Tom Roerden elected new Foundation President

I am honored and humbled to have been elected President of the Zeta Psi Educational Foundation by the delegates attending our first ever Virtual Convention.  It is my duty to carry out the Foundation’s mission, with the help of my fellow Elders.  Our mission, as set forth in the Foundation Charter of 1944, reads as follows:

“To foster and promote higher education by furnishing financial and other aid and assistance to needy and deserving undergraduate and graduate students, by establishing scholarships and other incentive and awards…”

As I take office, our Actives find themselves in an unprecedented and precarious position because of the COVID crisis.  Many had summer job offers that were withdrawn. Others have parents who lost their jobs.  Some of these brothers will simply not be able to afford to return to school in the fall without our help.  Recognizing this, the Foundation board has unanimously approved an emergency scholarship fund to assist our neediest brothers.  Between the United States and Canada, we have successfully raised $100,000 for students and we will begin to make distributions in the next month.

In addition to direct scholarships, The Foundation also provides opportunities for member education, through Leadership Training Institutes held periodically throughout the school year and during Convention.  The Foundation also owns our International Headquarters property in Pearl River NY, which houses the James J. Ljunglin Education Center.  The archives of both the Fraternity and the Foundation are housed there, with many historical artifacts on display.  When the Education Center was created four years ago, it was not designed to be a static edifice.  Rather, its purpose is to grow and evolve to best assist in the education of our members as to our rich history.  As Pearl River is not within the means of many Brothers to make a personal visit, we intend to bring the Education Center to you.  The first step in this process is to digitize our archives and upload those items to a place on our website, where they can be viewed by all Zetes.  This project will take time and money, but with your continued support, we can get this done.  I look forward to updating you on our progress in the months ahead.

Tom Roerden, Cornell 1983
President, Zeta Psi Educational Foundation