Departing Executive Director Ian Lowe reflects on eighteen years of service on the HQ staff

Few leaders have made more of a lasting impact on Pi Lambda Phi than Executive Director, Ian Lowe. He directed our Fraternity through some tough years where the future was in question to an organization that is growing, expanding and thriving. He did this due to his passion for what Pi Lambda Phi stands for and his desire to give back for what the fraternity meant to him. 

Ian structured the HQ to work on solutions to help chapters, educate brothers, serve the alumni, and help them find meaning in all this. And he did it with a very small staff. He was always quick to share the credit with staff, volunteers, and others in leadership roles.

For his exemplary service, Ian was recognized at 2026 Convention with the rarest distinction the Fraternity bestows, the Diamond Brothers Badge. He joined a very exclusive club including the legendary George Beck, Jules Lennard, and Paul Kaufman, who fundamentally made Pi Lambda Phi better through their leadership.

IEC President, Joe Nacimento said in his presentation speech:

“Thank you, Ian. You leave this Brotherhood stronger than you found it. You leave me better than you found me. Thank you for being an example of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.”

Additional accomplishments

• Built a much stronger infrastructure to track 37,000+ living alumni
• Saved multiple chapters from closure through direct HQ intervention 
• Secured seed money toward a National Housing Corporation
• Pushed for the expansion and funding of chapter restricted accounts
• Driving force behind the creation of several scholarship funds
• Spearheaded the strategic alignment of Fraternity and Foundation boards

Ian’s memorable moments

Choosing to give back

After his experiences as an undergraduate and refounder of the Baldwin Wallace chapter, Ian wanted an opportunity to make a positive difference to Pilam saying, “I had a really incredible undergraduate experience, and got to benefit from alumni that were involved with our refounding. I really admired their example, and wanted to give back to Pilam.” 

Refounding chapters and expansion

Among his first challenges was the re-establishment of a couple of Pilam’s historic chapters. With limited resources, Ian put boots on the ground to recruit new members and imbue them with the Pilam ideals at Temple and UVA. He said, “I was fortunate to be at a point where I was able to help bring them back. I was happy to be there for the process and got to celebrate their initiations. It felt so official, like we are back. Growth and expansion of current chapters and returning chapters has been something that I’m really proud of.”  

This was a first step in a long term plan for successful Pilam expansion to historic and new chapters. Ian worked with and was always thankful for the chapters with active alumni who volunteered their vital support in reestablishing their chapters.

Undergraduate development and education

Ian is a teacher at heart and pushed for more standardized training for undergraduate brothers in leadership positions. He helped a number of fledgling brothers who had promise through the growing pains of leadership. He said, “When I worked directly with students, I enjoyed seeing their maturation as leaders. I worked with people very closely, like Andrew Bollinger (Temple) and OrrinWebb (Salisbury), and there are many others, but I use those two as an example, because they were literally students that I was counseling through basic stuff of being a Rex, and then you fast forward years later, they’re on our national governance board.”

He is particularly proud of the Leadership Institute, which challenges undergraduates through competition, guided discussion, lessons about commitment, and reflection on good leadership and stronger organizations.

COVID, the 2022 Convention and the alumni speaker series

During COVID, a time when Americans were hoarding toilet paper and social organizations couldn’t be social, Ian and his staff were finding solutions. They kept chapters going by setting standards for safety and even found creative ways to recolonize WVU.  

After two long years of Zoom meetings and relative seclusion, Pilam hosted its first post-Covid public event, and Ian wanted it to be memorable. He reached out to some inspirational Pilam alumni to speak to the undergrads. 

Ian recalled, “We had US Senator Ben Cardin, PA state representative Malcolm Kenyatta, NFL sports agent Leigh Steinberg, three-star Army General Keith Dayton, and two-time Olympian Amin Nikfar. To pull that together was a feat in itself, and the alumni and undergrads really responded to it.”

Recognizing our military veterans

As a member of the US Air Force, Ian believed in recognizing our military veterans. He said, “Initially we created the military service pin, and that led to the Military Service Fund and the General Keith Dayton Scholarship for undergraduates serving in the military. That is near and dear to me.”

Encouraging volunteerism, chapter coaching, and recognizing alumni contributions

Ian always recognized that alumni were the backbone of our fraternity and encouraged a structure where alumni could be involved a little or a lot. He knew that time was a valuable resource for many alumni who wanted to give back, so he introduced “micro volunteer roles” where alumni could serve as a scholarship evaluator, national committee member, professional mentor, or networking resource. 

He was also instrumental in bringing more recognition to those alumni who dedicated their services, making sure more volunteers received well-deserved awards for their dedication.

Ian admired the history of accomplished Pilam alumni. He wanted to recognize other recent alumni who were blazing their own path. In 2025, he introduced the young alumni professional achievement awards, including:

• Over 265 Certificates of Merit
• 27 Council Keys
• 15 Big Pis
• 5 Edward Goldman Awards
• 60 other various awards for our volunteers

Mentors and influencers

Asked about brothers who helped him on his path, Ian said his learning and development was highly influenced by his IEC counterparts who mentored him in different ways for what he needed at that moment in his professional journey. He thanked Jeff Buhler who was president when he became our director saying, “The amount of growth, learning, and development I had because of him is immeasurable.”

He also thanked current President Joe Nascimento, and former president Dan Scott. In his final speech at our Convention, Ian said of Joe & Dan:

“Together, we celebrated some extraordinary achievements, and we commiserated through some very difficult moments. You somehow knew when I needed you to listen like a therapist, when I needed to be challenged, and when I simply needed someone to reaffirm that we were moving in the right direction.

I learned an enormous amount from each of you. You devoted what often amounted to a part-time job to this fraternity, entirely as volunteers. Your leadership has had an immeasurable impact on Pi Lambda Phi and on me personally. My friendship with you is one of the greatest gifts this fraternity has given me.”

Ian listed some of the Pilam leaders and key volunteers that invested and mentored him in different ways including, George Beck, Paul Griffin, Ron Grossman, Andy Golbert, Paul Kaufman, Stan Klunder, Jim “Tank” Morris, Roger Orloff, Karl Oestreich, Shawn Upchurch, Marc Weppner, and Gary Sanders. He said, “you’re influenced by so many people that really love the fraternity.”

He also called out his dedicated HQ staff over the years, who implemented so many important initiatives.

Brotherhood and Relationships

Ian is thankful for what Pilam gave back to him by making friendships with brothers he’s had the good fortune to work with. He said, “It’s the relationships with people who were not from my chapter, who I’ve gotten close to because I worked with them. I love that I formed some incredible friendships with brothers throughout Pilam. Some of the men I’ve worked with on our board are men that I look up to, and they are really important in my life. And as an example, at my wedding, there were brothers from ten different chapters celebrating with me.”

Into the wild blue yonder… but he suspects he’ll circle back

Ian served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for 22 years. Last summer, he accepted an assignment as an instructor at the USAF’s Officer Training School in Alabama. What began as a part-time USAF Reserve opportunity unexpectedly became something he deeply loved and over time, an opportunity emerged to pursue that work full-time.

Ian hasn’t truly left Pilam, he’s just giving them a flyby. He strongly suspects that after his military commitments, he’ll be back with Pilam serving in some capacity.

He said of his dedication to Pilam, “Serving as Executive Director has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life and has shaped me in ways I never could have imagined when I began this journey years ago. I continue to believe deeply in the impact that a healthy and intentional fraternity experience can have on a college man. To help lead that work has been a privilege.”