PROFESSIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM

By HQ Staff

For many members of Phi Kappa Psi, living in a chapter house contributed greatly to a meaningful and positive undergraduate experience and helped to build lifelong relationships. Owning and operating a fraternity house requires constant maintenance from dedicated alumni. With the ongoing maintenance needs of a facility, house corporations need access to funding opportunities and additional resources to be successful. 

In January 2003, a special committee was formed by SWGP John Ciccarelli CSUN ’72 to analyze long-term concerns of housing within the fraternity. After extensive research to analyze what other peer fraternal organizations had developed to support member housing, Project 2025 was created. From the work of the committee, a national housing corporation was established. 

Incorporated in 2005, the Canonsburg Corporation was formed by seven dedicated brothers with careers in insurance, real estate, construction, finance, and law. These men worked to not only provide financial support for housing corporations, but also to build the foundation of Canonsburg to help promote and maintain the safest, most affordable housing options for all Phi Kappa Psi chapters. 

They set two main goals.  The first was to develop the ability to fund loans to local house corporations to assist in facility remodeling, purchasing, and safety improvements.  The second was to fund a team of subject matter experts to assist local house corporation volunteers in all aspects of property management and operational needs.

The Phi Kappa Psi Executive Council and Foundation Board of Trustees supported the vision and assisted Canonsburg with seed and donor funds, as well as the implementation of the undergraduate assessment, which provided Canonsburg with a stream of income to assist house corporations with funding opportunities. Over the past 16 years they have executed 32 short- and long-term loans totaling $4.7 million dollars for 23 Phi Psi house corporations. 

In 2021, Canonsburg conducted a case study on the state of housing and corporation. The findings made one thing clear: House corporations needed full-time professional staff capable of developing systems and resources to lighten local workloads and support volunteer recruitment. 

Warren

Finding the right person to serve as the Chief Executive Officer was crucial to build the structure and manage the work that Canonsburg sought to accomplish. The board reached out to a brother who had been involved in housing conversations during the formation of the board. He had experience working at Phi Psi headquarters and had spent more than a decade working in Greek housing. Claude Warren III DePauw ’96 (Butler ’95) had the ideal experience and knowledge to direct the future of Canonsburg, and he spent the 2024-25 academic year taking a deep historical look into 20 years of Canonsburg’s output and engaging with more than 40 local house corporations.   

Douglas

Warren hired Canonsburg’s second employee, Kelsi Douglas, in the fall of 2025, quickly increasing Canonsburg’s capacity. Douglas has six years of experience in Greek housing managing the day-to-day financial activity for 38 corporations, overseeing the operations and administrative tasks and much more. 

What is on the horizon for Canonsburg?

They are building a comprehensive library of resources to assist local house corporations in all areas of financial management, legal compliance, board development, and much more.   

Canonsburg will begin consistent and targeted communications with local house corporations, both electronically and through topical webinar opportunities.

Opportunities also will be evaluated to engage with local alumni where the creation of a house corporation is needed.   

Canonsburg is evolving from a visionary alumni project into a professionalized housing corporation with real financial impact, staff infrastructure, and a scalable program to support Phi Psi housing nationwide. 

Click here to learn more about the Canonsburg Corporation.