A special congratulations and recognition to former Kappa Chapter Advisor Bill Neugebauer, who was recently installed as Grand President of Phi Sigma Kappa. Brother Bill's story with Phi Sigma Kappa began 48 years ago, when he joined a local fraternity, Sigma Kappa Phi, in the spring of 1964 at then-called Indiana State College. Little did Bill know at the time that his undergraduate years in Phi Sigma Kappa would only be the beginning of his service to the Fraternity.
By Dick Doherty '58
It was slightly overcast, but the sun still managed to break through most of the clouds, bringing with it unusually warm weather for November. Most of the leaves had already fallen off the trees and could be heard rustling across the ground following the lead of a just slight, but still impactful breeze. More people than usual were outside for a Sunday morning, no doubt gearing up for a day full of football or doing some much-needed housework the weather was finally allowing to be done. But despite the oddities of weather that day in State College, Pennsylvania, one thing was on everyone's mind – the installation of Bill Neugebauer as Phi Sigma Kappa's Grand President.
Brother Bill's story with Phi Sigma Kappa began 48 years ago, when he joined a local fraternity, Sigma Kappa Phi, in the spring of 1964 at then-called Indiana State College. Little did Bill know at the time that his undergraduate years in Phi Sigma Kappa would only be the beginning of his service to the Fraternity. Over the course of the next nearly 50 years, Brother Bill would serve as Founding Father for his undergraduate chapter, a member of four separate national committees, district governor for five chapters (including the Kappa Chapter at Penn State), chapter adviser for several chapters, a Grand Council Director and now, in 2012, in the role of Grand President.
Out of all of the roles he has held within Phi Sigma Kappa, Grand President is the highest and most prestigious of them all; and he only wanted his installation to occur in one place: the Kappa house. In his own words, Bill recalls the development of his relationship to the men of the Kappa Chapter:
"My history with Kappa goes back to 1965 when the men of Kappa came to Indiana University of Pennsylvania and installed my chapter, Theta Pentaton. I was installed as sentinel of the chapter and met Bob 'Bear' Kohler, the chapter adviser of Kappa and Bob Abbe, the Grand President.
Bear and I became good friends over the years and sometimes traveled to national meetings together. When he died unexpectedly while vacationing in Florida, I was asked to serve as temporary chapter adviser for Kappa, as well as Iota Septaton. I served in this capacity for more than two years. During that time, I got to know many of the undergrads as well as the alumni and became good friends with Dick Doherty, the alumni president. Usually, Grand President installations are held at a national convention, but because this was a special situation, I asked that the event could take place at the Kappa house ... where I had a history. It was just natural that the Kappa house be the scene of my installation, with the men of Kappa present along with the men of Iota Septaton, the men of Phi Nu, along with close friends and brothers."
When Brother Bill asked me if he could have his installation as Grand President at our Kappa Chapter house, the answer was "of course you can:. We were honored and delighted to host such an important and momentous event. I have known Bill and worked with him for over 10 years. We have built a strong relationship between are two chapters. When Bill stepped up to fill the advisors roll for the chapter it was at a low ebb. He did a great deal to help us bring it back to the strong chapter it is today. Thank you Bill for all you guidance, assistance and friendly advice. It was a very proud and honored time to host your installation. An honor that will probably not occur again. Kappa Chapter wishes you the best and smooth sailing Bill in your new office as Grand President. You are a man fitting the office. We are all Damn Proud.
