The University Partner of the Year Award recognizes faculty and staff who have gone above and beyond to create a meaningful partnership with SigEp on their campuses. Award recipients connect SigEp undergraduates with faculty to enhance academic development. They act as mentors and advisors. And they work to support the implementation of critical, life-changing experiences through the Balanced Man Program and SigEp Learning Communities.

Dr. Bob Colvin, Christopher Newport Renaissance
Vice Provost, Christopher Newport University
Colvin has been a source of consistent, hands-on support for the Virginia Pi chapter at Christopher Newport University. He often attends chapter meetings to personally check on members and keep an eye on their academic progress. He is invested in the success of each brother, encouraging them to improve and maintain their GPAs. When the chapter recently lost a brother in a tragic car accident, it was Colvin who led a university-wide memorial service. His example truly exemplifies partnership with higher education.

Dr. Joey Linn, Fort Hays State Renaissance
Vice President for Student Affairs, Fort Hays State University
An incredible asset to Kansas Zeta at Fort Hays State, Linn was instrumental in the chapter becoming the first fraternity to have an on-campus house. Not content to just have a house, Linn continued to closely support the chapter as it sought learning community accreditation. The chapter’s faculty fellow now hosts a freshman seminar in the chapter home, further boosting the chapter’s profile on campus and allowing it to attract top, academically minded men. In 2016, Linn became a SigEp Renaissance brother.

Dr. Deb Mullen
Associate Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mullen has long played a vital role in the development of the Nebraska Alpha chapter and helped provide undergraduate brothers with key leadership opportunities. She was the driving force behind the creation of Nebraska Alpha’s summer service-learning trips, whereby brothers have traveled abroad to gain a new perspective on life. Through her efforts, other brothers have served at an after-school program for underserved communities in Lincoln, as well as at an anti-human trafficking organization. Mullen has also served on SigEp’s Faculty Fellow Task Force and on the Residential Learning Community Task Force since 2011.

Dr. Laurie Nichols
Former President, University of Wyoming
After becoming president of the University of Wyoming in 2016, Nichols injected the Greek community with a new sense of energy, particularly SigEp’s Wyoming Alpha chapter. She served as keynote speaker at the chapter’s Balanced Man Scholarship banquet and advised the chapter on the development of its recently accredited learning community. Nichols previously served as provost of South Dakota State University. During that time, she and her husband, Tim, volunteered with the South Dakota Alpha chapter, helping it earn its first Buchanan Cup in 2017.

Eleanor Oi
Director of Diversity Programming, University of Rochester
Oi’s steady guidance over the past decade has greatly impacted the New York Xi chapter at the University of Rochester. She provided the chapter with valuable counsel as it applied for university recognition as an academic learning center, a critical step to securing an on-campus home. Due to her experience as director of orientation and associate director of advising services at the university, Oi has also taken a special interest in assisting brothers who are struggling academically. She is a great model of student-faculty involvement and support.