The fraternity and sorority
community is an important part of the campus experience for many students at
Lehigh University and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (OFSA)
strives to create a distinctive learning-centered experience. We also take, very seriously, our obligation
to inform students about all of their options within the fraternity and
sorority community to assist them in making educated decisions about their
choices to affiliate with Greek-letter organizations. To that end, we provide many information
sessions for students, and also provide opportunities for parents to learn
about the options. This letter is
another initiative to provide you with important information that we encourage
you to review.
Lehigh University currently
has 19 officially recognized international fraternities. We also want to make you aware that some groups
may exist off campus that are not recognized by the University. It is important that you are aware of some
potential issues if you choose to affiliate with one of the unrecognized off
campus groups rather than one of Lehigh’s 19 recognized fraternities.
To
provide some context, over the years, several fraternities have lost
recognition from the University and/or from their international
headquarters. In most cases, these
fraternities lost recognition because they failed to comply with University
and/or international headquarters policies or guidelines. To view a list of formerly
recognized (currently unrecognized) groups from Lehigh University, please refer
to the attached enclosure. You may also
refer to the Lehigh Greeks BlogSpot at www.lehighgreeks.blogspot.com to learn
more detailed information about specific chapters that have lost recognition in
recent years.
We
have come to learn that some of these formerly recognized groups have continued
to operate without University recognition, oversight, or approval and are
considered unrecognized groups.
Unrecognized groups are not permitted to use Lehigh University's name or
image, reserve University spaces, secure University group housing, or represent
themselves as an official part of the University community. This situation concerns us because we do not
have confidence that unrecognized groups operate with the same diligence to
promote student growth and development; provide proactive and preventative measures
to foster wellness and safety; nor abide by University guidelines with regard
to recruitment, new member education, academic support, and other areas vital to
the successful management of an organization.
Additionally, unrecognized groups operate in the absence of reasonable
and prudent oversight by the OFSA professional staff and therefore lack
resources and support provided to other student organizations.
While we cannot predict the
outcome of membership in an unrecognized group, it is important to alert you to
the possible concerns and consequences regarding the well-being of students that
choose to affiliate with or join an unrecognized group. There exists no meaningful partnership
between the University and students, alumni volunteers, and international
headquarters staff associated with unrecognized groups. These unrecognized groups will not receive an
invitation to regain University recognition in the near future or in subsequent
academic years while they continue to exist in direct violation of University
policy.
We also invite you to review our website at www.lehigh.edu/ofsa to learn
more about Lehigh’s recognized chapters. These chapters have rich and lengthy
history at Lehigh and many have been recognized for excellence by Lehigh
University and/or their respective international headquarters in the areas of
membership development, academic excellence, leadership, and community service
efforts. The content of the OFSA
website is robust and you will find a number of resources, including
Accreditation reports, grade reports, membership statistics, and conduct
history for our recognized groups. All
of these resources are valuable tools to you should you consider membership in
a fraternity and if you choose to participate in recruitment in January 2017. The current recognized Lehigh University
fraternities are:
Alpha
Epsilon Pi
Alpha
Tau Omega
Chi
Phi
Chi
Psi
Delta
Chi
Delta
Upsilon
Kappa
Alpha
Kappa
Alpha Psi
Kappa
Sigma
Lambda
Sigma Upsilon
Phi
Delta Theta
Phi
Kappa Theta
Phi
Sigma Kappa
Pi
Kappa Alpha
Psi
Upsilon
Sigma
Chi
Sigma
Phi Epsilon
Theta
Chi
Theta
Xi
If
you have questions regarding any this information please contact the Office of
Fraternity and Sorority Affairs at (610) 758-4157 or by e-mailing Infrasor@lehigh.edu.
Thank
you,
Ashley M. Baudouin
Assistant Dean of
Students/Director
Christopher J. Mulvihill
Interim Associate Dean of Students
Katherine W. Lavinder
Interim Dean of Students