June 30, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 120 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
RECOGNIZING THE RETIREMENT OF PHI DELTA THETA FRATERNITY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ROBERT A. BIGGS; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 120
(Extensions of Remarks - June 30, 2020)
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[Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E592-E593] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] RECOGNIZING THE RETIREMENT OF PHI DELTA THETA FRATERNITY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ROBERT A. BIGGS ______ HON. DAVID ROUZER of north carolina in the house of representatives Tuesday, June 30, 2020 Mr. ROUZER. Madam Speaker, I am honored and privileged to recognize Robert A. Biggs in tribute to his 44 years of service to the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity as well as his lifelong dedication to the collegiate and interfraternal movement. I have been a very proud member of Phi Delta Theta since joining the North Carolina Delta Chapter in the Spring of 1992 when I attended North Carolina State University and later served as president in 1993. Phi Delta Theta is a values-based college fraternity with nearly 200 chapters, 12,000 undergraduate members, and more than 280,000 lifelong members. Robert A. Biggs, outgoing chief executive officer of both the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and its Foundation, has served the Phi Delta Theta organization since he graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1976. He began his career as a chapter consultant, and later served as director of chapter services for more than a decade until 1990 and has led the Fraternity as its executive vice president since 1991. His decades of leadership as the organization's fourth executive during its 172-year history has provided great stability and bedrock support for its future growth. Since 2011, Bob has simultaneously held dual leadership posts by leading both the Foundation and the Fraternity. Since its humble beginnings in 1958, the Phi Delta Theta Foundation has awarded more than $4.1 million in scholarships and fellowships to outstanding young Phis. The Foundation has also granted nearly $10 million toward the Fraternity's premier leadership and educational programs, including the Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute, the Presidents Leadership Conference, the Leadership Consultant Program, and the Alcohol-Free Housing initiative. The Foundation president position has only been held by two individuals during the past 20 years. It was his leadership and work with the Phi Delta Theta Foundation board of trustees that grew the assets of the Foundation from $4 million in 2011 to more than $20 million in 2018. Under Bob's watch and leadership, the combination of long-term strategic planning and a focus on the development of financial support blended both organizations into effective and streamlined systems, complementing each and working toward clearly defined, measurable goals. Phi Delta Theta was one of the first fraternities of its size to implement an Alcohol-Free Housing policy, requiring that all Phi Delta Theta chapter facilities remain alcohol-free to support the health and safety of its members and create an environment of brotherhood without the distractions of alcohol and/or substance abuse. An Alcohol-Free Housing Alliance of several fraternities was formed in the late 1990s. This initiative was one of the most controversial in the organization's history. Bob Biggs and the Fraternity's governing board, the General Council, led this charge with staunch determination and a resolute confidence that this was in the long-term best interest of its members. Bob had to lead in the face of threats, and even lawsuits, to move past a small group of detractors and keep the Fraternity on course. He did so with a positive attitude and clear vision, taking the lead among peer organizations. In 2018, three additional fraternities committed to alcohol and substance-free housing by 2020, bringing positive change to collegiate campuses and Greek communities everywhere. Along with the decision of Alcohol-Free Housing came an entire overhaul of how the organization would manage its undergraduate chapters, facilities, and volunteer leadership, including the need for fundraising to support the initiative and re-education efforts. As a result of Bob's resolve, the Fraternity was strong enough to not only withstand, but overcome the pressures from inside and outside the organization. Bob Biggs has been a leader in many fraternal associations, including the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), the Fraternity Executives Association, of which he is a past president, the Edgewater Conference, and the Cincinnati Society of Association of Executives. Bob has been a Certified Association Executive since 1986. In each organization, it has been the relationships with his peers that meant the most to Bob, and he continues to nurture and cherish them. In 2006, Bob was awarded Phi Delta Theta's Legion of Honor Award. This high honor recognizes a member who has made a major contribution of his time, effort and energy to serve the Fraternity and improve its stature, has distinguished himself in representing the Fraternity's principles of friendship, sound learning and rectitude, is widely recognized as a leader of fraternity men and [[Page E593]] identified with the promotion of fraternities, and has widely advanced and enlarged the opportunities for growth and leadership among college men through fraternities. Phi Delta Theta asserts that fraternities, and the education of their members therein, are a microcosm of university life. Bob Biggs has been instrumental in collaborating with various college and university presidents during his tenure. In Bob's own reflections recently when questioned about his impact on the Fraternity, he was emphatic that if not for his role at Phi Delta Theta, he would not have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many top level university and college officials, business executives, entrepreneurs, Nobel laureates, astronauts, and other citizens of great influence. In addition to his Fraternity related service, he has always been dedicated to his community of Oxford, Ohio where he and his wife Coni raised their three children, Lori, Kyle and Amy. He has been president or chairman of several local organizations, including the Oxford Rotary Club, Oxford Jaycees, Oxford Community Foundation, has volunteered as a troop leader with Boy Scouts of America, and served St. Mary Catholic Church on the Finance Committee. Throughout his career, Mr. Biggs has been an ambassador and advocate for all Greek organizations. Based on his many achievements and long, distinguished tenure within the Greek movement and Phi Delta Theta, I am honored and proud, as one of his Fraternity brothers and a colleague in the collegiate Greek movement, to acknowledge with gratitude the distinguished career of Robert A. Biggs, on the occasion of the culmination of his career of selfless service to the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity and the Phi Delta Theta Foundation. ____________________