as the Associate Director of Music and Operations manager at Marist College.

I am excited that Mike is joining the governor team in the Northeast District, and I know that he is going to be an exception example of leadership for the active membership.

Please feel free to send a welcoming and congratulatory message to Mike at mnapolitano@kkpsi.org.

As always, if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

AEA,
Jack Lee
National President

Brothers of the North Central District,

I wanted to take a moment to thank Dr. Ishbah Cox and Jason Mlady on their outstanding work this year as the governor team in the North Central District.  They have each continued a high standard of work and motivation for the active members of the district.

Dr. Cox has notified the National Council that he is resigning his position as Governor of the North Central District to focus on family commitments.  We are thankful to Dr. Cox, and are reminded of the great musical leadership and passion he brings to Kappa Kappa Psi.  We wish him the best in his future!

Obviously, this creates a vacancy in the governorship within the district.  After careful consideration and with input from the national leadership team, I am excited to announce that Tammi Ramsey will join the national leadership team as a North Central District Governor alongside Jason.

Tammi is no stranger to the Fraternity or to the NCD.  Tammi was initiated in, and is a life member of, the Zeta Omicron chapter at the University of Akron.  She has previously served as a NCD President and as a colony advisor for Kappa Kappa Psi.  I know that her passion for our Fraternity is great, and she is going to do an exceptional job.

Please feel free to send her a congratulatory message at tammi@kkpsi.org.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

AEA,
Jack D. Lee
National President

Brothers:

I’m pleased to announce the installation of the Nu Omicron Chapter (#327) at the University of New Haven. This is the fourth installation of the biennium.

Multiple chapters served as participants in the ritual degrees throughout the colonization process. Active and alumni members from the following chapters attended the installation and assisted with initiation: Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Omega, Delta Omicron, Epsilon Nu, Eta Rho, Lambda Nu, Theta Beta, and Theta Upsilon

Current NED Council members in attendance: President Kylie Wolfe, Vice President Shanon Rubin, and Member At Large Emily McPeake. Past NED Officers included: Vice President Emily Quinlisk, Historian/Alumni Liaison Alex Finkel, and Secretary/Treasurer Howard Kalfus.

Mr. Eric Morson, Board of Trustees Member, served as the Colony Adviser and Installing Officer.

The chapter is 32 members strong. The elected officers of the Nu Omicron Chapter are:

President: Christopher Zygmunt
Vice President of Membership: William Belke
Vice President of Projects: Leah Myers
Secretary: Nikolas Decker
Treasurer: Justin Pelletier
Historian: Christopher Jenis
Parliamentarian: Melissa Bannon
Sponsor: Chad Cooper
Director of Bands: Jason DeGroff

Please send notes of congratulations to the Chapter President Christopher Zygmunt at czygm1@unh.newhaven.edu.

Congratulations to Nu Omicron! Welcome to the brotherhood!

AEA,

Evan L. Thompson
National Vice President for Colonization & Membership
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity
evan@kkpsi.org