Dear Sorors, Welcome to our 2021 Founders Day Celebration. o We have completed our new Campus Gateway providing a more attractive welcoming entrance to the campus. As my time as a collegiate evolved, I transferred and found a new Teke family within the Xi-Iota chapter at the University of Central Florida. In the age of digital media, nothing is forgotten and no fraternity is immune from these societal pressures. We were among the first 75 institutions to connect to the Internet at 100 Gigabits/second, and UMBC finds itself among the best in the nation in student analytics the use of technology in teaching, computer security, and research computing. For example, Kate Brown, professor of History, won seven prestigious national and international awards for her book, Plutopia, and has recently been named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute, and a fellowship with the American Academy in Berlin. o CBS featured UMBC and the Meyerhoff Scholars Program on 60 Minutes, noting the significance of what we have achieved as a place focused on student success. Many have lost a loved one to Covid-19. They wanted to establish a fraternity of men whose primary requirement for membership would be based on personal worth and character, not the wealth he possessed, or the connections he had, or the lineage from which he came. 2023 All Rights Reserved. Our Founders would be proud. The park hosts more than 130 companies and provides more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs with associated annual income of $165 million. o We have a new and growing partnership with the Naval Academy, in cybersecurity research. Just 56% of students who start a bachelors degree in this country complete within six years. Many on campus simply wanted to get on with their work and studies. Third, we desire especially to emphasize the fact that, as a fraternity, we cannot afford to depart from the original plan of electing men of small means to membership whenever otherwise they have Teke qualifications. Although they were expectedly nervous and overwhelmed, watching the Fraternity grow through their initiation was inspiring. o How can we continue to build our partnerships with other research universities, within the system and beyond? As a nation, we have much more work to do. Sage Policy Group estimates, The state business community generates $340 million in additional revenues because of the operations of bwtech and it tenants. We must all work together for the good of the Fraternity. UMBC, since its founding, has been a place for people of all backgrounds to participate equally in higher education, preparing them for meaningful lives and careers, working to solve the problems of humanity. First, we seek to expand our work as a national model for others on approaches to helping students succeed, in not just a few disciplines but across the board, and to do so in ways that will impact the real world. It means engaging in radical collaboration with others. Id like to share a story of a chance encounter I had while travelling home from a Grand Council meeting this past fall semester. o Might we go the way of some other campuses that have welcomed alumni, especially older and retired alums, to live on campus to enjoy campus resources and to lend their time and talents to enrich the campus community? What better place can an undergraduate Frater learn lifes lessons than in our fraternity? o Many of our studentsincluding those in the Humanities Scholars Programspend at least a semester in study abroad. Hello and good morning to everyone present here. Whether a few dollars of your finances or a few hours of your time, you can make a difference to our current and future Fraters to shape a more prosperous Fraternity. I ask you on this Founders Day to reflect on your TKE experience and financially invest in the Fraternity that has taken us on such a wonderful ride. After all, without it, we would not be where we are today. And, most importantly as an educational institution with knowledge creation at our core we must learn from them. A gift to the Wake Forest Fund supports student needsimmediately. Our Founders wanted an organization that would be different from other fraternities. We have the possibility of running for the Grand Council and charting the path of the Grand Chapter. We are looking to build on these strengths with key research prioritieswell-aligned with state and national prioritiesin environment, health, national security, education, and public policy. This was the year that the Board of Trustees finally voted to admit African American students. It is a good way to recognize ones effort. Alumni volunteers, professional staff, and collegiates have been more creative and more productive. My point is that Wake Forest is a place where many things have begun, where the act of founding is continuous. Undoubtedly, Abraham Lincoln would not have met some of the modern fraternity tests in polished appearance, bank and bond holdings, but he did possess what is better still, that wealth of character which has ever been the standard of Tau Kappa Epsilon. 67 percent graduated from UMBC or another four-year institution in Maryland; Relatives and friends have buried children and others killed in a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Uman. Better Men for a Better World is a commitment we make each and every day to each other and our beloved Fraternity. Mission will always illuminate the pathway of excellence. How can the development of this tract support the work we do for students, research, and the community? I love the Fraternity. On this Founders Day, help me strengthen our Fraternity for the benefit of all current and future generations of TKE Fraters. Frater Settles and I shared another bond besides TKE. In order to maximize our opportunities this year, we need to overcome the challenges and limitations that we all too often impose upon ourselves. While they believed college was not for everyone and you didnt need book smarts to survive in the world, college was for their son. All of these gifts will be counting toward the capital campaign we will officially launch next year. At the beginning of that fateful week, I was 500 miles away from home and knew no one on campus. Something incredibly important happened that year, 1962. We have the option of serving as a Chapter Advisor to help a local chapter. Most people today are surprised when they learn that in 1940, on the brink of World War II, just 5% of whites and only 1% of blacks in America had earned a college degree. We have an inclusive notion of leadership and shared governanceand many of our administrators today were once leaders in our senates. This was after a three-year battle, where Wake Forest students played a leading role in efforts to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage ceremonies on campus. For FY 2017, we have our largest budget ever $440 million, a net increase of $10 million over the previous year. We have come too far to falter. They need us and as a fraternity we have a need of them. Despite our growth, accolades, and achievements, we do face important challenges as a campus, including our funding per student given our mission, the expensive nature of some of our programs, other campuses recruiting away our faculty; the need to deepen the diversity of our faculty, and the unevenness of progress across all disciplines in improving teaching and learning a key component of our ongoing effort to improve student success. And so, since the mid-1980s, we have become something else an inclusive, student-focused, residential, research university. With a vision of forward-thinking, growth for Tau Kappa Epsilon, the Grand Council of TKE has released our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. o Our alumni now lead such institutions as the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Clemson University, and chair the Department of Neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University. So today, I want to call us to all be founders for the future and to engage in the hard work needed to accomplish great things. o We have substantive partnerships with Federal agencies that provide students experiential learning through internships, lead to jobs and careers, and provide partnerships. This is such a special moment for UMBC, one of twelve institutions in the University System of Maryland, which is led by Chancellor Robert Caret and the Board of Regents, chaired by James Brady. Past Grand Prytanis Gary LaBranche presided over the festivities and delivered remarks that touched on the legacy of success bequeathed to us: a legacy of challenges met and overcome; of impossible goals made possible. He went on to speak about alumni associations and alumni engagement. To set a new standard for what fraternity means. AOIIs sisterhood means many things to many people, but Founders Day holds a special significance to each of us. We had a nice discussion that continued while we waited for our bags after the conclusion of the flight. Our emergence as a model research university can be traced to many factors. Our dear Founder, we are honored to call AUN our home, and we celebrate with you today. I was born the son of a car mechanic and a hairstylist. Dear Sisters, We send warm greetings to each of you on the 122nd anniversary of AOIIs founding. So today, I leave you with those wise words. UMBC at 50: Reflections and Aspirations. 7)Guest introduction. Lets rekindle old bonds, make new ones, and embrace our opportunity to propel TKE forward in ways that no other organization has yet achieved. We have the choice to improve others as a Province Advisor or Grand Province Advisor and help several chapters. Where will the road ahead take us? As they sat at 504 East Locust Street on a cold Tuesday night, Settles, Truitt, McNutt, Atkinson and Mayer set out to create a fraternity that was different than others in their time. And contribute to Life Loyal Teke to help impact the future of Tau Kappa Epsilon at TKE.org/LLT. Each Fraters journey to Tau Kappa Epsilon is individualized but often rooted in finding a community. How did we become an institution that others are seeking to emulate? It was truly the day the past met the future. The U.S. Military Academy held its annual Founders Day dinner March 16 in the Cadet Mess Hall. These men laid the foundation for joining collegiate men together not based on wealth, rank or honor but on something more important and timelesspersonal worth and characterin a bond that provided equal opportunity for all college men to join in a worthy endeavor. When Frater R.C. Much as America's founding fathers before them, our Fraternity's Founders were pioneers filled with the spirit of building a new and better enterprisenot just for them, and not just for their time, but for all brothers for all time. To safeguard the mission of Tau Kappa Epsilon, we need untiring and dedicated Tekes who will marshal the Fraternity toward greater financial sustainability and emerge from this crisis stronger than before. With what initiatives? o We have become a highly residential campus, with new and renovated residence halls and the Apartment Community Center (2013). As we saw in the video, we have grown significantly over the years, from 750 students on this day on 1966, to almost 14,000 students 11,000 undergraduates and approaching 3,000 graduatestoday. However, from day one, TKE has lead the way as an organization focused on the benefits of diversity and inclusion. This is a proud moment for the campus she called home for over 30 years. There is a commitment to make our Fraternity great. It was clear that the State needed more capacity for high-achieving students. Being a founder means being a fearless advocate. No worries, click here to reset your password. For example, in 1894, our law school was founded. Strengthening pre-K through 12 education, and improving teaching and learning, advising and mentoring, and student support on our campuses can elevate this rate and improve overall student success. Happy Founders' Day Fraters. o Our faculty across disciplines have won a range of impressive awards. Our campus has become a leader in cybersecuritya key tool for our nations securitywith work ranging from information technology to ethics. I challenge you to live the Fraternity for Life by contributing your time and financial resources to ensure that we not only survive these challenging times, but thrive and continue the success that we have all enjoyed. We are helping to change the culture of STEM education in the nation from weeding out students to supporting success for all students. TKE Nation now exceeds 285,000 lifetime members and continues to grow stronger every year. Buildings were ready to be occupied; sidewalks were installed; the faculty was here. Found is a verb, an action, not a single, set moment in some distant past. America is failing these lower-income students; we must continue to elevate not just college readiness but the work we do on campuses to ensure these students succeed when they get here. In our earliest years we built out the academic core, completed the Albin O. Kuhn Library, built the RAC, and began construction of our first dorms. Together, we can make this dream a reality and demonstrate the power of the Fraternity for Life. It was the first day of classes for those students and faculty. January 18, 2018. The Pell Grant program, which today provides extensive need-based federal student aid, was created in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1972 under Nixon. State governments, university administrators, and our insurance carriers are all moving to impose significant changes upon us, or even seek to eliminate us, as these issues continue to persist. We can and we must do better. Our founding fathers had a vision that was progressive and revolutionary back in 1899, creating an organization that would consider personal worth and character to be principle qualifications for membership. Fraters, I believe our greatest days are within our reach if we choose to embrace our values and fulfill our desire to be Better Men for a Better World. From local chapters performing valuable services for and in their communities to distinguished alumni changing the world in virtually all fields of endeavor, Fraters in the Bond have strived to reach our goal of Better Men for a Better World. However good you are, you can always improve. Staff had literally been sweeping floors and assembling desks the night before students arrived. WebMake sure that it is relevant to the content of your welcome speech or the point youre making. As a collegiate Frater serving as an officer, we learn a sense of duty to our chapter and personal responsibility. The glittering faces tell that already. The mission of Tau Kappa Epsilon must be paramount in all we do. Whether in the chapter room or the boardroom, my time in TKE has highlighted that our Fraternity's true strength lies within our members' diversity. Our values and viability have been tested in recent years. As faithful Fraters in Tau Kappa Epsilon, each of us continues to develop our own abilities. The voices of disenfranchised and marginalized Tekes inspired the Fraternity to deepen our commitment to justice and inclusion. UMBCs IT operations are now regarded as a model of innovation in higher education. As we look forward to the future of Tau Kappa Epsilon and fraternities as a whole, the expectations of todays society are much higher than ever before. From modest beginnings, we have solidified our place as a Doctoral University with Higher Research Activity, as designated by the current Carnegie Classification. We are bound to recognize that such qualities are often found in men of wealth also, and we are happy when its possible to secure such members. There were blackboards and even chalk.. TKE has continued to expand to new colleges and universities, with our new colony at University of Alaska Anchorage and charter issued to Upsilon-Omega Chapter at Santa Clara University. How are we going to rally together to ensure we become stronger? And while we clearly would not be here today if not for our opening in 1834, we cannot deny that our history like that of our state and indeed our nation is tied up with slavery, segregation, and Americas other injustices. WebWe learn by growing older, by suffering, by loving, by bearing with the things we can't change, by taking risks. In 1963, the General Assembly authorized a new campus in Baltimore County. Where the most loyal Wake Forest supportersbelong. Tekes never just sit back and rest on their laurels. Along with 87 other universities, we are working together to share best practices and guiding principles about truth-telling projects that address injustice in our histories. o With College Park, we are collaborating (with MITRE) on the states Cybersecurity FFRDC, (with funding from NASA) on the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, and (with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities) on Baltimore Stories: Narratives and the Life of an American City, which seeks to use humanities scholarship to produce print and digital materials that help frame and contextualize narratives of race in American cities. WebOn the speech day, the production designer, who has a lot of say in things, and sometimes I didn't agree with him but I had to do what I was told, wanted the speech day to be all in neutral colours for the women, which was a good thing. January 18, 2018. All of us who have entered the Bond over the last 121 years is their legacy and, thanks to the vision of our Founders, we are well-positioned for continued success. And, at the same time, we have become more international, both in our student body and faculty and in our teaching, research, and engagement. And it means embodying our motto, Pro Humanitate. o We have corporate partners such as Mitre, Northrop Grumman, and IBM that allow us to advance education and research in cybersecurity and with Medimmune which facilitates key work in biomedical research. I urge you to reengage with the Fraternity, to find new and creative ways to support Tau Kappa Epsilon with your time, talent, and treasure. We anticipate that, with winter, spring, and summer enrollments, as well as students in UMBC Training Centers, we will serve a total of more than 20,000 students in the coming academic year. While many see Better Men for a Better World as simply a tagline, I see it through the many I have met in my travels who were enriched by the TKE experience. And so, with federal higher education and civil rights legislation, the percentage of Americans 25 or older who had earned a bachelors degree increased from 9.8 to 32.5 percent between 1966, when we were founded, and 2015. What is even more challenging is that while more than half of students from families in the highest income quartile earn a bachelors degree by age 24, only about one in 10 of those from the lowest income quartile do. We have just completed our self-study for the upcoming Middle State Accreditation and we are implementing our new strategic plan (greater detail about my comments can be found in those two documents). We can better understand UMBCs growth over the past half-century if we consider the national context in which our campus was founded and subsequently grew. As the new year kicks off, our Fraternity is poised to capitalize on strategic growth opportunities that stem from our recent policy changes and internal accountability. The speech is a means of showing ones appreciation through words of praise and gratitude. With Gods grace, with faith in our heritage and a strong commitment to the magnificent obsession, with confidence in our future, with inspiration from the enduring wisdom of our Founders, and with the beacon of mission to light the way, the best days of Tau Kappa Epsilon are unquestionably ahead. What challenges will we face and how will we rise up to meet them? In celebrating our 116th birthday, we know our TKE work is not done nor should it be. From Founders Day on April 8 to the grand opening of Thunderbird Global Headquarters in November, this longstanding tradition of honoring diversity and fostering The key point is that more students are succeeding today than ever. And what inspires confidence in our brotherhood and emboldens strong leadership is the mission of Tau Kappa Epsilon and the values it promulgates. These partnerships are important to the Maryland economy and the health and defense of our nation. But the expectations of ourselves remain constant. Following Sputnik, the National Defense Education Act of 1958which provided the federal funding for students in the sciences, area studies, and foreign languageswas enacted under Eisenhower. America still faces major social challenges from economic inequality and the issues that divide usrace, ethnicity, religion, and sexualityto criminal justice reform and heath disparities. Like many of our newest students, Im still learning about Wake Forest learning what makes this place so special and how we can contribute in our own way to the Universitys distinctive story. For my parents, life was about survival and college was mere a fairy tale of opportunity that people living in double-wide trailers did not get. It promises to be a magnificent celebration in the city where dreams do come true. Through the leadership of our skilled Chief Executive Officer, Donald Aldrich, our dedicated Professional Staff and critical volunteers, we weathered the pandemic and emerged with a stronger organization. These traits are critical if we are to be great founders. In a real sense, you and I are the legacy of goodwill and sacrifice on the part of the founders of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Yet, I know that future generations of Tekes will read about this time in a future edition of The Teke Guide. We now have prestigious scholars programs in addition to Meyerhoff that address a range of key areas: Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars; Humanities Scholars; Linehan Artist Scholars; Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars, Cyber Scholars; and CWIT Scholars. Founders Day is always a significant day and I join you in paying tribute to those persons who through their own dedication and their tireless efforts brought this fraternity into being. Paradoxically at this moment in time, Tau Kappa Epsilon needs the aid of its men. To achieve what our Founders set out to accomplish. WebEach day children participate in circle time, small and large group activities, independent playtime, story time and movement activities.