The national organizations of Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc. and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity honored their respective Dartmouth chapters with various awards in ceremonies this month. Both organizations recognized individual Dartmouth members, and Sig Ep received four awards for the chapter as a whole.
Jeffrey Coleman '08 garnered LUL's Hermano of the Year award at the fraternity's 26th Anniversary National Gala on Feb. 23. The award recognizes the member of the national organization who best exemplifies excellence in leadership, academics and service.
"I didn't expect to get it," Coleman said, "There are so many [members] around the country doing great things. I was shocked."
The Dartmouth chapter of LUL, an organization dedicated to serving Latino communities on college campuses, consists of two members. The fraternity holds six charity events each year, including one of two public formals held on campus, Coleman said.
At Sig Ep's national conference, member Travis Green '08 won the national organization's Frank J. Ruck Interfraternity Leadership Award, and was praised for his campus leadership and contributions to improve campus life. Green is the president of Dartmouth's Student Assembly.
"I'm not exactly an award-seeking guy," Green said. "But it's great to have the recognition of brothers across the nation."
The national organization of Sig Ep granted the Dartmouth chapter the 90+ Award for exceeding 90 members in 2007 and the Manpower Excellence Award for boasting the largest membership on campus at the Carlson Leadership Academy, a national conference for Sig Ep chapter officers.
"There's a cycle to these things, so being consistently the largest fraternity on campus says something," Carey Heckman '76, chapter counselor for Sig Ep, said.
"It's a sign of strength for us," Sig Ep president Sean Walsh '08 said.
Dartmouth's chapter also walked away with the Phi Beta Kappa Wheelhouse Award for an average member GPA above 3.15 and the Grand Chapter Scholarship Cup, given to chapters with the highest GPA of all fraternities on its campus.
Heckman, a member of the Alumni and Volunteer Council for Sig Ep at Dartmouth, garnered The Volunteer of the Year Award for District 1, comprised of chapters in New England and New York.
"Getting an award is almost superfluous," Heckman said, "I've had an effect on peoples' lives."
Dartmouth's chapter of Sig Ep's Alumni and Volunteer Council received the Alumni and Volunteer Corporation Operation Excellence Award for District 1. The award recognizes the council's breadth of involvement with the chapter and its ability to engage alumni, Heckman said.
