News release
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Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: 2/12/03
 
SOUTHEASTERN GREEK ORGANIZATIONS TO UNDERGO REVITALIZATION PROGRAM
      HAMMOND - Fraternities and sororities at Southeastern Louisiana University will participate in a revitalization program intended to improve all aspects of the Greek community, the university announced today.
      Key to the program is a five-year strategic plan that addresses issues designed to increase membership, improve leadership within the organizations, foster academic excellence and encourage greater university and community service, said Vice President for Student Affairs Brad O'Hara.
      "Fraternities and sororities have tremendous potential to positively shape individuals while enhancing university life," O'Hara said. "The Southeastern Greek community is a valuable asset to our university and area organizations. As with all organizations, it's important to undergo evaluation and to analyze goals and performance. We know that our Greek membership has declined over the last several years, scholastic achievement is not at the level it should be, and we are in need of renewed leadership. We are conducing an overall assessment of our Greek organizations with the purpose of creating greater vision and direction."
      Calling Southeastern's 16 fraternities and sororities a "valuable resource for the local community," O'Hara said the organizations performed more than 8,500 hours of community service and donated approximately $16,000 to local charities last year. "In spite of some challenges, they perform a considerable amount of public service and charitable fund raising that we recognize and encourage," he said.
      A multi-faceted program called "Enhancing the Greek Community: A Partnership for Success" has been in development by Southeastern's Division of Student Affairs in concert with the fraternity and sorority councils, explained Jim McHodgkins, assistant dean of student development. 
      "Our goal is to create a Greek community that complements the university by improving student leadership and scholarship and increasing the level of service to Southeastern and the community," McHodgkins said.
      "The sorority community recognizes that there are several issues that we need to address as organizations," said Melissa Miller, president of the Panhellenic Council and a member of Theta Phi Alpha Sorority. "We realize that our focus has to be more on academic achievement and in developing new recruitment tactics to attract quality members to our organizations." 
      Helping to launch the effort will be nationally recognized consultant David Stollman of 
Philadelphia. Co-founder and partner of CampusSpeak, Inc., an agency that provides issues-based speakers and programs for college campuses, Stollman will be at Southeastern on Wednesday (February 12) to meet with university fraternity and sorority leadership and to provide a keynote address that evening. 
      Stollman's message to fraternities and sororities, McHodgkins said, is that Greek communities need to evolve to fit into today's campus environment. Recruitment methods need to address both issues of quantity and quality.  In his presentations, Stollman addresses issues such as risk management, hazing, and new member education as part of an overall approach to excellence.
      Kay Harrison, interim coordinator of student organizations, noted that Greek membership at Southeastern has declined by 31 percent, from a high of more than 750 members in fall 1999 to 518 members in fall 2002. 
      "Many of the issues that affect the Greek community can be traced to recruiting," she said. "Although we already conduct a number of educational initiatives with our fraternities and sororities, it's apparent they need the kind of expertise and refocusing that Mr. Stollman will impart."
      Harrison said Southeastern's program will include an accurate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each individual chapter with the intent that each group will develop a plan for proactive membership recruitment and organizational improvement.  
      "It's true that our Greek community probably has not done enough in the past few years to change things," said Desha Burton, president of the Pan-Hellenic Council and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. "This new plan should help all Greek organizations at Southeastern improve their chapters."
      Other proposed initiatives include:
     -- improving and enhancing programs designed to promote academic excellence among the Greek communities;
     -- developing a closer relationship with international and national parent organizations of Greek communities to share information and help maintain accountability on a chapter's progress; 
     -- identifying and educating alumni of Greek chapters who are willing to take a more active role in the revitalization of their chapters; 
     -- utilizing advisory teams rather than one advisor for each chapter;  
     -- encouraging chapter executives to share the leadership and educational training they receive from national organizations with their individual members; and
     -- developing a greater working relationship with community organizations to increase service opportunities for chapters.
      A key part of the strategic plan is an assessment that evaluates each chapter's progress in academics, university relations, community service, campus involvement and new member education. Called the "Five Star Assessment Program," the pilot initiative involves the six fraternities of the Interfraternity Council and establishes objective criteria on which each chapter will be evaluated. Corresponding rewards and incentives will implemented, ranging from a five-star ranking which will result in increased privileges to a one-star rating triggering social probation for one semester. If a chapter fails to improve its one-star rating, the university will remove its recognition of the organization.
      "This is one big step in the right direction," said Sean Lagarosse, president of the Interfraternity Council and a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. "The program will rate our chapters on several different aspects of Greek life. The ratings will be made public, so anyone interested in joining one of our fraternities will know how each chapter faired."
      He said the information will also provide valuable feedback to the chapters, enabling them to make changes necessary to become better organizations.
      "Our intent is to make our Greek organizations stronger by helping them evaluate their own organizations and by providing them with tools that will help them grow," O'Hara said. "We believe our chapters are motivated to improve and to evolve in a way that helps them address the different needs of today's college student."
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