A sign on Susan Utt’s door reads: “My door may be closed, but it is always open to each and every one of you.”

Not only does the sign show Utt’s affection for her new position as a house mom for Pi Beta Phi Sorority, but it helps explain why Utt and 32 other house parents at Iowa State have chosen sorority and fraternity homes as a place to retire.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Utt said. “I’ve told every one of my girls to strive to be completely happy with what they are doing. When you get to that point, you know you have succeeded.”

Other house parents have similar advice.

“There is a large emotional side to it,” said Linda Crandell, house mom for Beta Sigma Psi Fraternity. “Students need somebody to talk to.”

And hugs, too. “There are so many touching moments that I couldn’t even begin to name them,” said Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity house mom Sandy Clem.

All 15 sorority houses and 14 of the 30 fraternity houses on campus employ a house mom or set of house parents. They live in the fraternity or sorority house and are in charge of setting up dining rooms, planing meals, teaching manors, setting up decorations and organizing special occasions. Some oversee house cleaning and maintenance.

In the five years she has been a house mom, Clem has lived at both a fraternity and a sorority. She started as a house mom for the TKEs, but switched over to the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority a year later.

Clem said she thought she would be better qualified to live with girls, after raising two of her own, but she has since moved back to the TKE house.

Frank Pearson, house dad at the Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority, described himself as the “general repair man.”

“I’m retired, so it gives me something to do all day rather than sit around on my hiney,” Pearson said. “They call me ‘Dad,’ so I guess that’s what I am.”

Back at Beta Sigma Psi, Crandell and her husband Allan are the only house parents living at a campus fraternity. She said having two house parents takes a lot of the pressure off her and allows for better communication with the members.

“They have a man to talk to and that helps the guys share what’s on their mind a little better,” Crandell said.

Crandell said being a couple helps getting more involved in house activities. She and her husband are also rather young for house parents — 48 and 54, respectively — which makes socializing easier.

“Sometimes we’ll get a knock on the door, ‘Can Dad come out and play?”‘ Crandell said. “We feel very comfortable in this house.”

Fraternity and sorority members also enjoy having both a house mom and dad. “It’s like we’re their grandchildren,” said Gamma Phi Beta Sorority member Katie Noyes.