The Update | April 13, 2021

The Update

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April 13, 2021

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Published

April 13, 2021

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Lorie Land

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

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.

NPC Membership Meeting News

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.

Workforce Update

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.

Workforce Opportunity

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.

Volunteer Accountability Process

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.

ThetaConnect Quarterly Update

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:

Nearly 4,500 members have registered – 1,300 in Quarter 3 (January through March) alone! Of those, 27% are collegians and 73% are alumnae, 80% of whom are willing to help as a mentor or provide career advice.
In the last six months, 64% are return visitors, meaning they come back to log in and use ThetaConnect.
Members from 15 countries have logged in and created profiles.
There are now nearly 30 interest groups, including various affinity groups (such as Black/African American Thetas and LGTBQ+ Thetas) and new alumnae chapter groups.
You can now find videos showing how members can navigate ThetaConnect in the Resources area.
The number of job postings in the Job Board has increased (by more than 80!) and 12 new listings were added to the Business Directory.

Future tasks for the coming quarter include:

Starting a ThetaConnect Ambassador program, where ambassadors spend two months enhancing the platform.
Strategizing mentoring opportunities, including creating mentor programs later this year.
Connecting with group admins to see what assistance they need and to share ideas of how to make their groups more interactive.

Please email thetaconnect@kappaalphatheta.org with any questions regarding ThetaConnect.

Government Relations

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.

Education & Training News

Programs denoted by an asterisk (*) are made possible by a grant from Theta Foundation

We had over 1,300 participants in our officer training sessions held January through March! Thanks to everyone who helped make those training sessions possible.
* We are offering several StrengthQuest sessions open to ANY undergraduate member this month. There are several sessions students can sign up for (an email was sent at the end of March and registration links are posted in Theta Portal > Chapter Portal > Trainings > All members).
* The Virtual Emerging Leader Program will have a May and a June option for students. Dates and student registration links are in The Bulletin (Theta Portal > Chapter Portal > HQDocs > The Bulletin) for April.
* Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Training is ongoing. We have nearly 140 students and advisors registered to take it so far. We have 500 spots to use by the end of June.
* The Courageous Dialogue training will have one more session at the end of April for students. So far, 400 students and nearly 50 advisors have attended.
* Officer Leadership Summits are the new virtual leadership program that replaced our in-person Leadership Academy. The Officer Leadership Summit had 20 participants at our inaugural March session. We will offer a May and a June option as well. Registration links will be available to all officers.
Spring advisor training opportunities include

- Spring advisor onboarding will start next week (running through June)
- * Advisor StrengthQuest sessions will be announced via email later this week. Nine sessions are scheduled in May,.
- Membership development committee (MDC) training for advisors on April 25.
- * A Virtual Advisor Summit will be held in Late June. A save-the-date will be going out to advisors this week.

* Our monthly program for juniors/3^rd-year students, Junior Virtual Leadership Program, has 62 participants. Our last session will be Wednesday, April 14, and will focus on leading change and goal setting. Send questions about this program to Madison Cannon, assistant director of collegiate services.
* Our Young Alumnae Leadership Program will end later this month. The program covers topics from CliftonStrengths; diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI); coaching; advising; mental health; giving & receiving feedback; and change management.. Send questions about this program to Laura Stelsel, assistant director of alumnae engagement and/or Melissa Shaub, director of education and leadership.