Recent Posts

First Alumni Scholarship Winner: Jack Garlinghouse

February 21, 2025 / Michael Hoskins / 0 Comments

Congrats to Brother Jack Garlinghouse, the first person to receive the Zeta Pi Alumni Association’s new scholarship award.

Brother Garlinghouse applied soon after his Zeta Pi Chapter initiation in Fall 2024 as part of the Gamma Epsilon pledge class, in which he’d served as president.

Growing up in Roseville, Jack is studying integrated science education with hopes to eventually become a high school science teacher. During his initial Fall semester, he was already striving toward that future career goal with 5 classes that included focus in early education.

He mentioned a high school science teacher who inspired him, and that happened to be a Sigma Pi brother who’d joined the Central Michigan University chapter in 1999.

For the future, he wants to “learn something each day and help to teach and inspire our next generation.”

He’s a recipient of the Golden Guaratee, a tuition-free program that Oakland University offers to those who graduated with at least a 3.0 GPA. Though it doesn’t include books, he also obtained a diffferent scholarship from Roseville High School to help with that.

One of his goals in the near-future is to expand upon existing outreach groups for teens without fathers, something he’s been discussing with middle schools in Lake Orion.

His hope would be for some Sigma Pi men from the Chapter (and possibly alumni) to go into these schools to have outreach and mentorship for those young men who need it most.

Eventually, Brother Garlinghouse believes that could expand to other schools and possibly become a Sigma Pi tradition for both new and alumni men to be a part of.

Province Archon Mike Long, a Zeta Pi brother who initiated two decades ago, shared this when recommending Brother Garlinghouse:

“Jack has proven his character to be praiseworthy,” Brother Long wrote. “We would all benefit if he enters our adytum, so I recommend Jack Garlinghouse for this scholarship.“

Other echoed him being an effective and compassionate leader, creating unity amongst new members, actives, and alumni.

You may not recognize him quite yet as a new Zeta Pi Brother only in his freshman year, but he’s already making his presence known around OU.

For instance, Brother Garlinghouse plays the saxophone for OU’s Golden Grizz pep band, usually playing once a week at basketball games. This continues the passion he’s had for music throughout his life and during high school.

Brother Garlinghouse is the first brother to apply and win this award, created by the alumni association and its scholarship committee earlier in the year.

He told the scholarship committee, during the interview process, that he’d like to use any scholarship award to help pay expenses and his fraternity dues, which increased to $475 for a semester.

Our ZPAA will be awarding new scholarships as we move forward, including for the current winter 2025 semester. The scholarship application period is currently open from Feb. 15 – March 15, 2025. After that deadline, the ZPAA scholarship committee will review all submitted applications and interview those men, before awarding the next scholarsip in Spring 2025.

You can apply using with this form, and submitting to the ZPAA Scholarship Committee by the deadline.

Remembering Founding Brother Vasile Nagy

January 15, 2025 / Michael Hoskins

The Zeta Pi Chapter is saying goodbye to Vasile Nagy, one of our Sigma Pi chapter’s founding fathers.

Brother Nagy began his journey to the Adytum On High on January 14, 2025, at age 59. He lives on through his daughter, family, friends, and fraternity brothers.

As the loving son of Elisabeta and the late Alexandru, he grew up in Rochester and graduated from Rochester High School in 1984.

After college, he remained in Michigan before eventually moving to Arizona and living there for over a decade. He is survived by his mother, brother Alex, and daughter Becca.

Vasile and his daughter Becca

As a founding Zeta Pi brother, Nagy helped form the chapter at Oakland University in 1985.

Historical chapter records show he joined as a sophomore majoring in engineering. That was before the colony found the national Sigma Pi Fraternity and decided to become a new chapter, Omega Nu Pi (aka Oakland’s New Pioneers).

Vasile Nagy in college

Brother Nagy became the founding Herald when our chapter was incorporated in March 1986.

“As an immigrant from Romania, he had certainly experienced more in his 18 or 19 years than most of us, and it seemed to give him an admirable swagger,” said Brother Rob Waters, who joined in that chartering year. “When I first met Vasile, I was most struck by his confidence. Although we were in the same class and had graduated high school in the same year, he always presented himself as somehow more worldly and experienced than his peers. Looking back, I suspect he was.”

Those who remember Brother Nagy fondly recall him as always being fun, carefree, and full of mischief.

Brother Waters recalls that mischievousness in a memory about 9 South Hamlin, the dorm room where Brother Nagy and others lived at the time. They had converted that corner room into a sort of nightclub, with a platform hiding the beds underneath so the entire room could be used for entertainment. Of course, the stereo system was nearly always in use.

One night, crates of vinyl records appeared in the dorm when OU’s radio station, WOUX, was purging its collection. Each album was given a 5-10 second spin on the turntable before being discarded if it “didn’t pass muster.”

Or as Brother Waters tells it: flung at high velocity out the window, where they smashed spectacularly against the opposing brick wall Probably not an activity that the university would have sanctioned, but it sure was fun.”

Fellow Founding Brother Chuck Surinck has fond memories of traveling together, as their families made trips through the years to Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, and Nevada.

“All trips were made special by his cooking, organizing, and spirit,” Surinck said.

Brother John Zielke, who was in the Alpha pledge class in 1987, also shared good memories and described Brother Nagy as an excellent family man. The two had been friends in college and later worked together in the construction industry on projects that included restaurants, nightclubs, and new homes.

“We, of course, had many shenanigan moments (boy many),” Zielke said. “When I initiated, he was the Herald. In those early fraternity times, we spent much time together. Of course, we all did. He was always a loyal brother.”

Reflecting back on their college days, Waters thinks of Brother Nagy’s spirit and personality more than anything.

“It was his audacity that I admired most. There are always a million reasons not to act. Most of them based around your own fears and insecurities. Vasile was always ready to act and his ‘damn the torpedoes’ spirit was infectious,” Waters said.

“Young men and young organizations, like our nascent chapter, needed doers. Vasile was always ready to push forward. His audacity helped establish a new fraternity at Oakland, and for that, we are certainly grateful. Rest in peace, Brother Nagy.”

Arrangements can be found here, and you can send flowers and share memories on the virtual tribute wall.

Cornhole Tournament 2024

August 12, 2024 / Michael Hoskins

The Sigma Pi undergraduate chapter will be hosting a fun cornhole tournament on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024.

This event will be held at the Chapter House, located at 2491 Grant Road in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Event starts at 1 p.m.

Entry fee: $10 per person (or $40 per team)

50% of the proceeds will go to the Sigma Pi Chapter at Oakland University.

Great opportunity to meet the Active chapter & check out the house, play some cornhole, enjoy some alcohol-free drinsk and pizza, and Brotherhood.

If you have any questions our concerns please reach out to Alumni Laison Mike Szettella.

Meet Zeta Pi’s First-Ever Legacy Sage: Ethan Tosolt

May 20, 2024 / Michael Hoskins

New chapter president is son of Beta pledge class Brother Jeffrey Tosolt in 1987

Say hello to Brother Ethan Tosolt, the undergraduate chapter’s new sage who happens to be our first-ever to rise to that top position and be a legacy of another Brother.

A senior majoring in management information systems (MIS), Ethan joined the Zeta Pi Chapter in 2021. His dad is Jeffrey Tosolt, a Beta pledge class brother who joined the fraternity in 1987 as little brother to Founding Father James Lambouris.

Ethan was the 2nd father-son legacy, following Lamda pledge class Brother Jeff Waite’s son, Drew, who joined in 2019 as the first-ever legacy within our chapter.

Ethan’s term runs from spring 2024 to spring 2025. While he appreciates being a legacy, he said that doesn’t ultimately have much impact on what he does in the fraternity and how he goes about his undergraduate or fraternity life, nor will it impact how he serves as sage.

Instead, he points to Brotherhood as the chapter’s strongest asset, and he hopes to strengthen everything around it and grow the next pledge classes to prepare the chapter for when he graduates.

A longtime baseball player since childhood who played for Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores, Ethan started his first year at OU playing sports and received a small scholarship. But he soon became involved in fraternity life and opted to spend his extracurricular time in Greek life.

Growing up, Ethan says he and his dad didn’t directly talk about the fraternity too much. Though Jeffrey mentions the good times and lifelong friends he made because of Sigma Pi, he points out the irony that when his son first became involved in the Zeta Pi Chapter, the two weren’t aware of the others’ involvement. It came as a surprise.

“I told him it’s a great idea to join, as I still have lifelong friends from the fraternity that I see on a regular basis,” Jeffrey says, noting that his son sees and hangs out with those other alumni brothers occasionally. “Ethan is an athletic, caring leader and smart kid who cares about others. He gets that from his mom.”

Undergraduate Chapter Updates: Looking Back on 2023

December 28, 2023 / Michael Hoskins

Our Zeta Pi Chapter did well in 2023, with the initiation of 6 brothers in the winter semester (May) and 5 this past Fall (November).

We have attended many events, both educational such as the Engage Chicago Regional Training, and philanthropic endeavors such as Alpha Delta Pi’s corn hole tournament or Phi Sigma Sigma’s 5k, both raising money for charitable causes.

Zeta Pi Chapter also was a champion of school spirit in 2023 and could be seen rooting on the OU basketball team on many occasions.

The 2023 year was successful, both academically and socially for the brothers of Zeta Pi Chapter. We hope to continue this momentum into the new year.

You can read more here about the current Chapter E-Board as well as the new Chapter Advisor Tyler Reynolds, who took on that leading role in November 2023.

Brother Bob Van Acker, Reserve Police Officer

December 18, 2023 / Michael Hoskins

You might say that Sigma Pi inspired Brother Bob Van Acker to want to give back to his community and serve people who live there.

That is part of the reason why in early 2023, he finished his feat of becoming an Auxiliary Police Officer for the City of Birmingham.

Graduating in April 2023 from the Oakland County community’s reserve academy, Bob earned the top spot in his class of 12 people and also served as class secretary. He’s responsible for foot and bike patrol for city events, and he serves as back up to the regular officers on duty.

This includes working summer month events in downtown Birmingham as well as the Woodward Dream Cruise, city parades, and high school sporting events. During the other times of year, Bob notes that he might ride as a 2nd officer during that regular police officer’s scheduled shift — he tries to serve at least once a month, usually for a weekend evening shift.

As part of this role, Bob completes continuing training once a month to sharpen skills that range from firearms, defensive tactics, or the legalities of police conduct.

“Serving the people and city of Birmingham is much broader in scope, than say working 1:1 or in more intimate focused groups within the fraternity roles,” Brother Van Acker said. “It’s a continued sense of duty and that it has allowed for me to continue to serve on a broader scale aligning with Sigma Pi ideals and values. This includes inspiring service, promoting the spirit of civic righteousness (doing good for others), and continuing to develop leadership and character.”

Now married in his mid-40s and working in project management field, Bob joined the Zeta Pi Chapter with the Psi pledge class in Fall 1996, He served as social chair, secretary, and sage before graduating in 2001 with a communications degree.

Brother Van Acker in 2013 took on the role of Chapter Director for four years before becoming a founding member of the reestablished Zeta Pi Alumni Association in 2023.

Introducing New Chapter Advisor Tyler Reynolds

December 18, 2023 / Michael Hoskins

After holding the volunteer role of Chapter Director for 7 years, Brother Rob Pankau III handed over that position in November 2023 to Brother Tyler Reynolds.

Joining the Zeta Pi Chapter as part of the Beta Omicron pledge class in 2017, Tyler studied human resources development at OU, and had held 3 E-Board terms during his Active years with the Chapter.

“Sigma Pi has, and always will mean a lot to me,” he said. “I was at the house after the first day of classes at Oakland and immediately saw something I wanted to be a part of. And the rest is history.”

Tyler becomes the 12th person to serve in that position since our Chapter’s founding in 1986.

Recently, the undergraduate chapter also voted to change the name of the role from Chapter Director to Chapter Advisor.

In thinking about taking over and continuing the work that Brother Pankau had given during his time as Chapter Advisor, Tyler quotes the Sigma Pi Fireside Song: “The circle changes with each year, brothers come and disappear.”

“I’m fully confident in the Active Chapter, and I, along with everyone else who is behind them, will do what we can to ensure their success. I’m looking forward to helping grow on the foundation Zeta Pi has stood on for nearly 38 years, setting us up for many, many more to come.”

Navigating a pandemic, changing times for Greeks

Rob had become Chapter Director in July 2017, following Bob Van Acker’s four-years in that role.

He reflected on his time, particularly as it required negotiation a challenging relationship with the OU administration and then as the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

He notes that the Chapter was divided at the time he started, uncertain about the path forward.

“I am particularly proud of how the chapter functioned and survived through the pandemic. Honestly, I could not have asked for a better outcome with operations essentially shut down for a year plus,” he shared. “The pandemic proved fruitful in a way that I couldn’t have imagined, with a refocusing on academics and the values of the organization as the social aspect was significantly diminished during this time. This has set the tone in the last few years of recruitment.”

Rob says the Chapter is in a place now that needs a different type of mentorship and guidance, someone who is more plugged into the current needs of students as well as how the every day life operates for a student.

Adding to that, Rob notes that the U.S. university system and its relationship with Greek organizations has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. That’s made his role, and the Chapter’s place at OU, more challenging to navigate.

“Greeks are often not welcome or are scrutinized in a manner that is inconsistent compared to other student organizations,” he said. “Oakland University has done away with a specific Greek Advisor at this point in time, which has led to an interesting dichotomy between the Chapter and the university. We are at the point that there is limited oversight by the university, but also limited and challenging to acquire support as well.”

Now, Tyler is the 12th to serve in that position since our Chapter’s founding in 1986:

Vince Chrisman (Founding Chapter Director in March 15, 1986)
John Pearson
Bryan Mahlmiester
John Zielke (until Feb 95)
Jeff Fox (Feb 95-June 96)
Chuck Surinck (June 96-Jan 09)
Pete Knoll (early 09)
Brett Westen (Early 09-Fall 09)
Rob Pankau III (Fall 09 – Nov 10)
Mike Long (Nov 10 – April 13)
Bob Van Acker (April 13 – July 17)
Rob Pankau III (July 17 – Nov 23 )

With the reestablishment of the ZPAA in 2023, now-former Chapter Director Pankau says that our Zeta Pi Chapter has more of a chance to succeed than ever before.

“The creation and sustaining of the Alumni Association will be a key to long term success for our Chapter,” he said. “With the Alumni Association, this gives the chapter another level of stability from a team of individuals, as long as we as Alumni remember that the undergraduates need us as mentors more than ever. Temper expectations and teach, while reminding ourselves of that the current challenges are different, we were all 19 and trying to figure it out at one point in time.”

Zeta Pi Brother Named Eastern Illinois University President

February 6, 2023 / Michael Hoskins

The Zeta Pi Chapter at Oakland University received news in February 2023 that one of its alumni was named the new president at Eastern Illinois University.

That brother is Jay Gatrell, who joined the Zeta Pi Chapter in 1991 as part of the Kappa pledge class. Fun fact: he joined at the same time as his twin brother, Jonathan. He is Joe Piva’s little brother in the line of Founding Brother Dan Stacer.

Per the news coverage, Jay has been the provost and vice president of academic affairs at EIU before his selection as the university’s 13th president. He’s set to take on the new role in July 2023.

Throughout his career, Jay has been an economic geographer with interests in human environment interactions and he’s risen up the leadership ranks at several different higher education schools.

Though he’d started out at OU, he went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in political science from Eastern Michigan University, along with graduate degrees in geography from the University of Toledo and West Virginia University (Ph.D.). in the late 90s.

He went on to become a professor of geography and environmental studies at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY, and he also served as vice provost for faculty affairs and research at the independent Catholic school. He also had spent time at Wright State University and 13 years in multiple positions at Indiana State University, including graduate dean and associate dean.

Jay’s EIU profile online notes that he took the EIU provost and VP of academic affairs spot in 2017.

According to the Daily Eastern News, Jay plans as EIU president to “shift the academic programs at Eastern to be more student focused, including the launch of accelerated graduate programs. (He) also plans Eastern to become a more affordable program.”

Congrats on your new position, Brother Gatrell! The Zeta Pi Chapter wishes you well!

Pure Sigma Pi: Michigan Love, Macandog-Style

September 22, 2022 / Michael Hoskins

Scrolling through some Facebook memories recently, Brother Mike Hoskins came across this post from 2009 following the wedding of Mario Macandog and Anna Marie Barnes. Here it is, as written by Brother Hoskins and posted online so many years ago.

The essence of purity. It’s something we measure by a child’s innocence. That natural beauty of a state’s inland lakes or magical Fall colors. Or even the pure fun of friends reuniting for a September wedding.

So was the case on Sept. 19. Pure Michigan magic transcended time and formed again on the campus of Oakland University. When two people — Mario and Anna Marie — joined together in the company of close friends and family to celebrate their everything.

Together, the couple lit up the church and campus just as they’ve always done: rich in flavor and fun, unique in ritual and tradition. They made it their own, simply making it as natural as Games on the Grass. We all hung up our regular lives, locked up, and headed off to do something we truly love. A sign that we’re spending time with those who mean so much and truly deserve it, stepping into the playground of pure happiness.

There was dancing. The movement to the music and changing states of soberness mirrored the dancing trees in a brisk Fall wind, just as the changing hues of the evolving seasons evolve on the dancefloor of Michigan’s landscape. That nature of trees reminds us that there are bigger things in life than just us, but our roots run deep and we can grow together in a Land of Golden Grizzlies and Pioneers.

Like the golden sunrises appearing over Lake St. Clair each morning, a rainbow of colors could be found in the spray paint provided by a man once known as Meat. A band of Brothers journeyed to a familiar spot where Pup + Friends painted the sacred rock once more.

Just like the old days of Sigma Pi, when young and old were just that — young, and not so old. We avoided the controversial coastline of Beer Lake, leaving those memories in the past so only to bring a headshake and chuckle rather than a new emergency room visit.

We laughed and loved in a place upstairs, not far from where we all first met and learned who we were. And who we might become. A campus hub, an Oakland Center that centered our lives.

Now redone, there’s no more office or ping pong tables or Knights of the L downstairs. So much of what we knew back then has moved on, even though 100 years has not passed in our heart and minds.

Still, the OC continues to capture our attention and once again it gave way to a memorable evening where we could find a new center for a new age. All in the spirit of celebrating Mario and Anna Marie.

But nothing gold can stay, and just as the Fall season fades too quickly and the leaves fall from the trees, the night came to an abrupt end as the Bar of Mysterious Mixtures was replaced with a water jug. And oh, the potential of water.

We found ourselves and made due, capitalizing on the energy from a state staying afloat in turbulent economic waters. We wished for Fridays and managed to find refuge there, even when the rest of the night and week had come to a close. We continued on and shared in a night of Macondog Magic, in the company of friends. Of family. Of Brothers.

Collectively, we all showed our Progress, and its distinctive mark in each of our lives. We Believed once more. And we always will. That is the power of Pure Michigan, Macandog-style. It’s the power of Sigma Pi Brotherhood.

Your trip begins here. And ours continues.

#PureSigmaPi

Enduring a Pandemic

April 19, 2022 / Michael Hoskins

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a situation none of us in modern times had experienced before, including everyone connected to the college fraternity experience. Our Zeta Pi Chapter of Sigma Pi at Oakland University was no exception.

While quarantines and health mandates presented unforeseen challenges and changed the very nature of the fraternity experience for over a year, the pandemic period also gave Sigma Pi chapter an opportunity to shine, strengthen brotherly bonds and find new ways to navigate these pandemic speed bumps.

One notable moment in history for our Chapter is that, despite the pandemic woes, we moved into a new fraternity house in June 2021. That new location is on Franklin Boulevard in Pontiac.

“A big takeaway for me is that even in the worst of circumstances, there is always better coming your way,” said Brother Tyler Reynolds, who served as Sage from April 2021 to April 2022. “The biggest lesson I personally learned during the pandemic was that no matter what, we’ve always got that connection as brothers.”

Although Brotherhood and relationships declined during the beginning of COVID-19 with restrictions, they were able to shift to reopening and growing stronger in late 2020 and 2021 as everything began returning to some type of normalcy.

“Brotherhood and the relationships had declined in the beginning,” Brother Reynolds said. “However, as things opened up more the thing we all wanted to focus on as a chapter was bringing the brotherhood back strong as ever. It really showed in our commitments to the weekly brotherhoods we hosted as soon as we could and moving towards planning a ‘normal’ academic year.”

Since the Summer months are typically off-times for those attending OU, our Chapter doesn’t really have a summer rush; instead, any potential brothers who are met and recruited during that time are funneled into the upcoming Fall rush cycle. Due to COVID-19’s beginnings in March 2020, that late spring initiation was pospoted until everything began opening up that summer.

That led to losing half of the pledge class because of the wait, some due to pledges transferring to other schools prior to being initiated, according to Brother Reynolds.

“This was disheartening but was certainly the least of our worries given the pandemic,” he said.

When the Fall 2020 academic year began, it was a surreal moment as most colleges were still in a virtual learning mode due to the pandemic. Some schools eventually started later with hybrid models and pandemic restrictions in place.

As a result, the Zeta Pi Chapter found it more difficult to recruit a typically larger Fall pledge class. While our Chapter always strives toward “quality over quantity,” that was even more true during that semester.

“It proved challenging as we moved back to truly in-person rushing, which led to the chapter having a recruitment workshop,” Brother Reynolds said, noting that Brother Christian Younger led that workshop and has served as the chapter’s Recruitment Director for the past 2.5 years leading into and during COVID-19.

Virtual chapter meetings made it much harder to get things done, Reynolds said: from lack of cameras being turned on, to people just flat out not paying attention. He also said when everything closed and Michigan’s stay-at-home order was in place, the Brother’s phones were the only way to stay in contact with each other safely.

“It was difficult to keep the brothers informed and planning things,” he said. “I was able to personally overcome this through the Discord channel we created and just repeating information over and over again there.”

When in-person events became more possible, our Chapter held meetups and events at parks, beaches, and outdoor areas where it was in line with CDC guidelines at the time. Most of the time during the pandemic, OU had strict policies regarding chapter meetings and meetups, so hosting those events inside is what Brother Reynolds says proved the hardest for the brothers to plan for everyone.

Even looking at our Zeta Pi Chapter’s signature Pig Roast event in the first week of the Fall semester each year, you can see the work and grit that the Active members put into putting on a successful event. The Sept. 2020 event took place at the fraternity house at the time in Rochester, with a smaller intimate setting outside; while the Sept. 2021 event was held in its traditional location on campus, in between the Oakland Center and Bear (aka Beer) Lake. Even with pandemic restrictions and limitations in play, the Chapter welcomed people to the event — a small slice of “normalcy” in uncertain and surreal times.

Throughout it all, Brother Reynolds said enduring these pandemic challenges made our local Chapter stronger.

When the pandemic began, our Chapter had a floating number of nearly three dozen members. They feared it might drop if Brothers left OU and they hadn’t recruited and initiated new Brothers because of the pandemic. But that didn’t happen. As it turned out, the Chapter’s membership in Spring 2022 sat at 35 Active plus 4 pledges soon to be initiated as part of the Beta Omega pledge class — nearly unchanged from the start of COVID-19.

“I took over and had campus reopening, in person events coming and only half of a chapter that had been to an on campus event, so leading them into this year was a challenge but we had a very successful year,” Brother Reynolds said. “We survived a pandemic. Our numbers hardly dropped. That is something not a lot of fraternities, Greek organizations, businesses and even universities can say. We stayed together and persevered through the tough times and are finally seeing it pay off with improved relations with other Greek organizations, a new house, and growth in the Chapter, and that is something we all can be proud of.”

With a half dozen men graduating in Spring 2022 and many of them having E-board and leadership roles, Brother Reynolds noted that our Chapter remains strong in numbers and quality.

“Our chapter will be very young, with roughly half the chapter being first or second-year members, something I have not seen in my time in the chapter,” he said. “Today, we are as tight as ever but still focusing on bringing involvement back up to our high standard. That is something that should be the focus of the chapter going into the next school year and beyond.”

Sigma Pi Fraternity