THE SECOND CHANGE BEGINS: 1919

The 1918 national convention, which was now the 1919 Buffalo, New York, “Victory” Convention, would lay the groundwork for significant restructuring of the Fraternity’s governing structure. The Victory Convention was a time of celebration. Far from the somber wartime affair that had originally been planned, the Victory Convention included a smoker as an opening party and tours of Niagara Falls. But, on the eve of prohibition, the nation’s Great Experiment, the convention was dry. The Buffalo alumni had pulled out all the stops in planning the convention. The war was over and America was ready to celebrate. To top it all off, Levere had returned from France just weeks before the convention began. The conventioneers were thrilled to have him back. After all, convention would not be the same without Billy.

In his opening remarks and report, Almy presented the case for refining Fraternity operations and developing a central office at Evanston. He told the convention that the Fraternity, and college fraternities overall, had long passed from being “boys’ play.” The Fraternity “has demonstrated that it has a serious educational function to perform, a function as unique as it is useful … The College Fraternity then, is now, and, as time goes on, will the more be serious business.” During his two terms as ESA, Almy had studied how other fraternities operated. He observed that those fraternities which had one or more men who had made the fraternity their life’s work fared the best. Sigma Alpha Epsilon needed to adopt a modern business model, have a centralized office with full-time staff to provide continuity and a board of directors with members that would slowly change over time. In short, SAE had to act like the business it had become. Almy believed that it was the only way for a modern fraternity to reach its full potential.

Instead of accepting the basic elements of the Centralization Plan that were proposed in revisions to The Fraternity Laws, the convention voted to form exploratory committees to report at the December 1920 convention in St. Louis. One committee would present a fully developed plan to centralize fraternity operations. Another committee would report on the creation of a memorial to the brothers who had fought and died in WWI. In the end, both committees would be encompassed by the same plan.

Two terms as ESA had been enough for Almy. He retired from the position, and Honorary ESA Judge Arthur J. Tuttle (Michigan 1892) was elected. Tuttle was a federal district court judge and was entirely too busy to serve as ESA. However, with “good old Billy” as ESR, he was persuaded to accept the position. Tuttle was in agreement with Almy’s plan of modernization. After all, while Almy had promoted the idea for the past several months, it was the combination of Tuttle, Levere, and Almy who had developed the idea and possessed the skill to see it through. In the early spring of 1920, Tuttle appointed Almy as chairman of the committee for central office efficiency. The remainder of the committee was composed of Tuttle, Levere, Marvin Holderness, Lauren Foreman (Emory 1901), Arthur Cook (Washington 1909) and George C. Keech (Michigan 1895).

The committee members corresponded through the spring and met in Evanston in late June of 1920 to hammer out their final proposal. A special edition of the Phi Alpha was released in November 1920 to provide convention delegates time to look over the 23-page restructuring plan that would modernize the Fraternity.

CONTINUING THE PUSH: 1920

In December 1920, for the first time in 16 years, St. Louis finally got its chance to host a national convention, and what a historic convention it was. The delegates knew it even before they arrived. They were about to embark on an exhausting journey of debating, discussing and voting. They were asked to consider 133 significant amendments to The Fraternity Laws. Through the centralization plan, the convention transformed the Supreme Council from a working board to the executive board of directors of the Fraternity with the task of setting Fraternity policy subject to the actions of the national convention. The Supreme Council positions of Eminent Supreme Treasurer and editor of The Record were eliminated. Two new Council positions were created, an Eminent Supreme Warden who provided financial oversight and an Eminent Supreme Herald who had no specific duties. The ESR would remain a Council member and be the chief executive officer of the central office in Evanston. To assist him, the positions of Grand Treasurer and General Secretary were created.

The convention also restructured the membership structure of the fraternity. There would now be four divisions of fraternity members: the Chapter Collegiate, Chapter National, Chapter Quiescent and the Chapter Eternal. Alumni would belong to one of the last three chapters. Those alumni who paid annual dues of $3, a lifetime membership fee of $50, or became one of 25 Founder members by donating $1,000 to the National Endowment Fund were members of the Chapter National. Chapter Quiescent members did not pay any of these fees and in turn they were not permitted to hold office or be a representative at either a national or province convention. Certainly, there was some opposition to this plan. Some delegates felt that it was an effort to tax the alumni. Far from a tax, the intent of the $3 alumni dues were to maintain alumni involvement, to provide capital for financial stability and to finance expanded services to collegiate and alumni members. The last major component of the centralization plan was the establishment of the National Endowment Fund into which the annual and lifetime dues and the Founder memberships were paid. The fund allowed Sigma Alpha Epsilon, for the first time, to ask alumni for financial support of the fraternity. Funds collected were to be used to help finance the construction of chapter houses, the construction of a building or memorial for brothers who lost their lives in WWI and to help Diomedian clubs to construct chapter houses. After much debate, discussion and a few minor changes, the convention unanimously accepted the plan, and the Central Office in Evanston — the first official national headquarters in the Greek-letter world — became a reality.

The 1920 St. Louis convention was a watershed moment for the development of SAE. Almy, Levere, Tuttle and the rest of the committee for central office efficiency developed a plan that would position the Fraternity ahead of other organizations of the age. By adopting a modern business model and practices it professionalized the Fraternity. The creation of the National Endowment Fund paved the way for the building of the Levere Memorial Temple, creation of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation, and the creation of the SAE Financial & Housing Corporation. While it was a short-lived program, the Diomedians served the important function of beginning a serious and continued effort on the part of Sigma Alpha Epsilon to retain alumni interest and engagement in the Fraternity. Most importantly, the convention laid the foundation for the Fraternity that we know and understand today.

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