General Description

• • After sitting in direct sunlight for decades in the engineering atrium, Kansas Gamma’s charter certificates were heavily oxidized. To make matters worse, the wooden plaques on which the certificates were originally mounted had off-gassed into the certificates for 50-years which added to their discoloration and deteriorated condition. At some point before 2023, the documents had become such an eyesore that the college no longer wished to display them, so they were instead shoved in the bottom of the chapter’s supply cabinet where they remained out of sight and mind for many years. Last year (2023), Kansas Gamma recognized that the state of our certificates was a symbol of the chapter’s decline, and that they should be restored, preserved and proudly displayed as a symbol of the chapter’s resilience and strength. An internet search in December 2023 led to the discovery of a paper conservator named Mark Stevenson in Kansas City who quoted $350 for conservation treatment of both certificates. The Kansas Gamma Executive Board approved the expense, and the certificates were restored, reframed on acid free boards, and revealed just in time for the chapter’s spring banquet and 50th anniversary celebration. Our next actions on this project will be to find an approved location to publicly display the charters.

Purpose & Relationship to Objectives of TBP

• • The purpose of this project was to transform a symbol of weakness and decline into one of strength and resilience, so that all K-State engineering students will see that we are proud to have a Tau Beta Pi chapter, and that they should be proud to join Tau Beta Pi once they become eligible. 

Organization & Administration

• • Conversations about restoring the certificates began back in 2022, but no action was taken until late 2023 when President Divilbiss began searching for quotes to determine if the project was feasible. The chapter was in a good financial position in the spring of 2024 and chose to approve the expense. So, for the first time in 50-years, the certificates left Manhattan (Kansas) and headed to Kansas City, where Mark (the Paper Fixer) Stevenson proceeded to treat them with an ancient chemical free technique called sun bleaching. The treatment did not take very long, and before we knew it, Stevenson called and said they were ready for pickup. President Divilbiss then picked them up and took them to a frame shop in Manhattan. 

In Conjunction With

• • Mark "The Paper Fixer" Stevenson

Total Cost

• • $350.00

Cost Breakdown

• • $350 for conservation treatment. Divilbiss covered the framing expenses as a charitable contribution. 

Special Problems Encountered

• • There were few problems with this project. Heat from sunlight over many years had glued our supplemental Sigma Tau (Epsilon) merger certificate to the wood lacquer behind it, so Stevenson essentially had to dig into the wood to free the document and then carefully scrape off what remained on the paper. On the day Divilbiss was supposed to pick them up, he drove all the way to Stevenson’s house in Kansas City and could not reach him. Stevenson felt bad and delivered the certificates the next day. 

Overall Evaluation/Results

• • The transformation of our certificates turned out better than anyone expected, and we’ve received many compliments on the job. Notably, it wasn’t a unanimous decision to restore the certificates. Some officers were opposed to the project, but they now see how much of a difference the restoration will make in the chapter’s future. Without the certificates, we wouldn’t have a chapter, so we are thrilled to have brought them back from their poor condition. We feel that the charter restoration project is a symbol of our collective chapter restoration efforts over the past 12 months. Moving forth, the chapter will see that the certificates are once again displayed in the atrium as symbols of pride and strength in our ’one strong engineering honor society.’