About the Chapter

The Beta Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma at Cleveland State University began in December 1961 with 10 Founding Fathers. The chapter originally started as Iota Eta in 1926 before becoming a chartered chapter. The chapter has initiated over 500 men since its inception.

Fun Facts

• Joe Feldhouse, a Beta Upsilon alumnus, is a current member of Sigma Tau Gamma’s Society of Seventeen.
• Beta Upsilon Chapter has the only fraternity house on campus at Cleveland State University.
• There is a room in the house dedicated to brothers who have passed too soon and those brothers in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

Chapter History

Shortly after World War II, many young men were returning home to Cleveland. Those who lived close by decided to attend Fenn College to receive degrees to support their civilian lives. These veterans missed the camaraderie of their military backgrounds but luckily found a place within a local fraternity on campus known as Iota Eta which was founded in 1926. By the late 1950s, the culture of Fenn College was changing. In 1959, Jim Feldhouse proposed changes that would later develop into Iota Eta becoming a chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma. Feldhouse began contacting national fraternities. After many conversations, the men of Iota Eta were adopted by Sigma Tau Gamma.

On December 3, 1961, representatives from Youngstown State University came to Cleveland to initiate those brothers of Iota Eta into Sigma Tau Gamma as the Beta Upsilon chapter. This new chapter needed a new start, and Hank Putre became the first Chapter President, Jerry Fudurich was the Vice President, Jim Feldhouse as the Pledge Master, and Ernie Trzcinzki as Treasurer.

In the spring of 1981, Paul Korst and Ed Okorn discovered a large three story house on East 22^nd Street that happened to be an old boarding house. Paul learned the house was owned by an older gentleman who was willing to sell the house in the form of a land contract.

In 1981, brothers began moving in. The chapter had to renovate the house to bring it up to code, but this began the current era of Beta Upsilon Chapter. Beta Upsilon progressed relatively well until about 2008 when the chapter was reduced to one member, Jonathan Simon.

Nearing extinction for a time, Beta Upsilon was able to recover with new brothers to replenish the life of the chapter. In recent times, Beta Upsilon has won Cleveland State University’s Outstanding Brotherhood Programming, Most Improved GPA, and Outstanding Greek Community Involvement. As of 2017, the chapter stands at 18 members strong and hopes to recover with more membership in the future.

Chapter Funds

A Chapter Fund is a restricted account from the Sigma Tau Gamma Foundation. In this case, the restriction is that the funds and earnings on the investment of the funds may be used only for a particular chapter, meaning that if you donate to your chapter’s fund, it may only be used for your chapter.

Chapter Funds may be used to:

• Award scholarships based on academic and leadership criteria
• Technology grants for purchase and upgrade of chapter computer technology
• Educational facility grants to the selected chapter
• Leadership education grants for participation in institutes, seminars, and conventions.

The Foundation manages the fund. This management includes fund accounting, investing, and preparing required reports for the Internal Revenue Service. The policy of the Foundation Board of Trustees is to involve chapter alumni association leaders in the creation of criteria, formation of program priorities and selection of grant recipients.

Submitting Changes to the Chapter’s History

Any member of the fraternity and/or chapter is welcome to submit a request to update/change/correct information listed within the chapter history portion of the page. submissions will be accepted in two ways: should a correction need to be made, please submit the entire sentence/paragraph, that needs to be updated with the correction highlighted in yellow or in a different color. If something new or updated needs to be added, please submit the entire text that needs to be added and/or revised with the new information highlighted in yellow.

This information should be submitted to noblemen@sigtau.org, where is will be reviewed by HQ Staff. Your submission will not be acknowledged unless it has been added to the website. It is very important that the chapter’s history accurately and objectively reflects the chapter, so all corrections, additions, and revisions should be reviewed by other members of your chapter before being submitted.