In late 2017, Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity announced the launching of the LiveLikeLou Foundation, a stand-alone 501c3 not-for-profit entity with a national scope. This a significant step to broaden its reach and deepen its impact on the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the devastating disease named after Brother Lou Gehrig.

Neil and Suzanne Alexander established LiveLikeLou in 2011 when Neil, a University of Pittsburgh Phi Delt, was diagnosed with ALS. Originally established as a grassroots fund within The Pittsburgh Foundation, LiveLikeLou quickly became a leading entity in the fight against ALS in Western Pennsylvania. The Foundation created awareness of ALS and assisted families in the community. In addition, it fulfilled a $2.5 million pledge to build The LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, a $10 million partnership between LiveLikeLou and the University of Pittsburgh. The achievement became the most significant ALS research effort of its kind in Western Pennsylvania’s history. Along with success on the research front, LiveLikeLou also established a $1 million endowment for ongoing patient care in Western Pennsylvania.

Because Brother Gehrig said, “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” when he retired from baseball on July 4, 1939, Neil Alexander was inspired and said, “I feel lucky too.” He used his energy, rallied his friends and family, and developed a personal mission to “Leave ALS Better Than He Found It.” Neil died from ALS in March 2015, leaving his wife and two children, Abby and Patrick, to carry on his vision.

Phi Delta Theta’s desire to further enhance and focus its commitment to the fight against ALS led the two entities to begin conversations. Together, Phi Delta Theta’s long-standing commitment to having a meaningful impact on the disease, coupled with LiveLikeLou’s successful model of advancing the ALS cause forward, can further drive Phi Delta Theta’s leadership in finding a cure.

In support of the Fraternity’s commitment to establishing itself as the premier leadership Fraternity in North America, the Phi Delta Theta Foundation launched the Building on the Bond Campaign. With a goal of $20 million, this most ambitious fundraising effort in Phi Delta Theta history was designed to build the financial resources necessary to make the Emerging Leaders Institute a reality.

At the 2018 biennial General Convention in San Antonio, the Phi Delta Theta Foundation announced that it had met the Building on the Bond Campaign goal two years early. This campaign successfully allowed for the expansion of what is now known as the Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute from 280 men to over 1,000. It also saw the establishment of the Ihlenfeld Online University, commonly known as PDT U, which brings resources to all 14,000 of the Fraternity’s undergraduate members. There were also eighty-four new scholarships created, increasing scholarship support to over $240,000 annually.

The Building on the Bond Campaign had 440 donors over eight years who increased the Foundation endowment to over $20 million.

Hundreds of Phis travel to Oxford to learn valuable lessons about leadership, life, and brotherhood. With average attendance around 1,000 annually, Phi Delta Theta only touches a small portion of the Fraternity’s membership expansive group. With the hope of expanding that, in 2019 the Phi Delta Theta Foundation launched the “We are Phi Delt Days of Giving.” The days had two goals: the first was to showcase the great work done by staff, volunteers, and donors at the Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute; the second was to compel those who might not know about that work to make a contribution to the Foundation. By the end of the giving days, the Foundation had live-streamed fourteen different videos showcasing many aspects of attending Kleberg and raised $68,000 for program support from nearly three hundred donors.

In 2022 the Foundation hosted its fourth giving day and raised over $170,000 from more than five hundred donors.

Following a remarkable forty-four-year career, Robert A. Biggs retired as executive vice president and CEO of Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity and president and CEO of the Phi Delta Theta Foundation on June 30, 2020. The Fraternity’s governing board, the General Council, named Sean S. Wagner as Mr. Biggs’ successor in both roles starting July 1, 2020. Wagner became the Fraternity’s fifth executive vice president and CEO in its 170-year history.

As Brother Wagner entered the role, he brought vast knowledge and experience of Phi Delta Theta and the General Headquarters. He previously served as a leadership consultant, director of expansion, director of alumni services, and associate executive vice president and COO with oversight of both Fraternity and Foundation operations.

A native of Philadelphia, Sean is a member of the Pennsylvania Mu Chapter and a 2002 graduate of Widener University, where he studied communication. He holds a master of public administration and nonprofit management from Northern Kentucky University and a certificate in executive management from the University of Notre Dame. He is also a Certified Association Executive (CAE) credentialed by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

After a thorough review of hundreds of research hours by staff members and interviews with various constituents, members of the General Council, Phi Delta Theta Foundation Trustees, and General Headquarters staff met during the September 2019 General Council Retreat to begin the construction of Phi Delt 2030.

An initial step was to create a new mission and vision statement. Then, priorities were established for the GHQ staff to fully operationalize and build out the larger strategic plan.

The priorities are designed to ensure that Phi Delta Theta rises to the challenges facing fraternities today, and to further define Phi Delta Theta’s value proposition for current, future, and alumni members. Focusing on these priorities will allow the Fraternity to remain relevant and hold its strong leadership position moving forward.

Phi Delt 2030 is designed to be a living document – where it is reviewed and updated based on annual environmental scans, emerging trends, and industry best practices.

It can be said with full confidence that strategic planning is in Phi Delta Theta’s DNA. Used as our North Star since 2010 the Fraternity, Foundation, and LiveLikeLou are all better for our commitment to continuous planning and improvement efforts.

In 2017, Max Gruver tragically died from hazing at the Louisiana Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Louisiana State University. The destructive behavior of now-expelled members of the former LSU chapter violated Phi Delta Theta’s values and various health, safety, and anti-hazing policies. In addition, it is a grievous example of the dangers of hazing and the need for better education and prevention methods.

Following Max’s death, Rae Ann and Steve Gruver created The Max Gruver Foundation. The Foundation strives to generate awareness, promote education, strengthen policy, and advocate for state and federal legislation. The legislation will increase transparency, classify hazing as a felony, improve hazing education, encourage bystanders to assist individuals in need, and promote other aspects of hazing prevention. The Gruvers also seek to create change and spread awareness through speaking engagements to tell their son’s story.

Phi Delta Theta announced a partnership with the Gruver family and The Max Gruver Foundation to celebrate Max’s life and memory and help eradicate hazing. The cooperative relationship provides unique opportunities for Phi Delta Theta and The Max Gruver Foundation to work together to strengthen educational efforts to prevent future tragedies. This collaboration aligns with Phi Delta Theta’s continual effort to be a leader among fraternities in promoting health and safety initiatives to protect its members and guests.

The partnership announcement occurred on January 10, 2020, at the Presidents Leadership Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. Nearly three hundred Phi Delta Theta attendees comprised undergraduate presidents, new member educators, and alumni leaders who heard Max’s story, the impact of Max’s death on the Gruver family, and the sustained joint commitment that the partnership creates to eliminate hazing.

In August 2019, Barbara and Michael McKenzie, Texas Tech ’67, joined the Phi Delta Theta history books when they became the second living donors to make a $1 million gift to the Foundation. Barbara and Mickey made their gift to support member development, namely the Presidents Leadership Conference, which takes place annually in St. Louis, Missouri and is attended by all chapter and emerging chapter presidents.

Mickey was initiated into the Texas Epsilon Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Texas Tech in 1965 and was elated when his son Ryan was initiated into the brotherhood that had influenced his life thirty years later. When presented with the chance to give back to Phi Delt, Mickey says he felt privileged to support an organization that provided Ryan, ’98, and himself with wonderful opportunities and life-long friends. Having never seen a Brinks truck going to a cemetery, he and Barbara wanted to make their contribution now so that in their lifetime, they could witness the impact on chapters and build solid young leaders who will make a difference for those who come after them.

Mickey is the chairman of the board of Grocery Supply Company (GSC), founded in 1947 by brothers Curtis and Kenneth (Mickey’s father) McKenzie and Woodrow Brittain. GSC is rooted in a mantra of “families serving families.” While the company has grown and evolved since its founding, they stay true to the family culture. Both the McKenzies and Phi Delta Theta value servant leadership as a key to building strong organizations and attributing stewardship, humility, service, gratitude, and self-awareness as crucial elements when dealing with internal and external constituents.

To address the racial equity issues within our society and any diversity and inclusion concerns within Phi Delta Theta, the Fraternity formed a Diversity Working Group in 2020 that focused on two distinct areas: education and programming and policy and communications.

Approximately forty undergraduate and alumni volunteers, representing diverse demographic backgrounds and unique perspectives, participated in discussions related to race, equity, and the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion within the Fraternity.

As a result of these conversations, a summary report of participant feedback and a list of recommendations was created and then submitted for review by strategic advisors Dr. Michelle Allen, Diversity Education Director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Marlon Gibson, experienced fraternity and sorority professional and doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia. The recommendations were then provided to the General Council for consideration.

The General Council met July 16–17, 2020 and thoroughly reviewed the report. After careful consideration, the General Council took the following immediate actions:

• Created the volunteer position of Diversity and Inclusion Commissioner and appointed Brother Austin A. Deray, Mercer ’10, to serve in this capacity. In addition to advising the General Council and General Headquarters staff, the commissioner shall be responsible for overseeing all educational programming, policy recommendations, and communication efforts related to diversity and inclusion initiatives on behalf of Phi Delta Theta.
• Designated and defined an undergraduate role (chapter officer) responsible for advocating for diversity and inclusion within the chapter, on campus, and in local communities.
• Approved the recommendation from the Diversity Working Group and the Survey Commission to adopt new terminology for burgeoning groups. The use of Colony will be replaced with Emerging Chapter and initial members of these new groups will now be referred to as Founders.
• When evaluating recipients of chapter excellence awards, the Awards Committee will include new criteria in the application that places value on the promotion of diversity and inclusion efforts and programming.

Other areas recommended by the working group for continued review and consideration by Brother Deray, the General Council, and the General Headquarters Leadership Team included individual, new member, chapter, and conference education with a focus on cultural competency and implicit bias training, specific language to adopt that would explicitly prohibit the display of divisive symbols on chapter premises and at Fraternity-sponsored events, collaboration with interfraternal partners, diverse identity and first-generation scholarships, and enhanced communication strategies featuring members of color.

In March 2021, Major League Baseball announced that it would celebrate Lou Gehrig Day annually on June 2. Gehrig joined Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente as the only players to have a day reserved in their honor throughout the league. The announcement was a moment of great celebration for those affected by ALS and who support and advocate for the disease. The annual event provides another major platform to strengthen Lou Gehrig’s legacy. It also gives many ALS families hope that heightened awareness and funding for this awful disease will bring significant progress and a cure.

Why June 2? It is the day in 1925 that Gehrig began his record-breaking consecutive games streak (2,130), and later, the day the Iron Horse died.

To celebrate Lou Gehrig Day, Major League Baseball clubs planned unique celebrations, ALS-related organizations rallied their people, and fans filled stadiums to be a part of this special day. Phi Delta Theta announced Stephen Piscotty of the Oakland Athletics as the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award recipient and later presented it to him at RingCentral Coliseum on June 8.

Inaugural Lou Gehrig Day celebrations at the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates ballparks included a special presentation and donation of Permobil power wheelchairs to ALS patients in those communities, organized through a partnership with Phi Delta Theta and the LiveLikeLou Foundation.