Wow… what a year in Greek Life at Southeast

This has been a year of transition for Greek Life and year marked with multiple examples of the very best of what being Greek means. Some of the most notable accomplishments this year include implementation of the Greek Chapter Accreditation program, formation of Interfraternity and Panhellenic Council judicial boards, hosting the first off-campus overnight retreat for new chapter presidents and council officers in several years, reaching the highest number of new sorority women in many years, and welcoming a back Phi Delta Theta, the 19^th Greek chapter to the Southeast campus.

These accomplishment are in addition to the work by the Greek community in upholding our many traditions and successful programs such as Greek Week, participation in Homecoming, NPHC Homecoming Step Show, National Hazing Prevention Week activities, Greek Foundations (for new Greek members), and sending 19 students representing all 3 governing councils to receive leadership training at the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values in Indianapolis.   

Chapter	End of Year Membership
Alpha Chi Omega	92
Alpha Delta Pi	107
Alpha Phi Alpha	7
Alpha Xi Delta	96
Delta Chi	55
Delta Delta Delta	92
Delta Sigma Theta	9
Gamma Phi Beta	96
Lambda Chi Alpha	54
Omega Psi Phi	6
Phi Beta Sigma	11
Pi Kappa Alpha	63
Sigma Chi	75
Sigma Nu	62
Sigma Phi Epsilon	74
Sigma Sigma Sigma	64
Sigma Tau Gamma	61
Theta Xi	40

Membership Information

The Greek community at Southeast has maintained a steady 10% of the total undergraduate population for the past 4 semesters, with a total of 1,069 Greek-affiliated students at the end of the spring 2013 semester.  This May, 136 members of fraternities and sororities graduated from Southeast.  Recruitment plans are well underway for the fall semester, with plans to increase the number of students joining fraternities and sororities through a new initiative being supported by the governing councils.  This “Greek Campaign” is designed to give incoming students more information about the benefits and expectations of fraternity and sorority membership, through outreach events and increased publicity.

Greek Scholastic Information

The All-Greek GPA in Fall 2012 averaged 3.029, and in Spring 2013 averaged 2.974, which is similar to previous semesters.  Scholarship programs and initiatives have been area of increased attention in the 2012-2013 academic year, and will continue to be carefully monitored so that Greek-affiliated students can continue to achieve academic success. 

	Fall 2011	Spring 2012	Fall 2012	Spring 2013
Overall Greek GPA	3.01	3.13	3.029	2.97
Average IFC GPA	2.90	3.01	2.865	2.94
Average NPHC GPA	2.53	2.66	2.499	2.59
Average Panhellenic GPA	3.15	3.29	3.199	3.28

Philanthropy and Service

Fraternity and sorority members completed an impressive 17,049 hours of community service in the 2012-2013 academic year, with 8,289 completed in the fall semester, and 8,760 completed in the spring semester.  Agencies served include the SEMO Food Bank, the Women’s Safe House, the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, The American Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Special Olympics, and many more. 

Fraternity and sorority members also take pride in assisting non-profit organizations monetarily.  Greek students donated a total of $52,839.48 in the 2012-2013 academic year, including over $16,000 raised during the annual Greek Week.  Financial donations of the Greek community impact countless national, regional, and local non-profit organizations, such as Autism Speaks, Backstoppers, Jimmy V Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, United Way of Southeast Missouri, and many more. 

Additionally, during Greek Week this April, Southeast Greeks were able to donate 670 units of blood, which made this blood drive one of the largest in the Southeast Missouri region, and equates to enough blood to save approximately 1,110 lives.  The students also donated 30,000 units of food to the Salvation Army throughout the week. 

Accreditation

The Greek community at Southeast began its first year of implementation of the Greek Accreditation program.  The information collected from chapters in this program was used to determine which chapters were meeting the University’s standards for Greek life, as well as to determine which chapters were excelling in multiple areas. 

The accreditation program examines information from the areas of: academic achievement, chapter operations and management, membership education and development, recruitment and sustainability, philanthropy and service, stakeholder relations, and risk management, with minimum standard criteria in each section.  Out of the 18 chapters at Southeast, 11 chapters have earned a status of accredited based on a standard of meeting 70% of the accreditation criteria.  An additional 2 chapters are provisionally accredited based on meeting 60% of the accreditation criteria.  Those chapters who have not been recognized as “accredited” will be supported over the coming year with the goal of helping all chapters to meet our performance standards.  Chapters earning a provisional or full accreditation, as well as the top five chapters in each of the seven individual areas, are outlined below: 

Chapter	Accreditation Status	Distinction Awards
Alpha Chi Omega	Accredited	Recruitment and sustainability Stakeholder relationships
Alpha Delta Pi	Accredited	Academic achievement Membership education and development Recruitment and sustainability Philanthropy and service Risk management
Alpha Xi Delta	Provisionally Accredited	Membership education and development
Delta Chi	Accredited	Chapter operations and management
Delta Delta Delta	Accredited	Academic achievement Membership education and development
Gamma Phi Beta	Accredited	Overall chapter excellence (highest scoring sorority) Chapter operations and management Membership education and development Recruitment and sustainability Philanthropy and service Stakeholder relationships Risk management
Lambda Chi Alpha	Accredited	Academic achievement Chapter operations and management Recruitment and sustainability Philanthropy and service Stakeholder relations Risk management
Omega Psi Phi	Accredited
Sigma Chi	Accredited
Sigma Nu	Accredited	Overall chapter excellence (highest scoring fraternity) Chapter operations and management Membership education and development Philanthropy and service Stakeholder relations Risk management
Sigma Phi Epsilon	Accredited	Academic achievement Chapter operations and management Stakeholder relations Risk management
Sigma Sigma Sigma	Accredited	Recruitment and sustainability
Sigma Tau Gamma		Academic Achievement
Theta Xi	Provisionally Accredited

University Support for Greek Life

In an effort to better support the more than 1,000 Greek students, the University established and filled the first Director of Greek Life position. DeAnte’ Smith, a Greek Life professional with previous experience working in other Greek systems, is the University’s first Director of Greek Life. DeAnte’s is joined by two graduate assistants to help support the efforts of our students. You can reach DeAnte’ at dmsmith@semo.edu or at 573-651-2280

As a University we also a special thank you to Christine Loy, who served as Interim Assistant Director for Fraternities and Sororities. Christine stepped into a challenging role, while still maintaining responsibility for the Greek Housing Area and did more than just maintain the status quo, Christine helped move our Greek system forward in multiple ways.  Christine is leaving Southeast to join her national headquarters and we at Southeast wish her the very best. She is a talented and capable professional who and has a bright future in Greek Life. I also Christine a special thank you as much of the data from this end of the year summary were provided by her.

Summary

While the year was not without challenges there is much to be proud of as the Greek community at Southeast Missouri State University had a productive and impactful year. This would not be possible without the work of countless people, both students, student leaders, chapter advisers, alumni, and University staff. I am personally thankful to be working with the Greek system here at Southeast and look forward to the coming year. There are some committed and talented students and staff who are already working for next year and we should all expect some great things from them in the coming months.