Providing a home for the next 150 years

Over the last 150 years, generations of Boilermakers have found their homes at Purdue through the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood forged in the Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life (FSCL) community. To ensure Boilermakers in FSCL receive the same opportunities and a high-quality living experience, several organizations are making investments in housing improvements and renovations.

One such organization is Acacia Fraternity. Over the past several years, Acacia has worked on a phased approach to modernizing and improving its house to give Acacians a comfortable and supportive environment to eat, sleep, study, socialize and engage in their extracurricular pursuits.

“We’re really focusing on what we want to accomplish with the young men who live in the house so their lives take a better trajectory and they go on to make a difference in the world,” says Charlie Martin (BS industrial management ’74), president of Acacia Purdue Housing Corp.

Martin has helped lead the restoration and renovation of the house as the fraternity has seen a resurgence in membership. At one point, membership in the fraternity had dwindled to the low teens. Today, the fraternity boasts approximately 90 active undergraduate members, 38 of whom live in the fraternity house.

Martin says the recruitment of high-character young men and the improvements to the physical structure can work in concert to create a quality experience for Acacians. The approach includes engaging a strong board of directors, chapter advisor and chapter leadership team; committing to alumni engagement for mentoring and coaching; and establishing best practices for recruiting to yield a strong membership.

“If the quality of the brotherhood is there and people feel like they can identify with a high-caliber and diverse group of young men that stand for the right things, I think the quality of the physical structure can be a complement to that and enable the development of that brotherhood,” Martin says. “We don’t just want to create a nice, new hotel of sorts that doesn’t contain the quality of men we want. These two things have to work together so we can create future leaders.”

dinners and can be used as a learning space. The chapter has already put the space to use to host visits from alumni to lead a resume and job application workshop. Previous renovations improved the entrance, porch, study rooms, atrium and landscaping. Some renovation work was performed by RLTurner Corp., a company founded by Purdue Acacian Bob Turner (BS civil engineering ’63). Much of the renovation has been made possible thanks to the passion and leadership of Vane Clayton (BS agricultural engineering ’81), who has led fundraising efforts.

Work on the horizon includes improvements to the first floor, living room, quiet room, study hall, group study room and founder’s room. The fraternity’s goal is to complete the renovation work over the next three years. Once complete, more fraternity members will be able to live in the house.

“Our vision is to complete a full restoration of all floors and raise the rear of the chapter house to upgrade the facilities and provide study rooms and suites for 50 or more young men,” Martin says. “Similar to our journey to date, this is being planned in stages.”

Martin served as president of Acacia and, as an undergraduate, was honored with the Roy C. Clark Outstanding Acacian Award by the fraternity’s national office. He was also elected to the Order of Pythagoras, which recognizes contributions to Acacia Fraternity by those “serving beyond the ordinary call of duty.”

^{Eight ‘68 Pledge class brothers & spouses attended their annual reunion – Oct 4-5, ’25 w/ George Ebbs (61) & his wife joining the “younger” brothers.}

While he recognizes that the needs and experiences of students change over time, Martin believes elements of his experience still resonate and drive his dedication to his ongoing support for the fraternity and the house renovations.

“Our nickname in those years was the ‘Milk and Cookie Boys,’” Martin says. “We were viewed as a great group of guys with a great place to live. Obviously, we’re in a totally different era — I don’t think anyone wants to be called the ‘Milk and Cookie Boys’ anymore — but I think the spirit of that still holds true. We want to have a classy group of guys that we can support with a great place to call home.”

Acacia is just one example of numerous fraternities, sororities and cooperatives undertaking projects to support the next generation of students. This type of support will ensure Boilermakers seeking the bonds found in FSCL will always have a place to call home.