Acacia fraternity received the Malcolm Award, which recognizes it as the best international Acacia chapter in the past two years.

The last time the ISU chapter of Acacia won the award was in 1964.

The Malcolm Award “is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a chapter of Acacia Fraternity,” according to the national fraternity website. It was named after one of the founding fathers of the fraternity.

“It’s a significant honor to receive [the award],” said Jeremy Davis, chapter adviser and international second vice president of Acacia. “It designates the top chapter of Acacia. Every chapter strives to get it.”

The award is presented at the International Conclave, which is a five day conference comprised of Acacia undergraduates and alumni to conduct international business. This year the conclave was held in New Orleans.

Each Acacia chapter submits an application highlighting its accomplishments from the past two years. The applications are then reviewed and scored.

The top chapter is awarded the Malcolm Award, second place receives the Outstanding Chapter award, and third place gets the Superior Chapter Award. ISU Acacia won the Outstanding Award two years ago.

“It takes a lot of work and dedication,” Davis said. “If we can achieve this status, it means we are doing a lot of things right.”

There are 16 individual categories used to evaluate the different chapters. The ISU chapter placed first in five of the categories this year, including best alumni publication/newsletter, chapter progress, academic progress, officer organization and house management.

Matt England, senior in aerospace engineering and chapter president, said philanthropy and good grades, along with working to build alumni support, all contributed to their chapter receiving the award.

In addition to the chapter being awarded the Malcolm Award, two of the members received honors.

England received the Duncan McPherson Fraternityship Scholarship, a $3,000 scholarship given to one member based on community involvement, financial need and chapter involvement.

Michael Weber, senior in family finance, housing and policy, was also elected to be one of the two undergraduate members of the Acacia International Council.

“It’s a great honor,” Davis said. “It makes alumni very proud.”

The ISU chapter was re-chartered in 2001, and the members “have been working since then to build the size [of the chapter],” England said. Membership in the house has increased 23 percent in the past two years.

“My goal is to keep growing and improving from where we’re at,” Davis said. England added that it is difficult for any chapter to receive the Malcolm Award two years in a row.

“[It will] challenge us to improve on the 16 categories,” England said. “We excelled in five, we need to improve on the others [and] keep trying to build off of our success.”