2001
- 2004
In 2001, Penn State inquired several times about the possible
purchase of PA Theta's property. The alumni board responded by outlining
all alternatives – renovate, rebuild, sell, or continue as
is – and continued to study all possibilities.
A mail survey indicated that few alumni would attend the 2001 Homecoming
dinner and, as a result, no alumni dinner was scheduled.
In April 2002, Penn State requested another easement across PA
Theta's front lawn to install utilities necessary for the Information
Sciences and Technology (IST) Building, planned to be built immediately
behind and alongside the chapter house and extending across Atherton
Street with a total length exceeding 1000 feet. As compensation
for the easement, which was granted by PA Theta, Penn State agreed
to renovate the chapter house's parking areas – including
paving, concrete curbing, painted lines, and shielding fences or
shrubbery.
Construction of the $60 million IST Building commenced in summer
of 2002.
With his latest publication being Guide to the Homes of Famous
Pennsylvanians (2003), Arthur Miller Jr. '47, continued to write
long after his 1988 retirement.
In May 2003, Penn State announced a $2 million gift from Edward
R. Hintz, Jr. '59 and his wife toward construction of the new Smeal
College of Business building, scheduled for groundbreaking in September
2003 and with a projected cost of $68 million. The courtyard plaza
of the building was to be named The Edward R. and Helen Skade Hintz
Plaza.
In mid-2003, Penn State Assistant Vice President for Finance and
Business Dan Sieminski reiterated PSU's interest in purchasing the
PA Theta real estate.
During the summer of 2003, the flag pole – which, over the
past 70 years, had finally leaned too much – was replaced.
This project was funded by class of '52 members Jack Pickett (Bond
#543), Richard Wick (Bond #535), Harry Carrol Chapman (Bond #536),
Paul Trimmer (Bond #538), Frederick Huston Jr. (Bond #539), Donald
Duncan (Bond #540), Gerald Hayes (Bond #544), Arthur Betts (Bond
#546), Edward Hoover (Bond #547), and John Berry (Bond #548). New
Phi Delta Theta and American flags were also included.
In response to a long standing desire for better identification
for the chapter house, 24 inch high Greek letters – F?T –
were donated by Weston Holmes '59 and installed on the top of the
portico in September 2003. At the same time, Richard Chivaroli '77
(Bond #979) arranged and paid for the portico to receive a much
needed coat of white paint.
Chapter house occupancy hovered around 60%, resulting in continued
financial losses. At the 2003 Homecoming alumni membership meeting,
the alumni executive committee was authorized and instructed to
develop a plan considering the options of 1) total renovation of
the existing chapter house, 2) demolition followed by building a
new house on the present site, 3) sale of the property to a developer
who would build a new chapter house on the present site and rent
it to PA Theta, or 4) sale of the property to Penn State, resulting
in the relocation of PA Theta to either an existing or a newly constructed
chapter house at a different site. This plan was to be developed
and implemented no later than the spring 2004 alumni membership
meeting.
Construction of IST Building was completed in November 2003, and
it became fully functional at the beginning of the spring 2004 semester.
In January 2004, undergraduate chapter member Adam Hampton (Bond
#1398) – was tragically killed in an automotive accident.
To enable the PA Theta directors to better evaluate the financial
aspects of a sale of the chapter house, Penn State was asked to
make a specific proposal, and it responded with a formal offer of
$750,000.
With a firm, but inadequate, purchase offer from Penn State, the
alumni directors re-calculated the chapter's needs – taking
into consideration its existing debt and the anticipated costs of
relocation – and countered, in January 2004, with an offer
to sell for $1.25 million.
When PSU offered a total compensation of $1.05 million, but then
later raised it to $1.1 million, the directors reviewed the state
of PA Theta's physical plant, the chapter's occupancy rate, the
fiscal condition of both the undergraduate chapter and the alumni
corporation, and concluded that sale of PA Theta's real estate was
appropriate and the most responsible action to take.
PSU's offer – $800,000 for the purchase of the real estate
and an additional $300,000 as compensation for the many and varied
expenses resulting from the sale and the relocation of the chapter
– was accepted in principle, and an agreement of sale was
executed. The Penn State Board of Trustees approved the purchase
on March 19, 2004.
On May 7-9, 2004, the PA Theta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity
celebrated its 100th anniversary with several open-house mixers
at the chapter house, a guided bus tour of the Penn State campus,
plus a brunch and banquet at the State College Ramada Inn and Conference
Center.
During ceremonies conducted by Frederick Huston Jr.'52, 26 brothers
of PA Theta received their Silver Legion pins – indicating
25 years of membership – and 19 additional brothers received
their Golden Legion pins and certificates – for 50 years of
membership.
The Centennial Celebration speakers included PA Theta alumni corporation
president Thomas L. Smith '54, PA Theta chapter president Paul Silber
'06 (Bond #1404), and Phi Delta Theta General Council president
Charlie Pride (KY Eta, Western Kentucky, '87).
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