In coverage published last week, Inside Higher Ed provided a review of the discussion within the sorority community about the potential revision of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) recruitment eligibility policy. The piece includes comment from NPC’s Dani Weatherford, who says that NPC will "continue to engage the larger Panhellenic community to look for ways to break down barriers in the recruitment process and make the community more inclusive."
As covered in The Toledo Blade and The Columbus Dispatch, an autopsy revealed that Stone Foltz, a student at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), died due to fatal alcohol intoxication. Both papers offered coverage of an announcement from BGSU that the university administration has permanently banned Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, the fraternity at which Foltz was a new member.
Additionally, as reported in CNBC, colleges and universities are increasingly announcing plans that students will be expected to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if they want to attend classes in person on campus next fall.
Last week
NBC News, The Toledo Blade, and The Columbus Dispatch covered the announcement from BGSU that it has charged the campus chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity with multiple student conduct violations following the death of Stone Foltz on March 7. Additionally, outlets such as The Columbus Dispatch also highlighted efforts by fraternity and sorority members in Ohio to rally support for anti-hazing legislation such as Collin’s Law.
No motion was put forth regarding the Panhellenic Recruitment Eligibility Policy during the NPC Annual Membership Meeting. Consequently, no discussion nor vote was held. NPC will release more details about meeting outcomes in the coming days.
The organizations that participated in the National Panhellenic Conference Annual Membership Meeting are united in advancing the sorority experience, reducing barriers to Panhellenic sisterhood and as we have done for than 118 years, creating supportive spaces for our members.
Please join Christine McDonald, recruitment committee chairman, in welcoming Julie Shepard Pickett, Gamma Chi/Fresno State to the committee. Julie is serving as a recruitment and Panhellenic district director (RPDD) in College District XII.
Alicia Lee, college district director (CDD) in College District IX, is resigning at the end of the spring term. If you or someone you know has a special interest/skill in supporting college chapters, please submit/encourage them to submit the Workforce Volunteer Interest Indicator in Theta Portal under Forms. Questions about the roles and responsibilities for the CDD role may be emailed to College Committee Chairman Mandy Womack or Director of Collegiate Services Katharine Murphy.
A new process has been created for staff and volunteer supervisors to support volunteers who are in need of a performance improvement plan. This process, called the Volunteer Accountability Process, was created as a result of the Plan of Aspirations (Aspiration 1, Goal 4, Objective 3: Focus on organization-wide accountability skills development) and includes a step-by-step plan with templates and responsible parties. The process and templates are in Igloo > Files > Resources > Volunteer Resources > Volunteer Accountability Process. Questions about the process can be sent to Laura Stelsel, assistant director of alumnae engagement.
Thanks to everyone who has joined ThetaConnect to network with other members, join and manage groups, post jobs, start discussions in the Feed, and more. If you haven’t signed up yet, we invite you to do so today! Many exciting things have happened since the July 2020 launch:
Future tasks for the coming quarter include:
Please email thetaconnect@kappaalphatheta.org with any questions regarding ThetaConnect.
In a continuing effort to learn more about Congressional representatives the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee (FSPAC) supports, you are invited to a free Zoom webinar tomorrow, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. EDT. This Zoom webinar is FREE. The topic is FSPAC Monthly Speaker Series Featuring Bipartisan Members of the Problem Solvers Caucus. Speakers will be Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1) and Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5). (Gottheimer is a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi.) Both serve as co-chairmen of their respective parties for the Problem Solvers Caucus. The caucus exists to bring Republicans and Democrats together to focus on common ground and common-sense solutions to our nation's biggest problems. It is a fundraiser for the FSPAC. This event is being held in conjunction with our virtual Capitol Hill visits April 13-15. Register in advance for this webinar. If you have any questions, please contact Director of Government Relations Laurie Connor.
Programs denoted by an asterisk (*) are made possible by a grant from Theta Foundation