Theta Chi Fraternity has named NDSU senior Cory Loveless as the 2011 recipient of its highest undergraduate honor, the Reginald E.F. Colley Award.

Loveless, a double major studying mathematics and math education, has developed an impressive resume at NDSU as a student leader, scholar and mentor. Originally from Grand Forks, N.D., he is a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society and is a charter member of the NDSU Campus Club of Lions Club International. In 2010, he was named Student Leader of the Year by the Congress of Student Organizations, Greek Man of the Year by the NDSU Interfraternity Council and was voted Homecoming King.

He also was a student staff leader for NDSU’s Summer Leadership Institute in 2009 and 2011; was a student leader on the Conference, Orientation and Recruitment Team in 2010; and has been a student member of the Complaint Resolutions Board since 2008. Also an active member of NDSU’s Greek community, Loveless served as Interfraternity Council secretary/ treasurer in 2010 and currently is vice president.

At his Theta Chi chapter, Loveless was elected treasurer in 2009 and president in 2010. He now serves as Marshal and is responsible for mentoring the chapter’s newly recruited members.

“Cory has always exemplified what it means to be a Theta Chi,” Phi Chapter president Joseph Heruth said. “He has played an instrumental role in the recruitment and leadership training of many of our most prominent members, and his dedication to Phi Chapter has been unfaltering. Mr. Loveless is my brother, my friend and I can't think of a single person more deserving of this honor."

This year’s Colley Award applications were reviewed by a committee composed of top Theta Chi alumni from around the country, including past Colley Award recipients. The committee reviewed hundreds of pages of applications submitted by applicants from around the country, including Missouri State University, Texas Tech University, University of Illinois and University of Tampa. William W. Palmer, Theta Chi National board member, chaired the committee.

“It was an agonizing process, evaluating so many top applications from around the country,” Palmer said. “Every one of those young men was outstanding. A handful stood out and Cory’s was the best of the best.”

Palmer will travel from California to Fargo later this year to present the award in person, representing Theta Chi’s more than 6,000 undergraduates and more than 160,000 alumni. Information about the award presentation will be made available later this semester on Theta Chi’s website, www.thetachi.org.

First presented in 1929, the Colley Award is named for Reginald E.F. Colley, a World War I veteran and past member of Theta Chi’s board of directors, the Grand Chapter. It is interesting to note that brothers Colley and Loveless share the same alma mater. As a member of Phi Chapter, Colley developed a celebrated reputation as a campus, community and civic leader. He graduated in 1915 and eventually headed overseas to fight for the U.S. Army on the Western Front. Colley died at the age of 39, but his legacy of leadership continues to inspire future generations of talented Theta Chis.