Pundit Scott Galloway reporting on the dearth of friendships in men. (LinkedIn) 

In the United States, friendship is on the decline. In fact, in the decades since 1990, the percentage of Americans who say that they have less than three close friends has doubled, going from 16% to 32%. Those reporting no friends at all? That number has risen sharply from 3% to 12%. Thought leader Scott Galloway reports that 1 in 7 men have no close friends at all outside of their family. 

This is a problem. Beyond the obvious benefits of friendship — connection, shared memories, someone having your back — there are incredible health benefits attached to having strong friendships.  

Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard, runs the world’s longest study on happiness. He explores the question: “What keeps us healthy and happy as we go through life?”  

Waldinger is the fourth director of the longest-running study of adult life. Since 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has been following a group of 724 men through work, home, family and health. Over 80-plus years of the study, some experienced meteoric success, some epic failure. But who was happiest? 

“The biggest lesson we learned is that it isn’t wealth, fame or hard work that matters. Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period,” he said. He added that the healthiest 80-year-olds turned out to be the ones who were most connected in their 50s. Those with good relationships had healthier bodies and clearer minds than their counterparts. 

People who do not have vital connections as they walk through life’s joys and challenges show marked differences from people with strong friends. In Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam posits that participating in even one social organization and forming friendships could cut your odds of dying in the next year in half. A recent report showed that loneliness registers an impact on your well-being similar to that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day and rivals alcohol and smoking as a cause of early death. 

Recently, a survey went out to alumni of a fraternity that doesn’t have an undergraduate chapter. The survey invited alumni to weigh in about the future of the chapter and the value of reopening the house on their college campus. The questions boiled down to “Why?” What is the value of their chapter — or any Greek organization — in today’s culture? One alumnus answered with just one weighted word: camaraderie. 

There are hundreds — thousands — of other words to back up that shortest answer. Fraternity groups like this one, and like Alpha Chi Rho, are ideal leadership training grounds, hot spots of philanthropy and mentorship. But Alpha Chi Rho’s most basic element is also its most valuable: the camaraderie gained during pivotal years forms ironclad friendships that last decades. And while they are making life richer and better, these friendships are actually making us healthier, happier and live longer.  

Here’s a challenge for us in 2023. Let’s buck these statistics. I’ll wager someone came to your mind as you were reading this. Reconnect with them — do it this week. Make plans to see a game, or plan a weekend. If travel is not in the cards right now, just keep in touch. Share an old story, or dig up a picture from the good old days. Your friendship — and your health— will thank you. 

This month, we are taking it all the way back to the year 2000. Check out this throwback of The Phi Phi Review! The newsletter features Homecoming in 1999, a letter from Alumni Liaison Kevin Myers ’02, a note from Phi Phi Club President John C. Hawkins ’93, dozens of alumni updates, and more!

For our next newsletter, we would love to include an update from our alumni of all decades! What updates do you have to share with the chapter? Did you recently move or get a new job? Maybe you recently made a visit to UPenn! Let us know HERE or send an email to alumninews@affinityconnection.com.

Happy New Year, Brother! Our wish for you in 2023 is for a year filled with happiness, peace, good health, and prosperity. As we continue to reflect on 2022, we must keep at the for front of our minds, the mission and objective of Alpha Chi Rho, and the responsibility we have as alumni to the place that has provided us with the foundation skills for our success we have now.  

Now as alumni, we ask that you continue to put your best foot forward to help support not only our alumni events and communications, but that we continue to help perpetuate our undergrad chapter forward. So that these fine young men can experience all the opportunities we had during our time in Alpha Chi Rho. 

For those who are able, please consider a monetary donation by CLICKING HERE, this will also get you a spot on the Honor Roll, FOUND HERE. We thank you in advance for your continued support. 

The Phi Phi Club would like to invite graduate brothers to join our board and/or committees. We have several opportunities to be involved in the Graduate Board (including leadership positions) and our subcommittees. With the increased use of virtual meetings, you do not need to live in the Philadelphia area to actively participate. While the board meets every two to three months, these meetings are held over Zoom or by phone conference. In person meetings are held at the Chapter House each Homecoming and Alumni Day where brothers are always welcome but can also participate remotely.

As we look to the future of the fraternity, we would love additional participation in areas such as property management and planning, engagement between undergraduates and graduate brothers, event and reunion coordination and alumni development.

Please reach out to me if you would be interested in participating or would like additional information.

Sincerely,

Jared Miller ‘95

Graduate Board President

jmiller@jemtaxllc.com

717-368-4190

As we turn toward year end giving, the graduate and undergraduate brothers humbly request your consideration in your giving plans. Our chapter house is showing its age and needs some assistance in bringing the property into modern living conditions. Our house manager, Max Gerhardt, has done a wonderful job of keeping the house in working order. However, we recently needed to replace our commercial water heater at a cost of $12,500 and have contracted to update the wireless internet connections. There are several other pending projects including kitchen improvements, repairs to the front door roof to reduce water leaks, door and window upgrades and general room enhancements. The graduate board has started the Joe Moloznik Memorial Fund to collect donations to finance these projects. We have set an initial goal of $100,000 for the house and would love your participation in this endeavor.

If you have not contributed to the house in the past, now is a great opportunity to help. If you contribute today, you can see the progress by Alumni Day!!

Are you ready to take on our 2022 Holiday challenge? Without all of us, Phi Phi Club simply does not exist. Your 2022 year-end gift can help to make this our best year yet. Are you in? 

Why should you give back? Alumni contributions are at the heart of everything we do. Your gifts help to support our undergrad chapter and keep the house in good shape to stay competitive during recruitment. Our contributions also support every alumni experience like reunions events and make it possible for us to stay connected through news and updates. 

Will you step up to lead the way by being the first from your grad year to add your name to the Honor Roll of Donors? Don’t miss the chance to give back to the organization that defined our University of Pennsylvania experience. Even just $10 will let your brothers know you’re out there and you still care.  

Help us make this giving year the strongest one yet. To give to the 2022-23 annual fund today, use any of these methods:  

• Click here to donate online 
• Call our toll-free donation hotline at 1-800-975-6699 
• Mail a check to our donation processing center

 Click here to see who’s on the 2022-23 Honor Roll of Donors. Add your name now. 

During the holiday season, we reflect on the important parts of our lives that we are thankful for. One important element of growth and education in a young man’s life is time spent at the fraternity. I am grateful for the time spent at the chapter house bonding with brothers, engaging in new experiences, and learning how to become a responsible leader. These life lessons provided a more fulfilling educational experience than just classroom time at Penn. As brothers, we transitioned from high school students to become men. I am thankful for the life-long relationships that I have built, the ability to become part of a legacy at Penn and to have a chapter house that I can always call home.

These important lessons have transitioned into my professional career, fatherhood, and volunteer commitments. I will always be grateful for Alpha Chi Rho (not only my undergraduate years but also serving on the graduate chapter board). I am also thankful for my fellow brothers. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

The Phi Phi Club was proud to present four scholarships during our Homecoming meeting in October.

The James W. Rappaport (’77) Scholarship is awarded every fall and is based on academic excellence, financial need, and participation in on-campus and off-campus activities. To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must be full-time students at the University of Pennsylvania, must be in good standing with the University and the Fraternity, and shall be moving successfully toward completion of academic coursework.

Our 2022 Rappaport Scholarship winners are Kaito Tsumita (Chapter President) and Maxwell Gerhardt (House Manager).

The Sanfilippo Scholarship was created by Fred Sanfilippo (’70) and his son Joseph (’11). The award shall be granted annually to an enrolled full-time student working to earn his degree that will enable him to pursue a career in the field of healthcare. The criteria used to select a winner shall include an interest in a career in healthcare, academic achievement including grades and class rank, campus or community extracurricular involvement, fraternity involvement, and financial need.

Our 2022 Sanfilippo Scholarship winners are Criston Young (Rush Chair) and Eashan Sahai (Vice President).

Thanks to the generous donations by our alumni brothers to the AXPEF, the Phi Phi Club is able to provide much needed financial support to our undergraduate brothers.

Alpha Chi Rho is a student-run, living-learning society that advances leadership skills, cultivates innovation, and promotes social responsibility by engaging the Alpha Chi Rho community and its resources through projects, events, and mentorship.  

While active brothers are able to learn and develop through our traditions and amongst each other, it is evident that alumni involvement and connections are far more important now than ever. Brothers of all ages can pay it forward to our actives by choosing to mentor the younger generations.  

Mentoring: 

• Provides students with experiences and knowledge so they can explore their potential outside of their core coursework. 
• Prepares students to be future leaders through innovation, collaboration and networking. 
• Assists with finding internships and first jobs as well as a network to assist in mid-career support 
• Enables actives to gain unique, meaningful, practical, resume-enhancing experience 
• Develops leadership skills by starting a new organization that can have a meaningful impact to the Alpha Chi Rho community and college life across the nation 
• Establishes a network of relationships with students, alumni, faculty, and the administration that will support actives while at Alpha Chi Rho and throughout their career 
• Builds life-long relationships gained through a living learning organization that goes beyond the years spent at the University of Pennsylvania
• Enhances personal and professional development through a structured mentoring program that includes students, alumni, and faculty 

Alpha Chi Rho aims to create an environment that promotes mentorship at various levels throughout the University of Pennsylvania community to assist brothers in their personal, academic, and professional development, bringing together students, alumni and faculty.  

We want to wish all our current Phi Phi Club undergraduates as well as all of our alumni members a Happy Thanksgiving. The holiday season is always a time of reflection, celebration, memories and most importantly, gratitude. 

Whether it be through donations or time spent volunteering, we are thankful for your support in more ways than one. As Alpha Chi Rho brothers, we share a passion for the brotherhood that contributed to our personal development, our relationships, and our lives as students and far beyond to our roles as husbands, fathers, professionals, volunteers, neighbors, and friends. 

We can’t overestimate the true meaning of adding your name to the ranks of our alumni donors. We want to share our continued gratitude to those brothers listed on the honor roll HERE who have graciously given back to Alpha Chi Rho this holiday season. 

The Alpha Chi Rho Educational Foundation recently began their new long range plan titled The Next Five Years during the 2022 year. The purpose of this program is “to implement the Mission Statement it adopted in 2019 while maintaining the programs and services it now offers to the Brothers of Alpha Chi Rho, the National Fraternity, and other parties. The plan contemplates actions in five areas: Promoting Academic Excellence and Leadership, Educational Sponsorships, Communication, Infrastructure Resources, and Finances.”

You can learn more about The Next Five Years on the fraternity’s website by clicking here. 

Year after year, thousands of students and alumni join together to celebrate University of Pennsylvania’s homecoming. With homecoming 2022 falling on October 22nd, we are always interesting in hearing about your visit back to the old stomping grounds! Have you been back to Philadelphia lately? 

Alpha Chi Rho wants to hear from you! What is the best place to visit when you are back in town? Is it City Tap House? Do you have a fun homecoming throwback to share with everyone? Let us know in the comments below! 

Haven’t been back to Philadelphia lately? No worries! Now is the perfect opportunity to plan your next get-together with some old Phi Phi Club alumni. Use our directory to contact your old buddies or leave a note in the comments for us to include in the next newsletter! 

As summer has come to a close, we would love to hear about your favorite summer adventures! Did you travel abroad with your family or make a trip back to campus to visit some old college buddies? Whether it was this summer or a summer 50 years ago — let us know your answer, and we will share it with your fellow alumni in our next communication! 

Do you have a favorite adventure photo or story to share? Tell us all about it! 

This year, brother after brother answered the of question of why it is important to give back to Alpha Chi Rho and said it was because of how much AXP changed their life. AXP gave them leadership skills and friendships that have weathered life’s ups and downs. Together, our gifts can make sure that the important benefits of fraternity membership live on — both through us as alumni, and with the next generation of students.   

While the AXP experience of today and tomorrow might be different from your personal experience, the core values remain. Leadership, integrity and service to others still form the foundation of our brotherhood. Lifelong friendships, like the ones you continue to enjoy today, take root in new Alpha Chi Rho brothers.   

Your financial contribution to Alpha Chi Rho at the University of Pennsylvania does more than honor these ideals. It perpetuates the lifelong impact that AXP has on our alumni brotherhood and the next generation of brothers who will gain leadership experience, camaraderie, and friendships that will last long into their life after graduation.   

Did Alpha Chi Rho at UPenn change your life? If so, join the brotherhood with a donation to the Annual Fund.  

We look forward to adding your name to the Honor Roll of Donors in our next publication and to keeping you informed about the impact of your support.   

DONATE HERE 

By Bob Goodwin ’72 

“If I were to start a new university, there would not be fraternities on its campus” (University of Pennsylvania 1970 Record, page 148)” 

There was some justification for these remarks made by Vice Provost Jack Russell at the Interfraternity – Pan Hellenic Leadership Conference in 1969. A year earlier, a fraternity had its charter revoked by its national organization. In December 1967, a Christmas tree caught fire in another fraternity house resulting in deaths. As a senior in high school in Philadelphia at the time, I remember my father saying after he read the local news that he hoped I would never join a fraternity. I wish to share a different and significantly more positive perspective. 

Many of the reasons I joined Alpha Chi Rho are explained in the excellent article on phiphiclub.com by Byron Connell ’63 about what impacted his decision to join. Byron’s catalyst was National Secretary Curly Walden. In the fall of 1968, mine was fellow Penn Band trombonist and Alpha Chi Rho Phi Phi Treasurer Mike Karpinski ‘70. 

A week before freshman orientation, Penn Band held Band Camp which allowed us newbies to learn the music and arrive on campus already knowing a few people. I bunked with Mike and trumpet player Don Allen, both of whom were Crows, and through them met another dozen Penn Band fraternity brothers. I fell in almost instantly with them and, although I looked at several other fraternity houses, came back to Alpha Chi Rho at the end of rush. 

Like Byron, I found Alpha Chi Rho’s pledge program to be free of hazing and spent the second half of that time working with my fellow pledges to fix up the house. We could see the benefits immediately as we would be living there the following year. In addition, the Brotherhood was becoming more diverse, disproving Dr. Russell’s claim about discrimination. As Corresponding Secretary in my sophomore and junior years, I published quarterly articles in The Garnet and White about the positive impact of our chapter’s activities on the community and ourselves. My senior year as Chaplain, I coordinated with other fraternities’ chaplains in an unsuccessful attempt to restore a house just off campus pre-Habitat for Humanity, again challenging to Dr. Russell’s comments. 

The location, as Byron wrote, was helpful — we were literally at the center of campus and witnessed such events as then-University President Martin Meyerson calling a campus strike in 1970 to protest escalation of the Vietnam War. Proximity to class allowed me to fall out of bed just a few minutes before class, not something to take lightly when my pre-med chemistry classes without fail started at 8 AM. 

So what does all this have to do with me 50 years later and why am I still involved with AXP? As an only child, I had never had a brotherhood experience until I joined AXP. On a campus of thousands in a city of millions, then as now it is important to have a “home” where one benefits from in-person relationships in a way that non-fraternity people would not understand. Facebook, Twitter and the other mass social media are not substitutes. 

Faced with life and death challenges as a physician in practice for 42 years, I practice the lessons of teamwork learned at Phi Phi and am able to connect with my peers stressed particularly these last two years with Covid19. I’ve been married to the same lovely person since 1976 (even if unlike Byron, I did not meet her through AXP), I have put into action the principles of compromise without surrendering one’s values, constructive criticism, and negotiation all finely honed at Phi Phi. I would like today’s young men to have a similar experience.  

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of meeting Byron, several current undergrads, and catching up briefly with Brothers John Kelly, Don Dinan and Juan Cockburn (all ’71 graduates) when in town to celebrate our combined pandemic-delayed 50th college reunions.  

Downstairs at the annual meeting, I learned of major structural challenges facing our House such as the need for a new roof (ideally with solar panels to cut energy costs), better ventilation for our kitchen, and some new paneling for the foyer. We graduates are in a position to “pass it forward” to these young men financially so that, contrary to the concluding paragraph on page 151 of the 1970 record, we do not face extinction. 

With the beginning of a new school year comes a new class of Alpha Chi Rho brothers. Needless to say, our brotherhood is constantly growing!   

Thanks to donations of both time and money by our brothers and alumni, we are able to keep the brotherhood strong throughout the years. We have put together a list of benefits that brothers, current and future, are able to enjoy when we choose to give back.  

1. Networking: Fraternities have the ability to form connections like no other group. With members of all ages and stages of life, there is always a brother with the knowledge needed to help in any situation. A good chapter always keeps in touch with their alumni. 
2. Lifelong Friends: Not only are they able to help, but brothers are able to form a special bond through shared traditions. After countless professional and social events spent together, connections like these are often strong enough to last a lifetime.  
3. Professional Skills: Not only does the fraternity help us form bonds, but it teaches us vital skills that will be crucial to future career success. Many alumni site these skills as their top reason for giving back to the fraternity!  
4. Social Events: No matter how old you are, revisiting the old ‘stomping grounds’ to meet up with your old college buddies is always a good time! With Phi Phi Club, there will always be a group back at UPenn to visit. Whether it be homecoming, a football game, or an alumni reunion, Phi Phi Club alumni and brothers are present.  

It is time we thank the fraternity for all it has done for us. We give so that future generations can experience the same great benefits of brotherhood!  

With the semester beginning this month, it is the perfect time to plan a trip back to Philadelphia with some old college buddies! Here are some tips for planning the perfect Phi Phi Club weekend: 

FRIENDS: Wondering where your old college buddies are now? Head to the directory page to reconnect and relive the old days!  

FOOD and DRINKS: Philadelphia is always changing. Whether or not our old favorite restaurant or bar is still in town, here are a few that have some of the best food and drinks now! 

• New Deck Tavern
• White Dog Cafe
• Landmark Americana Tap & Grill
• The Board & Brew
• City Taphouse

FUN: Fall semester means football is back in-season! Check out the fall football schedule here, and don’t forget about homecoming on October 21st – 23rd either! 

Planning a get-together? CLICK HERE to let us know, so we can share it in our next e-letter! 

It is no secret that being part of a group like Alpha Chi Rho is impactful throughout the remainder of our lives. We have heard from our brothers about the influence that Phi Phi Club has had on our futures, but what happens when we give back? This is what your brothers have to say about the benefits of giving back: 

“Giving is a critical part of being a good citizen. These young men can use our help and it will only come from us. The building is iconic and needs our capital support as well.” – Jim Rappaport ’77

Downie believes that if more alumni give back, they will be able to create a better atmosphere for the current brothers. “And a great house creates a great recruiting tool to keep the chapter alive and well. The brothers are everything!” – Jason Downie ’94

“Right now, the biggest challenge for the graduate Chapter (the Phi Phi Club) is rehabilitating and improving the house’s physical structure. I’d encourage my fellow members of the Phi Phi Club to donate in support of that effort.” – Byron P. Connell ‘63

Jason Downie ’94 (jasondownie@gmail.com) decided to pledge to Alpha Chi Rho because of “the good feelings I had about my experience there.” The house location and the brothers set Alpha Chi Rho apart for him. “Not too jock-ish, not too nerd-ish— just right!” 

One of Downie’s best memories was Hell Night. “I was proud to get through it, and it created an amazing bond with my fellow pledges,” he said.  

He says that he appreciates all of the connections that he made at Alpha Chi Rho. “The main thing it did was to create lifelong (really lifelong) friendships with a few guys.”  

Downie gives back because he believes in continuing the traditions for today’s collegiates. “The chapter is historic, and I’d like to see undergrads today benefit from the house in the same way I did. Our roots are important.” 

He believes that if more alumni give back, they will be able to create a better atmosphere for the current brothers. “And a great house creates a great recruiting tool to keep the chapter alive and well. The brothers are everything!” 

Without Alpha Chi Rho, I wouldn’t have some of the most incredible memories of my time at Penn.