Second 50 Years > The 1970s

In 1971, the National Board of Directors divided Headquarters responsibilities between the areas of alumni operations, undergraduate operations and financial operations, appointing Charles N. White, Jr., of Western Michigan (Michigan Beta), '62, to the undergraduate and financial areas as Executive Vice President. Donald M. Johnson assumed responsibility for the alumni and Foundation areas, also as Executive Vice President.

This organizational structure continued until 1976 upon the retirement of Brother Johnson, at which time Brother White was named Executive Director and was responsible for the entire Headquarters operation. During Brother White's tenure, the Regional Leadership Academy program was created and instituted, the professional Headquarters staff was expanded, and its responsibilities enlarged.

The late 1960s and early 1970s were difficult times. Fraternities began losing their popularity. A generation wary of established institutions was arriving on campus and many of them scorned the Greek system as elitist, outdated, and immature. Unfortunately, enough fraternity chapters behaved in such a way that the charge stuck.
The "student movement," centered on the war in Vietnam, alienated fraternity chapters still further. Faced with a breakdown of campus and chapter values, many chapters of Sigma Phi Epsilon and of other fraternities lost direction. Men were no longer attracted to membership. None of the old recruitment formulas seemed to work. Some of SigEp's oldest and strongest chapters died during this era because they refused to adapt.

By 1972, Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters were suffering. The number of members decreased, and alumni support was weakening—college students of the time were bucking traditions and the ways of "anyone over 30." The Fraternity's Headquarters went into deficit financial operation, but the Board of Directors and the Executive Director refused to cut back on the service to undergraduate chapters. The strength of SigEp over the years has been a function of alumni guidance and Headquarters services to the undergraduate chapters. That devotion to service pulled SigEp through the early 1970s with fewer scars than most other strong fraternities.
The investment in the belief that the hard times would come to an end paid off. In the late 1970s, students began to change—demanding a return to the ideals of a past generation. Fraternities were again in prime position to meet those needs and SigEp was ready.