On October 24, Epsilon Association President Glenn "Rusty" George, C'82, enjoyed a very public opportunity to recognize the recent donation of four new Cornell college banners. The donation was made jointly by the Epsilon Association and Dan Mansoor, C'76. Rusty spoke at a reception hosted by Cornell's Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life in the very special space where the banners hang: the Memorial Room at Willard Straight Hall, Cornell's student union. The event was held during Cornell's Trustee-Council Annual Meeting weekend, bringing the University's trustees to campus and to the Sigma Phi event.

The Epsilon and Dan Mansoor, C'76, first donated such banners to the University in 1989. There were eight at that time, each representing a different college within the University. In the years since, new banners have been added as new Cornell colleges have been inaugurated or their logos were updated. This gift concept was the idea of Dan Mansoor, then the Epsilon's Director of Alumni Engagement & Philanthropy. Dan had just helped create the Sigma Phi Gift Account at Cornell, the primary development mechanism used to this day by the Epsilon.

Beyond merely explaining the donation, Rusty took the opportunity to point his audience to the many and varied connections between the Society and the University. "There are numerous such touchpoints," Rusty explained, "between Sigma Phi and Cornell. Nearly two thousand graduates since our first house opened in 1890, a dozen or more faculty members over time, several trustees (including Life Trustee Ezra Cornell, C'69, and Chairman Emeritus Bob Harrison, C'73), and scores of recipients of Oliphant and Tannenbaum Speakers Fellowships over the past half-century."

He described in particular the part played by Andrew Dickson White, G'1850, who went on to become co-founder and first president of Cornell. Fortunately for Sigma Phi, that brother remained an active Sig the rest of his life. Not only did he assist in founding the Epsilon of New York, he served as editor of The Flame as well as Chairman of the S&A from 1913-15. Rusty explained: "White deeply valued all fraternities, believing they cultivated leadership, self-governance, and enduring friendship among young men. During his presidency, he accorded them pride of place at Cornell, both physically and socially." Thank you, esteemed Brother White!

The Epsilon invites any and all who visit Cornell to stop by the Memorial Room (a medieval-style hall with hammer-beam ceiling) to view the banners and to read the permanent plaque thanking Sigma Phi!