Industry Update Provided by NPC

Week of July 24

The Wall Street Journal published a piece on sorority consultants, an industry emerging in recent years that sells tips and emotional support to women taking part in sorority recruitment. Trisha Addicks, owner of the sorority-consulting firm It’s All Greek to Me, said that she provides packages ranging from $600 to $3,500, and that includes advising on “the unspoken rules of Greek life,” such as what to wear, how to act, what to say, and social media tips. Dani Weatherford, National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) chief executive officer, was cited in the article, providing the context that last year, 125,000 women sought a spot in sororities at the 500 universities that provide data to NPC and between a quarter and a fifth of them either quit during recruitment or did not receive a bid.

Week of July 18

Refinery 29 published a story about Kaylee Farmer, a nonbinary student at Drake University, who found out that nonbinary students would no longer be allowed to rush sororities at Drake University in February 2022. Upon learning of the Drake College Panhellenic's inclusion of nonbinary students in recruitment, NPC worked with the Panhellenic and campus staff in 2021 to change their bylaw back to align with NPC policy. Additionally, Grant Sikes, a nonbinary student who went viral on TikTok while participating in Panhellenic recruitment at the University of Alabama, is quoted in the piece encouraging nonbinary students to keep pushing for inclusivity.

Fox News shared an opinion piece authored by the “Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters” of the University of Wyoming regarding their lawsuit against the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. The piece claims Title IX protects the decision of fraternities and sororities to be single-sex membership organizations and that members were blindsided by Kappa Kappa Gamma permitting a transgender woman to be a member.

Workforce Updates

Please join Recruitment Committee Chair Christine Klofanda McDonald in welcoming the following recruitment and Panhellenic district directors (RPDDs) to the recruitment committee: 

• Alyssa Franco, Gamma Iota/Kentucky - RPDD in College District VII
• McKenzie Jerman, Beta Omicron/Iowa - RPDD in College District XII
• Jess Stephens, Upsilon/Minnesota - RPDD in College District XV

Leadership Academy

Theta’s Leadership Academy returned this year for the first time since 2020! This program provides leadership education and development to those in elected college officer positions, with priority given to those whose roles impact belonging and group culture. Leadership Academy is a two-day program conducted over a weekend and is open to one officer from each college chapter. The program’s content is built to provide general leadership content for participants on topics such as building community, inclusive leadership, CliftonStrengths, and managing change. The program was hosted at Colorado School of Mines from July 21-23, and served more than 100 Theta officers. Our on-site team did an amazing job bringing this program to life. In addition to our staff on site, we'd like to thank College Committee Chair Mandy Womack and Risk Prevention Committee Chair Natalie Padron for their invaluable facilitation. Theta Foundation's support of leadership programs like Leadership Academy helps ensure our members have access to these programs without having to pay additional registration fees to attend.

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