Congratulations to...

Congratulations to all of our chapters that received recognition from their National Organization!  Here are the highlights that we've received so far!  

DELTA CHI

-Achievement in Member Education

-Achievement in Alumni Relations

-Achievement in Financial Management

-Achievement in Manpower

-Achievement in Involvement

-Achievement in Housing

-The 'E' Key for excellence in alumni relations

-Outstanding 'C' award 

-Chapter Luminary award

-Alumni Meritorious Service award for Bill Glaser, president of our Alumni Board of Trustees

PI KAPPA ALPHA 

25 Man Commitment -- Sent 25 men or more to Pike University events during the year

Scholarship Plate -- Chapter had a GPA of 3.0 or higher

Alumni Advisory Board of the Year 

Raymond L. Orians Excellence Award -- awarded to top 20% of performing Pike chapters

PHI SIGMA KAPPA

President's Special Achievement Award for Diversity Initiatives

MU SIGMA UPSILON 

Community Service Award 

ALPHA EPSILON PI

Outstanding Performance in Recruitment Award  

THETA XI

Outstanding Recruitment 

Outstanding Community Service

ALPHA GAMMA DELTA

Stephanie Behrens-recipient of the Harriet Fox Grant Scholarship Award

KAPPA DELTA

Margaret Burnett received a Confidence U Grant

KAPPA ALPHA THETA

Award for participating in the 150 Days of Service

DELTA UPSILON

Named one of seven finalists for its Sweepstakes Trophy 

ZETA TAU ALPHA

Crown Chapter Award

Meet Corey Gant!

J.Corey Gant

Assistant Director, OFSA

Hometown: Leesburg, Virginia
Educational Background:

     B.A. Public and Urban Affairs - Virginia Tech

     M.S.Ed. Higher Education and Student Affairs - Indiana University

Affiliation: Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
Professional Highlights:-Coordinated the Greek Assessment and Awards Program (GAAP) at Indiana University, a rubric submission and interview process holding 73 chapters on campus accountable to the five Pillars of Excellence
-Participated as a member of the core planning team for Marian University's SOAR orientation program as well as selected and trained the orientation leaders
-Conducted IRB-approved research at Indiana University regarding student organizations' impact on international students' sense of belonging that was published in the IUSPA Journal
Why did you decide to pursue a career in fraternity and sorority affairs?

When I joined Delta Tau Delta, it was the first time I was ever asked to reflect on my values and how they would impact my undergraduate experience. I soon got very involved on campus in areas such as new student programming, LGBTQ+ awareness, and the larger fraternity and sorority community. It is my hope to help fraternities and sororities realize the importance of being values-based organizations in order to help further develop their members.
What do you hope to do during your time at Lehigh University?

While at Lehigh I want to work with as many fraternity and sorority members as possible. However, I really hope to work with students outside of the fraternity and sorority community as well, specifically first-year students. This semester I'll be facilitating one of the evoLUtion seminars and am really looking forward to that experience!

What has been your impression of the Lehigh Greek Community so far?

Everyone is so passionate about what they do, whether that be research for a class, being involved in other student organizations on campus, community service, etc. I am impressed over and over again when I meet with students from our fraternity and sorority community and hear about everything they do in addition to their chapter membership.

Meet Malcolm McDaniel!

Malcolm McDaniel

Assistant Director, OFSA

Hometown: Queens Village, New York

Educational Background: 

B.S. in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from Long Island University, Post Campus. 

M.S. Ed. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at Hofstra University

Affiliation: Latino America Unida/Lambda Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, Inc.

Professional Highlights: Being both a Fraternity and Sorority Life Graduate Assistant at both Hofstra University and The New York Institute of Technology-Old Westbury Campus in the same year!

Why did you decide to pursue a career in Fraternity and Sorority Affairs: Going through the expansion process to join my organization, I saw that there were differences in the way my campus was bringing IFC and Panhellenic organizations vs Culturally based groups. I wanted to understand why that was, learn what goes into advising Fraternities and Sororities, as well as be a supporter and advocate for Cultural Greek Lettered Organizations.

What do you hope to do during your time at Lehigh University: Besides enhancing the Fraternity and Sorority Life community here, I've quickly learned that Lehigh is a place with so much tradition that I want to learn and understand. I also hope that I am able to make a long lasting impact here in whatever form that may look like!

What has been your impression of the Lehigh Greek Community so far: There's so many members!! Haha. But so far everyone that I have had interactions with are friendly, welcoming, and inquisitive in learning more about myself as well as my fellow ADs. They're also very smart and do a lot of internships both nationally and internationally (which is way more than I ever did)

Message Regarding Unrecognized Groups

 

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

Reflections of an Orientation Leader: Lauren DiNapoli, Alpha Phi

Here are some thoughts and reflections from 2016 Orientation Leader and member of Alpha Phi, Lauren DiNapoli: 

It’s no secret that Orientation is an amazing, life-changing, and highly valued experience here on Lehigh’s campus. The bonding that OL’s take part in throughout training and the challenges that we all face together, result in an incredibly tight-knit, supportive, and inclusive family of students from every corner on campus. As a member of the Greek community, I couldn’t have possibly foreseen how applicable, let alone beneficial, this experience would prove both to my Chapter and myself.

I participated in the program along side four other women in my sorority, and we can all agree that it has truly opened our eyes to everything Lehigh has to offer. Yes, we are active members and yes, it is a large part of our college experience, but there’s no reason we can’t all expand our network of community and work towards a more inclusive and caring Lehigh that reaches outside the Greek “bubble”.

Throughout these past two weeks, I’ve watched countless fellow students experience personal growth that we can all benefit and learn from. We learned to love and appreciate one another, respect every single person on campus, and truly be ourselves. I can’t help but imagine what our campus would be like if everyone followed these ideals. I can’t wait to bring these lessons and experiences back to my Chapter and continue in spreading the campus-wide inclusiveness, love, and leadership that Orientation was able to give. 

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!