Bell Chapter Endowment Established

At the 150^th Anniversary Celebration a discussion was held between Delta Delta alumni and Sigma Chi Foundation President Mike Greenberg encouraging Delta Delta to invest in an endowment that would provide an additional $20,000 in undergraduate scholarships and ongoing leadership training for the chapter. To become a “Founders Level” Thomas Cowan Bell Endowed Chapter required an investment of $1 million. At the time eleven other Sigma Chi chapters were endowed at this level.

Thomas Cowan Bell

This Sigma Chi program was named after Thomas Cowan Bell, one of our founders. Bell was highly respected for his scholarly abilities, his dignity, and the broad and generous character of his judgments in the problems which confronted the new Fraternity.

Bell Chapter Endowment Goal Met

Through the extraordinary effort of Bernie Sergesketter ’58, who six months after the 150^th Celebration, was able to announce at the January House Corporation meeting that we had achieved the $1 million goal. Lead gifts were given by Tom Friel ’69, Mark Sand ’73, David True ’73, Bill Townsend ’75, Rick Smith ’81, and Ron Carpinella ’91.  Contributions were received from 41 other brothers.

Programming In Perpetuity

Undergrad Sigs at 2023 SCLI Training

Beginning in the spring of 2026, the endowment will fund $20,000 in additional scholarships and specific leadership programs in perpetuity. Designed specifically for our undergraduate brothers, these benefits will strengthen our chapter and carry forward the values that make Sigma Chi so special. This will kick off with leadership development in the Spring 2026 semester. Additional leadership programming will be ongoing with mentorship and leadership programs delivered quarterly by Delta Delta alumni and the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute. Topics will address the challenges and opportunities facing the young men of the chapter at the time but rooted in the seven virtues of our Fraternity.

These events will bring brothers together through shared experiences, mentorship, and conversations that deepen their connection to each other and to the ideals of friendship, justice, and learning. We have a core group of brothers from the 1990s era that volunteered to lead the first workshop in the spring of 2026, along with the help of the International Fraternity’s professional staff and Sigma Chi Leadership Institute.

Enhancing Our Sigma Chi Experience

Providing these “leadership” training opportunities is critical as we seek to enhance our undergraduate brother’s experience at Purdue and offer them the tools to be successful Sigma Chis once they leave 202 Littleton. Today’s fraternity and college environments are much different than when many of us attended Purdue. Shorter pledgeships, more social distractions, increased monitoring of chapter activities by the University, all play a role in our undergrad’s Sigma Chi experience. By enhancing the skills of our younger brothers, we are helping to perpetuate the values and lessons that make us all “Proud to Be” Sigma Chis.