2025 Josephine Sitterle Failer Award

At age 55, John “C.J.” Waggoner ’70 retired after a successful management career with Nationwide Insurance. He left New York, where he’d lived for many years, and moved back to Ohio, eager to reconnect with alumni from his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon.

But his Sig Ep friends had bad news. The student chapter in Columbus was in big trouble, they told him. The year was 1999, and members of Sig Ep had been cited for alcohol violations and hazing. The chapter, which had been active in Columbus since 1908, was to be closed, perhaps for good.

Waggoner could have turned away. As a new retiree, he was looking forward to a more relaxed life, and he lived two hours from Columbus in Vermilion, Ohio. Instead, he committed to putting Sig Ep on a new course and joined forces with three other alumni to revitalize the chapter.

“The four of us had all been in the business world for close to 30 years, so we knew how important leadership development was,” Waggoner says. “We wanted to rebuild the chapter as a leadership development model rather than the old pledge model.”

Sig Ep’s national chapter had just created the Balanced Man Program, which eliminated “pledging” and instead focused on developing members’ academic, leadership and professional skills over four years. Waggoner and his team worked with Ohio State leaders and Sig Ep alumni to bring the Balanced Man program to Columbus. They helped to recruit students who wanted to learn leadership skills and found alumni to mentor them.

“Mentoring is important because it’s a one-on-one relationship,” says Waggoner. “We also provide career counseling from alumni in the same field the undergraduates want to pursue, to help them understand what the career is like and what they need to do to get into the field.”

In addition, Waggoner and Sig Ep alumni raised money for student scholarships and renovations to the chapter house, efforts they continue today. They organized golf outings and dinners to create closer ties between alumni and students. As a result, 25 years later, Sig Ep is thriving and is known for creating campus leaders who serve Ohio State, then go on to successful careers.

Waggoner is as active as ever, and in appreciation of his 50 years of service, the fraternity renamed its Columbus chapter house as The John “CJ” Waggoner Sigma Phi Epsilon House.