Gamma Sigma Chapter is back in business at the University of Maryland-College Park, having been inactive since 2004. GP Onuka Ibe reactivated the chapter on December 6, 2014. One new faculty member and 31 students were initiated by Ibe and brothers from Howard University and the DC Metro Alumni Chapter. Official reactivation of the chapter was conducted during a banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn in Washington, D.C.
In addition to Ibe, other national representatives included Northeastern PVP Tricia Smith, Capital RVP Diana Beauge, District Director Brehanna Edwards, Pledge Educator Joshua Panwala, Leadership Foundation Trustee Stacy Jordan, Golden Council members Catherine Merdian and Frank Hodas, and Educational & Leadership Consultant Malory Ammerman. As other nearby collegiate chapters had their own ceremonies on the same day, we extend gratitude to have initiation assistance from alumni members LaTosha Hopkins, Ferris State, Jessica Boucher, New Mexico State, David Mazur, Penn State-Erie, and Shane Henderson, Longwood, who eagerly accepted last minute responsibilities to make the ceremonies a success.
The reactivation began with the formation of Alpha Tau Omega Colony on May 1, 2013. Interested students gained school support from Dr. Victor Mullins, Illinois, who is the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions in the School of Business. Brother Mullins was a featured speaker during the reactivation program. While recruiting, the colony hosted professional programs with Ernst & Young, IBM, Deloitte, Textron, Kaplan, and Enterprise.
The colony participated in more than a dozen philanthropic events including campus and community clean-ups, clothing and food collections, making and serving food at community shelters, a professional clothing drive for disadvantaged women, a school supplies drive for a local elementary school, a youth Easter egg hunt, and multiple 5k events for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Chipotle and football concessions were among several fundraising events held and social engagements included karaoke, gathering with Theta Tau engineering fraternity, lunches, a social with DC Metro Alumni Chapter, and basketball games. The group attended regional events and the Baltimore and Woodbridge (NJ) LEAD Schools.
The University of Maryland is a public research institution founded in 1856 as the Maryland Agricultural College. It gained state control in 1916 and became Maryland State College until 1920 when it became the University of Maryland. Today, there are nearly 27,000 undergraduates and 11,000 graduate students enrolled on the 1,250 acre campus near Washington, D.C.
The Robert H. Smith School of Business and Economics was first organized in 1921 and in 1978 became the first school on campus to have a separate admissions process. Delta Sigma Pi recruits students majoring in accounting and information assurance; decision, operations, and information technologies; finance; logistics; business and public policy; management and organization; marketing; and economics. There are nearly 3,000 undergraduate students and over 1,000 MBA students.
Gamma Sigma Chapter was originally founded on November 18, 1950 and initiated 1,423 members until 2004 when university permission was withdrawn. We are pleased to have a new partnership with the university and once again a successful chapter back in business.
