When Anthony Musacchio (2015) transferred to LIU Post from Epsilon Zeta/Tampa, he immediately saw the need for a Theta Chi presence on campus. Musacchio worked to establish an interest group, spending hours each day tabling in Hillwood Commons, a busy meeting area at LIU Post. His efforts lead to 12 men colonizing on February 28, 2013. After two years of hard work, including a major drop in membership during the summer of 2015, the men of LIU Post were installed as the Kappa Beta Chapter on March 5, 2016. Field Executives Nike Hoke and Will Maher facilitated the men’s initiation week and assisted with the installation. “By installing as one of the largest fraternities at LIU Post, these men have an unprecedented opportunity on this campus,” explained Brother Hoke. “They are the kind of emerging leaders that campuses across the country strive to cultivate.”
Presiding the Installation was past International Vice President Joseph D’Amore, who took great pride in helping establish yet another chapter. The ceremony was held at the Interfaith Center on the LIU Post campus in Brookville, NY. Collegians from Beta Theta/Drexel and Epsilon Psi/NJIT attended, as well as alumni from Beta Iota/Arizona and Eta Delta/Babson. “As a Rechartering Member of my chapter (Delta Eta/Colorado State) it was a moving experience to install Kappa Beta,” Field Executive Will Maher said. “In doing so I felt as though my Theta Chi experience had come full circle.” A number of individuals including the Director of Campus Life, Michael Berthel, and Chapter Adviser, Eric Shapiro (Gamma Rho/Florida State 2011), spoke at the reception, indicating their excitement to work with such an extraordinary group. Several chapter-established awards were distributed as well; the Scholar of the Year Award went to Ryan Gioe (2018) and the Assisting Hand Award went to Scott Haddock (2016). Mike Kallipozis (2016) received both the Most Active Brother Award and Presidential Leadership Award.
It was also announced during the reception that the men of Kappa Beta Chapter would begin a scholarship in honor of Ian Matuszak, the late biological brother of Alec Matuszak (2015). Ian was born with cerebral palsy and more recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer in September 2015. He passed away only a week before the Installation. The annual $500 Ian Matuszak Scholarship will be used to send a special needs child to the same camp Ian attended every summer.
Kappa Beta Chapter’s list of past accomplishments include winning the Largest New Member Class distinction in the fall of 2015; this is an especially notable triumph after their summer 2015 membership decline. They also have won the University’s Greek Week Medal of Honor Challenge in consecutive years, an event honoring New Yorkers who have received the Nation’s highest military honor. The group’s goals moving forward include growing to be the largest fraternity on campus, achieving the highest fraternity GPA on campus, and winning an Alter Award.
LIU was founded in 1926 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the course of nine decades of academic excellence, LIU has become one of America’s largest comprehensive private universities, offering more than 500 academic programs across multiple campuses spanning the New York metropolitan area, overseas, and online.
