Congratulations Pi Kappa Alpha!

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY PIKES RECEIVE PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FROM INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

At the 2016 Pi Kappa Alpha International Convention, Gamma Lambda Chapter was recognized with the Raymond L. Orians Chapter Excellence Award. The Raymond L. Orians Chapter Excellence Award recognizes overall chapter excellence. Chapters that win this award are amongst the best on their campus and Pi Kappa Alpha’s most competitive chapters.    

                                                        

The chapter was recognized for its 3.15 cumulative GPA, its 100 percent involvement in campus activities, and donating over $110,000 to community service and the chapter’s philanthropy.

Additionally, the Gamma Lambda Alumni Advisory Board earned Alumni Advisory Board of the Year honors, recognizing outstanding mentorship to undergraduates.

The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity is proud to honor Gamma Lambda with the 2016 Raymond L. Orians Chapter Excellence Award.

The International Convention is just one of the nine PIKE University events held annually across the continent with over 3,500 annual participants. PIKE University is the combined banner for all Pi Kappa Alpha leadership programs and educational curriculum. The mission of PIKE University is to develop and provide educational programs aimed at fostering leadership, management and personal development skills in order to prepare college men for success in life.

For more information about PIKE University, please visit: https://www.pikes.org/pike-u?utm_source=email+link&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pi+kappa+alpha

The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity was founded at the University of Virginia in 1868 and has grown to an international brotherhood composed of more than 270,000 members, 220 chapters and 150 alumni associations. Pi Kappa Alpha has maintained the largest average chapter size of any inter/national fraternity for most of the past 20 years, and through its members has donated millions of hours and dollars to philanthropic causes and community organizations across North America. Pi Kappa Alpha’s mission is to “develop men of integrity, intellect, and high moral character and to fostering a truly lifelong fraternal experience.”

Gender-Inclusive Restrooms & Greek Facilities Update

The Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs in partnership with The Pride Center for Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity and the Office of Residential services is excited to share that 27 single-stall restrooms will be converted to gender-inclusive restrooms across 16 chapter facilities.  This project began in April 2016 when Residential Services graciously offered to invest in our Greek facilities over the summer to make this change for any chapter that opted in.  This followed a campus-wide shift that took place in 2015-2016 to convert any single-stall restrooms in academic buildings to be gender-inclusive.  The terms "gender-neutral" and "gender-inclusive" are used interchangeably by Lehigh to refer to accommodations that welcome all people regardless of gender identity and expression. The project gives our chapters the opportunity to align with this inclusive practice along with the rest of the institution.  

Chelsea Fullerton, Director of the Pride Center, spoke at council meetings in the spring 2016 semester to explain the project and address any questions.  Over the summer, chapters that decided to participate worked with Brooke Hubbard, OFSA summer intern, to coordinate the logistics of conversions within their facility.  The Office of Residential Services will manage the restroom conversions, most of which will be completed before the houses open.  A handful of conversions will continue over the month of September. 

When asked why their chapter decided to participate, Scott Henry, President of Sigma Phi Epsilon, wrote “When we heard of the opportunity to convert our bathrooms to gender inclusive, it was really a no brainer. It makes life much easier and convenient for everyone. Now, no brother or guest will feel uncomfortable when using SigEp's facilities. We think it's a great opportunity to support Lehigh's initiative of creating an inclusive community.”  President of Gamma Phi Beta, Juliana DeMaria said “My chapter and I felt that gender inclusive restrooms were a great way to create a safer home for our members and guests.”  Christian Dietz, President of Phi Delta Theta, echoed DeMaria’s thoughts expressing “We want anyone visiting our house to feel welcome.”

As a Greek community, we are thrilled to support this initiative and create welcoming spaces in our facilities!

Reflection from UIFI: MGC and Lambda Theta Alpha President, Kristen Mejia

Here are some thoughts and reflections from recent UIFI attendee and 2016-17 MGC and Lambda Theta Alpha President, Kristen Mejia: 

UIFI was truly an amazing experience that I am so thankful I was able to be a part of. I had entered UIFI solely thinking that I needed to work on my position as MGC president and LTA president, but in all honesty, I have so much more work to do. I was able to connect and collaborate with so many other UIFIers and our family cluster leaders. I was surrounded by like-minded, determined and passionate individuals who see and fight for the main purpose and goal of each of their organizations. We live within our values every single day and strive to better the world that we live in through our sister or brotherhoods. My confidence as a Greek leader on our campus has doubled because of UIFI. I know that I have the power and passion to make the change that I wish to see on our campus. 

Through the curriculum, activities, and conversations that we had daily, my view of what being a Greek leader on a university campus has transformed and molded into something even greater. Previous to this experience, I did not fully understand the privilege that comes with being a member of the Greek community, let alone being a leader within the Greek community. Every day we were asked to take off our “cool caps” and fully dive into the experience. Thankfully, that was exactly what I did and I had gotten so much more out of the experience than I expected. We were asked to check our privilege, return to our values, serve our community, ask burning questions, learn from each other, build our own vision, and so much more. If I were to have to talk about the one major lesson that I had gotten from this experience, I would say that we each have more power than we think. We have a voice and though we may feel small or alone, we have our line sisters, our chapter brothers, our area members, regional leaders, our WHOLE organizations, our council members and our Greek community to back us up as well. Though all three councils may have many more differences than similarities, we are all here to make a positive change on our campuses and find our homes.

I am so thankful that Lehigh had sponsored me to go to UIFI. It was a truly amazing experience and I hope that others are able to attend as well in the future. 

Congratulations Delta Upsilon!

Delta Upsilon’s Lehigh Chapter Named Fraternity Sweepstakes Trophy Finalist

Delta Upsilon International Fraternity is pleased to announce that its Lehigh Chapter at Lehigh University was named one of seven finalists for its Sweepstakes Trophy, the highest honor bestowed upon a DU undergraduate chapter. The announcement was made at the Fraternity’s annual Leadership Institute, held July 28-31 in Indianapolis.

The Delta Upsilon Sweepstakes Trophy has been awarded annually since 1953 to acknowledge chapters whose achievements surpass all expectations. Each year, seven finalists are selected. The 2016 trophy was awarded to the Kansas State Chapter. This is the third time five years that the chapter has been named a Sweepstakes finalist, also receiving the honor in 2012 and 2015.

During the 2015-2016 academic year, the Lehigh Chapter boasted a chapter GPA above the all campus fraternity average, with its associate members having a 3.35 GPA on the year. The chapter’s 70 men average 15 hours of service each and raised $1,222 for the Fraternity’s Global Service Initiative, DU’s international philanthropy and service project.

“The Lehigh Chapter represents all of the best qualities of Delta Upsilon,” said DU Executive Director Justin Kirk. “The chapter should be proud of its accomplishments and continued success.”

Established in 1834, Delta Upsilon is an international men’s college fraternity with 77 chapters and colonies across the United States and Canada. The Fraternity, founded at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, is the oldest, non-secret, Greek-letter society and is committed to Building Better Men for a global society through its four founding principles: friendship, character, culture and justice. More than 120,000 men have joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity since its founding more than 181 years ago.

#MySummerAtLehigh

We're so sad to wish a #farewell to our hashtag talking, selfie stick loving, all-around amazing summer intern, Brooke Hubbard! We'll miss you and best of luck!  Here are a few thoughts from Brooke as she heads back to Kentucky...

When I began my internship search, I never imagined leaving the South let alone traveling over 1000 miles to the Northeast. Entering into my graduate program, I knew that the summer months in between my first and second year would consist of me seeking a summer internship. For me, it was important to experience something completely different than my current institution because I completed my undergrad here as well. Coming from a mid-size, public institution -- I welcomed the opportunity to experience a small, private institution such as Lehigh with a strong Greek Community.

From the beginning, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (OFSA) made me feel welcomed and at no point in the experience did I feel like a “summer intern”. Through staff meetings and team building opportunities they made it easy to become integrated into the office. It was refreshing to work with professionals who are continuously dedicated to fostering the personal growth of their students while also making a continuous effort to challenge chapters to thrive and excel within the Lehigh Greek Community.

Without the outstanding OFSA staff that I have had the privilege to work with at Lehigh, I would not be nearly as ready to enter my final year of graduate school and begin making decisions about my future career. Through my time at Lehigh, I gained wonderful colleagues and friends for years to come. Thank you all for continuously challenging me to be the best version of myself and I’m thrilled to have met so many wonderful people! Lehigh, you are a gem and I will greatly miss you!