A road map helps us find our destination. It lets us see our path and stops along the way. It has a compass to point us in the right direction. But even with a road map we may hit some bumps in the road or run into an unexpected detour.

Over the last five years, our Strategic Priorities have been the Fraternity’s road map showing us the path to our destination—the future of Delta Sigma Pi. Our Purpose is our compass, pointing us toward our principles and values. The individual priorities are the stops along the way. Our road map has provided us our basic path since 2016 and we are now taking a moment to reflect on that journey – and path.

In 2016, then GP Onuka Ibe announced our current set of priorities stating, “Our position of strength and stability allows us the luxury of considering how Delta Sigma Pi can best carry out its purpose in a rapidly changing world.” And “rapidly changing” has new meaning since last March when a pandemic affected so much. Fortunately though, even with unexpected bumps (and hills, cracks and roadblocks!) in the road, we still have a lot to celebrate from the last five years.

A number of new roadside attractions have popped up during our journey. (I am talking about Fraternity and Foundation programs—not giant balls of twine.)

Our inaugural Presidents’ Academy was held in January 2019. Not only did it develop our collegiate chapter presidents’ leadership potential, but it helped our chapters and the Fraternity as a whole. In its first year, it was recognized as the 2019 Outstanding Professional Program by the Professional Fraternity Association. This year’s event was a little bit different (due to its virtual nature), but the value of the program continued to be top-notch.

LEAD programming has also developed over the last five years with 20 new sessions debuted and a number of new keynote speakers and volunteer presenters. Traditional paper packets and agenda were also replaced with an event app (DSP Link) to allow for new opportunities for resource sharing and surveying attendees.

Additional Volunteer Leader Trainings (more than 30) were also conducted around the country covering goal setting and officer training, identifying and encouraging future leaders, a review of important chapter operations and an overview of available tools and resources.

Online learning was also a top priority—even pre-pandemic. New collegiate chapter officer training modules were launched last year. The Certified Deltasig Leader program was also updated with new learning modules. (If you are an alumni member, we highly recommend checking out the program and becoming certified.) An additional module covering diversity, equity and inclusion is also in the works. The number of CDLs has increased to more than 325—with nearly 60% of DDs and more than 90% of Grand Officers being certified.

We have also launched a new Deltasig University, which includes access to our Learn & Lead Community (part of the DSP Link app) giving members access to these online learning tools while also connecting with others.

Continuing the focus on education and inclusion, a new Pledge Education Program was created and launched in 2019, after several years of collecting collegiate and alumni input and development. Facilitated pledge meetings along with new online learning modules provides a standardized learning and allow chapters to focus on integrating these soon-to-be members with current members while attending already planned chapter events.

The Chapter Management Program has also been adjusted to reflect our priorities. COVID-19 has delayed some of these changes, but we will see a number of them for the 2020-2021 CMP year, including additions of requirements related to membership, diversity, equity and inclusion and debt.

We are also working on adding more (engaged) alumni members throughout our trip—envision a purple and gold tour bus full of Deltasigs! In spring 2020, we successfully held alumni events in Jacksonville, Denver and Dallas to engage alumni in the area that do not attend our traditional events like LEAD. We hope to continue these events in the future (virtually and in-person). The Leadership Foundation also created Chapter Leadership Funds so alumni, parents and friends can assist specific chapters with their professional endeavors by helping pay for expenses related to educational events such as LEAD. Learn how you can help! 

Nowadays, most people use apps, websites and other GPS devices to get them where they need to be. The website has also seen some updates to get us where we need to be. Last year, we launched a re-designed navigation system where information about starting chapters and member resources are seen at the forefront. With a new attention to resources, staff is working with collegiate and alumni members to review individual chapter officer resources. These volunteers offer suggestions for simplifying the resources while also providing feedback about what best to include in each. Another addition to the website is a new volunteer interest form which helps promote volunteer opportunities to those wanting to be more engaged.

Beyond the website, we have also expanded our communication efforts—especially with volunteer leaders and faculty, including Chapter Advisors. We are including Chapter Advisors and business deans on program updates, inviting them to our educational efforts and including them on “good” news like chapter award and Collegian of the Year announcements. We are also focusing attention on communications with recent graduates to assist them on their personal Deltasig journeys in an effort to show them how “Deltasig is for life”. Deltasigs may even notice a couple new emails in their inboxes—helping them celebrate important occasions in their lives. 

One stop during our journey was the Central Office (and if you haven’t been, you should make plans to stop by for a visit—when safe to do so). An evaluation of the staff structure was reviewed and better aligned to meet Fraternal goals and priorities. Associate Executive Director Shanda Gray’s role was directed to focus on education and events and Tyler Wash was hired as Executive Vice President in February 2018 to help manage the growing needs of the Leadership Foundation. Part of that growth are additional funds for members looking to support specific members or program. In addition to the CLFs mentioned above, funds have been created to support Presidents’ Academy, LEAD, DEI Education and Veterans. Learn more about these Funds. 

Dale Clark’s role (now Senior Director of Membership Growth and Expansion) changed to allow him to spend more time on expansion efforts and to help struggling chapters with recruitment and internal growth. As a result, we have installed/reactivated 15 chapters over the last five years under Dale’s direction—including two during the pandemic.

Tyler Havens was hired as Associate Director of Chapter Services and additional Educational & Leadership Consultants were hired to focus attention on general chapter support. Even during the pandemic when the team was no longer able to travel to campuses, they were able to spend time with 80% of collegiate chapters in the fall, with 43 chapters receiving full consulting visits virtually. My role (now Senior Director of Member Engagement) expanded to include more membership engagement efforts. 

Along the way, some of the roads (bylaws and policies) were adjusted to allow for easier and more productive trips. Procedures for voluntary withdrawal, inactive status and pledge voting were adjusted to simplify the processes. Policies around expansion and colonization were also evaluated to help us continue to grow our organization with quality chapters and eliminate unnecessary barriers.

The last five years have been full of adventure, but the journey is not over yet. The Board of Directors (at the time of this writing) is actively reviewing the current Strategic Priorities and working on developing the next set moving forward—a new, updated road map, still pointing North and still furthering “a higher standard”. 

"When the Board of Directors established Delta Sigma Pi's Strategic Priorities five years ago, we had no idea there would be a pandemic that would drastically change how we needed to operate and think.  The Strategic Priorities set the foundation for Delta Sigma Pi to successfully navigate challenges ahead of us. And as we look into the new biennium, we are already looking at how our Strategic Priorities can be advanced throughout the upcoming 5 years and identifying how the core values of Delta Sigma Pi serve as the foundation of our priorities," GP Tricia Smith. 

I recently saw an image from James Norbury that sums up our fraternal journey. “’Which is more important,’ asked Big Panda, ‘the journey or the destination?’ ‘The company,’ said Tiny Dragon.” Thank you, brothers, for joining us on this journey! 