Biggest gift ever: PKS @ Ill. Tech

[GA-Beta]

(An earlier post included info that the Betas at Penn State received a $3.5 mil gift, "the largest ever" - but that is wrong.)

$3.9 million gift presented to Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity
Press Release
C & M Submission

Chicago, April 11, 2006

A $3.9 million bequest from the estate of Carroll K. Simons was presented to Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) President Lew Collens. The gift will establish the Carroll K. Simons Scholarship, which will be the nation's largest scholarship program for a single fraternity chapter. The donation will also fund maintenance and improvements to the Phi Kappa Sigma house and fraternity quadrangle.

"Carroll Simons was and is an inspiration to us all. Longevity, perseverance and a dogged pursuit of the ideals of fairness and justice through appropriate means and channels were his hallmarks," said Daniel Lund III, Grand Alpha of the fraternity. "His generosity to Phi Kappa Sigma transcended the bounds of monetary donations: every action he took in relation to the fraternity was based on his genuine love, caring and compassion for its members, its history and those intangibles that make our fraternity unique and special."

Simons became a member of Phi Kappa Sigma in 1929 and had a life-long affiliation with the fraternity. He twice served as Alpha of Alpha Epsilon Chapter and was Chapter Advisor for 13 years following his graduation, and he provided leadership to the House Corporation for more than 60 years. Simons was honored as the third recipient of the National Interfraternity Conference Silver Medal Award for a lifetime of distinguished service to youth through the college fraternity system, and he was also given the IIT Alumni Award of Merit in 1982.

Simons, who died at the age of 96 in 2004, graduated from Armour Institute (now IIT) with a degree in mechanical engineering and worked for 35 years in the comptroller's office at Illinois Bell Telephone Company. He served in the U.S. Army Signal and the Army Air Corps during World War II.

The Alpha Epsilon Chapter at Armour Institute was initiated into Phi Kappa Sigma on June 8, 1898, and was granted a charter as Alpha Epsilon Chapter. The members of the first fraternity at what is now IIT have kept the chapter active for more than 100 years, and the letters are still centered on the IIT fraternity quad.