Newsletter

GRAND REGENT’S UPDATE

As we move forward to the next Grand Council Convention, the work of the term and of the Fraternity is far from over. We continue to move forward with our Chapter Portal under the advisement of our Director of Informatics, Stan Tan, as well as our Central Office. The feedback received has been great and I truly believe the Portal will serve as a great membership resource. I’ve made an attempt this term to not micromanage our committees, chapters, and provinces in an effort to let things take shape, to better understand the motivations of our members, and to allow our committee work to run a natural course. As expected, there have been growing pains, successes, and failures. A primary effort of this term has been to significantly change how we manage every process of our operations from the bottom up. Despite some significant resistance, I’ve been happy with the results as we’ve seen our chapters and provinces develop into entities that are able to stand alone with the use of available resources.

Our financial status remains strong as we have made many decisions, as an organization, that have appropriately positioned us for the future. In addition, several other organizations are recognizing our innovative decisions and asking for advice.. Although many changes may seem unnerving, please recognize that our organization is making great progress in a time of membership shrinkage and professional evolution.

I remain impressed by the work of our chapters, provinces, and committees. Our membership continues to find unique ways to be involved in their educational institutions and communities. Our goal of changing the center of gravity of the organization from the Central Office and the International Executive Committee to the chapter level has served to foster these behaviors and will continue to benefit our organization.

UPCOMING DEADLINES!

• January 1, 2024: Verify and Update Collegiate Roster in Portal

• February 15, 2024: Collegiate

• Spring Dues February 15, 2024: Risk Management Fee (Collegiate Chapters)

• March 1, 2024: MASK Submissions due

• March 15, 2024: Graduate Chapter Dues

• March 15, 2024: Voluntary Graduate Dues

• March 15, 2024: Risk Management Fee (Graduate Chapters)

• March 22-25, 2024: APhA Annual Meeting: Orlando, FL

• May 15, 2024: IRS Form 990 Submission due

• May 31, 2024: History report form due

• June 1, 2024: Verify and Update Collegiate Roster in Portal, Verify Officer Roster in Portal

• July 24-27, 2024: 61st Grand Council Convention: Cleveland, OH

In an effort to ensure appropriate access, we are establishing office hours so that chapters and provinces may meet with the Grand Regent and Central Office staff as needed. The purpose is to provide clarification and assistance with chapter operations and to coordinate utilization of resources. I have decided to keep the office hours within the office of the Grand Regent to prevent any perception of impropriety for those that may run for office moving forward. Should resources be needed from other officers, those connections will be facilitated. The form we’re using allows for submission of a few times and requests what topics are to be discussed. In order to schedule time, please see the following link coordinated by the Collegiate Member-at- Large: https://form.jotform.com/kappapsi/office-hours

Over the last year, our Central Office staff have been remarkable. The overhaul to our Fraternity infrastructure has impacted our Central Office staff the greatest. We purchased and implemented new technology at Central Office to include hardware, financial software, and the Kappa Psi Chapter Portal. Our staff successfully managed these challenges while spring cleaning and organizing our headquarters, as well as overseeing the digitization of our historical artifacts under the guidance of our Grand Historian. Our Fraternity is thankful to have Adrianna, Korin, and crew supporting our membership and operations. Thank you! Our intention is for the Central Office to maintain a physical presence at its current location for the remainder of the 2022-2024 term under the direction of Interim Executive Director Askew. We have implemented technology to allow for remote financial management and security to ensure appropriate guidance and involvement of the appropriate parties. I have complete faith in our current Central Office operations and we should all be proud of the work they’re doing. We will continue to rely upon our excellent staff as we look to implement a learning management system in the Spring. Please be sure to pay dues. Invoices have been sent and the Kappa Psi portal is active for payment. The website is actively being update. Please visit the website frequently to ensure that you are familiar with the available resources and how to navigate Fraternity benefits.

The International Executive Committee holds monthly meetings via a virtual platform. The most recent meeting of the International Executive Committee was at ASHP in Anaheim, CA. While most voting matters will be considered at the upcoming in-person meeting, a couple of recent decisions have been made.

• The Iota Chapter has been temporarily suspended from the Fraternity by way of a decision from their hosting university. Further action is pending an investigation from the university.

• An undisclosed chapter was required to remove non-faculty GCDs due to a risk management issue. A university investigation is underway. Further action is pending the results of the investigation.

• Members of the International Executive Committee have been conducting meetings with sites for consideration of a location for the 2026 Grand Council Convention.

• Members of the International Executive Committee have been evaluating a learning management system with plans for discussion and voting for implementation to occur soon.

• A decision was made to maintain the current Central Office operations and location through the 2022-2024 term.

• Since the last update, two risk management events have been submitted. One was determined to not be a violation of policy. The other is under investigation and action is pending. All submissions are reviewed by the Interim Executive Director, Grand Regent, and the Grand Counselor

Our Collegiate Development Committee is currently evaluating a process to determine chapter selection for visits. One change will be the offering of virtual visits this term as many chapter concerns may be addressed without in-person visits. The International Executive Committee utilized information from the Chapter Progress Report Form and Central Office records to determine chapters that were considered “high risk” due to lagging membership numbers and changes in financial status in comparison to recent years. Please be on the look out for correspondence from the Collegiate Development Committee regarding chapter visits. Your chapter may also request a chapter visit by contacting the Collegiate Chapter Development Committee via the online form using the Kappa Psi website.

We recognize the burden on chapters and the difficulty of dealing with the IRS to file 990 forms. While the process and current deadlines remain in place, we are currently investigating a variety of options to address this concern. As we look to clarify the requirements and outsource or centralize the process, please know that we hear the concerns and are working to address the process. If you have received notice from the IRS, please contact Central Office and the Grand Counselor. Lastly, if you did not file 2022 taxes, please do so through December to avoid any IRS penalties.

Please note that we are continuing our work to streamline communications and responsibilities of the Fraternity. Our Supervisors are taking on a much more robust role than in previous terms. Much of the information from the International Executive Committee is relayed to the Coordinator of Province Affairs in an effort to ensure that communications remain closer to the chapter and province level. The Coordinator of Province Affairs holds monthly meetings with the Supervisors and briefs the International Executive Committee regarding questions and concerns. Please continue to reach out to the Supervisors with questions or concerns. Please make the Grand Regent and Coordinator of Province Affairs aware of any disruptions to the communication process.

Given recent decisions from a hosting university and the International Executive Committee, our previous Social Media Coordinator has temporarily been relieved of their duties. Grand Historian Saswat Kabisatpathy has been appointed as the Interim Social Media Coordinator and will serve as interim chair of the Social Media Committee. We are currently working on updating our social media accounts and processes. Grand Historian Kabisatpathy has already made a significant impact on our social media efforts. Please be sure to tag the Kappa Psi social media account in your chapter posts via your preferred social media platform.

Our GCC logo was recently released. In addition, intraorganizational sponsorship opportunities have also been released. Please look for upcoming updates regarding registration in the coming months.

This has been a subject of much discussion over the last year or so within the Fraternity. As evidenced by the budget released earlier this year, the MASK consumes a considerable portion of our budget. We are currently evaluating options for publication, construction, and content generation for the MASK. The Editor of the Mask and the International Executive Committee have held multiple meetings and have brainstormed many ideas. The meetings have been productive and we’re hopeful that meaningful change will be accomplished.

CONTACT US

Grand Regent: Jason Milton | grandregent@kappapsi.org

Grand Vice Regent: Chris Miller | grandviceregent@kappapsi.org

Grand Counselor: Joe Nardolillo | grandcounselor@kappapsi.org

Grand Historian: Saswat Kabisatpathy | grandhistorian@kappapsi.org

Grand Ritualist: Kelsey E. Johnson | grandritualist@kappapsi.org

Graduate Member at Large: Matt Jordan | gmatlarge@kappapsi.org

Collegiate Member at Large: Dylan McWilliams | collatlarge@kappapsi.org

Interim Executive Director/ Imm Past Grand Regent: Christy Askew | executivedirector@kappapsi.org