DECATUR, Ill. – Past and present members of Millikin University’s Theta Iota Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) fraternity celebrated the 50th anniversary of the chapter's founding with an on-campus reunion on April 4-5, 2025.
Nearly 50 past members came to the celebration that began on Friday, with a golf outing at the South Side Country Club in Decatur. A welcome reception in the University Commons followed on Friday evening, where ATO alumni and current members could reminisce about their time in the fraternity.
Events continued Saturday with an induction ceremony for the new class of ATO members and then a celebration dinner at the South Side Country Club.
Connecting with current students was a highlight for Tom Jodis, Class of 1975, and a member of the 17 “Founding Fathers” group of initial members of the Theta Iota chapter. Jodis served as the chapter’s first President, and from 2013 to 2019, he served as the chapter's Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
“On Saturday afternoon, the alumni and the active members held the initiation ceremony for the newest members to join the fraternity. It allowed both the old and new to come together and spend time together, share stories, and encourage undergraduates to continue helping ATO and Millikin,” he said. “ATO, as a national fraternity, considers itself a leadership development fraternity, focusing on education, community service, and philanthropic participation. The goal is to help young men become leaders through those experiences. This chapter has over 700 alumni, and many have held or currently hold leadership positions in companies, and many are successful in various fields, including medicine, nursing, teaching, law, engineering, music, and the arts. That is the legacy of Theta Iota here at Millikin.”
Jodis spoke and shared his thoughts on the first group that brought the ATO mission to Millikin. At the time, the ATO National office was located in Champaign, and they approached Millikin about starting a chapter.
“ATO National had a way to recognize those young men who were the nucleus of starting that chapter—they were called Founding Fathers. Several of those Founding Fathers are here tonight: Mark Cieplik, Karl Graves, Chris Iacovelli, Bob Robertson, Steve Rodeffer, Phil Rudd, and, of course, myself,” Jodis said. “There are 17 Founding Fathers in all. Not with us tonight are Charlie Clinard, Sam Giger, Bob Harvey, Tim Kennedy, Randy Kline, Bob Mosser, Keith Ray, Rick Walker, Al Wendland, and Brian Watkins. As a chapter, we have had our struggles over the years; every organization has had them at one time or another. Surviving and thriving require resilience and a desire to push forward, honoring your past and wanting it to improve in the future. It is what brought us to this evening. 50 years, and we are still here.”
A key initiative for the anniversary celebration is the support of the ATO-Laynce C. Triplett Memorial Scholarship. Triplett was an ATO while at Michigan State, and upon graduation in 1968, he worked for the ATO National Headquarters. In that role, he traveled and consulted with various ATO chapters nationwide. His efforts brought together a group of young men to establish the ATO Theta Iota Chapter. In spring 1975, Layne began working for Millikin University as the Placement Director, and he was a leader, a great communicator, and a mentor to many who benefited from his friendship.
Established in 2000 by Theta Iota alumni, the scholarship provides funding to deserving Theta Iota students who demonstrate leadership qualities like Layne's. Numerous ATO students have received support to pursue their goal of completing their college education at Millikin, and you can support this with a donation to the Layne C. Triplett Scholarship Fund.
The 50th anniversary celebration also honored former Millikin Dean of Student Affairs Joseph Houston, who attended the reunion with his wife Carol. Houston oversaw the chapter's formation and was instrumental in getting ATO started on solid footing.
“Dean Houston was instrumental in helping the National identify potential young men to start a chapter. He helped select our Faculty Advisor, Sarah Eagan, an instructor in the School of Business. He worked with our Alumni Advisor, Bart Cole, and gave us tremendous flexibility in establishing ourselves as a fraternity,” Jodis said. “He also helped us get our first fraternity house, William Hall. When it became time for us to be initiated as a Chapter, he worked with National and the University to provide us with the best weekend event we could have hoped for. He managed a group of ragtag young men, a collection of what some would call misfit toys, helping them somehow become a fraternity.”
