The Gamma-Kappa chapter of Kappa Sigma at OU has unveiled a new $7 million fraternity house, ending a nearly three-year period of homelessness for the chapter.
The Kappa Sigma chapter started on campus in 1906 and remained active, inhabiting two different houses, until 2009, when the chapter left campus, said Kappa Sigma President Zach Haley. The chapter returned to campus in 2011 and had access to its former fraternity house until it was torn down in 2013, Haley said, leaving the members without a place to gather.
Now, having all the brothers under one roof does a great service to building camaraderie among the members, something that was a considerable challenge when the chapter didn’t have a venue to congregate, Haley said. Instead, the chapter was forced to hold meetings inside of OU’s law school.
“We never had a common area to meet, so we always had to do meetings on campus," Haley said.
Haley said his favorite feature of the house is being with all of his brothers. “It’s easily accessible — you don’t have to plan to hang out with your brothers. You can just come home from school and kick back. It's really nice to be under one roof in case we need to call everyone to a meeting," Haley said.
The project was made a reality by donations from the fraternity's alumni. There are still donations coming in, Haley said. One such alumnus is acclaimed OU quarterback Steve Owens, who is currently displaying his 1969 Heisman trophy inside the house. “He’s been at the house a couple of times to hang out with us," Haley said.
The house was designed by local fraternity alumnus Bud Miles. The project was in the works for years with its design continuously evolving over time, said Dennis Wells, the project manager of architecture. The house’s most unique and attractive feature is the varying heights of the surfaces on the house's exterior in the form of “changes of plane” and “elevation step backs," Wells said.
“I think they wanted to go for a traditional look but with a modern twist," Haley said.
“I think we got everything right on this one, everyone is happy with it," Wells said.
The 30,000-square-foot house boasts a full kitchen and three different types of stone. It currently houses 56 members and is expected to house another 15 or 20 when the third floor is completely finished, Dennis said. The basement of the house serves as both a chapter room and a tornado shelter.
The fully-staffed kitchen whips up three meals a day for the brothers, compliments of Keystone Foodservice, Jack Franken, vice president of public relations, said.
Among the ranks of the kitchen staff is Howard Dixon, a beloved fraternity cook who was left unemployed after OU's former Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was disbanded and forced off campus. Dixon has found a home in the new Kappa Sigma house, Haley said.
