The Update | February 25, 2020

The Update

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February 25, 2020

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Published

February 25, 2020

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Lorie Land

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, and CBS Philly report that Ari Goldstein, former president of Temple University’s Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, was convicted of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted sexual assault, and indecent assault on one woman and cleared of allegations in a separate incident that he forced himself on another woman. Goldstein was first arrested in May 2018. A month earlier, Temple suspended the fraternity after receiving "multiple credible reports from various sources alleging underage drinking, the excessive use of alcohol, possibly drugs and sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, during social activities at Alpha Epsilon Pi." In the fall of 2018, the Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter was removed from the university.

2020-2022 Board Service Information

One of the greatest ways a member can give back to the organization is through board service. There are three opportunities to serve on a Theta board. Grand Council is the governing body of the Fraternity, Fraternity Housing Corporation (FHC) board of directors oversees Kappa Alpha Theta’s college chapter housing strategy, and Foundation Trustees support Theta Foundation’s mission and needs. If you are interested in one of these three opportunities, submit the nomination form and interest indicator. The purpose of the nomination form is to alert the nominating committee chairmen of interested candidates. It can either be a self-nomination or a nomination for a Theta you believe would make a great board member. A nomination form is not required to be considered for service but will prompt the nominating committee chairmen to track the completeness of an interest indicator.

The interest indicator is the official application for board service. It must be completed to be considered for any of the three board service opportunities. The form is designed so that you may stop and start and do not need to complete it all in one setting. Per the recommendation of the 2018 Nominating Committee Task Force, this year three references (versus two in 2018) will be required and current board presidents may not serve as one of the three written references. A timeline of significant dates related to the nominating committee processes as well as other pertinent information can always be found on the Board Service page of the Theta website.

2020 Theta Foundation Scholarship Application Deadline

The 2020 Scholarship Application deadline is next Wednesday, March 4, at 6:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. CST/4:00 p.m. MST/3:00 p.m. PST. Please encourage applicants to ensure all application components, including both recommendations, are submitted before the deadline. If applicants have questions, they should review the application resources, including the Scholarships FAQ. Applicants may also contact Foundation Programs Manager Mary Kate Smith for more information.

Workforce Opportunity

Ashley Doot, college district director (CDD) in College District VI, is resigning. If you are interested in this role, please submit the Volunteer Interest Indicator. Feel free to share this opening with others who may be interested. Questions about the role and responsibilities can be forwarded to College Committee Chairman Laura Locke or Director of Collegiate Services Katharine Murphy.

Grand Convention Thank You!

A big thank you to all board members, former presidents, and workforce delegates who have made contributions to Theta to help offset the cost of Grand Convention 2020. Your generosity is much appreciated, and your gift will help us to make this the grandest of all Conventions!

Please remember, if you are attending Convention at Theta expense, your registration deadline is this Friday, February 28. Registration opens Monday, March 2, for non-delegates. Don’t forget to use the code THANKYOU to receive your $150 discount.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Webinars

Staff members have been participating in a monthly webinar series for National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations. These webinars have been recorded and are available to share with other volunteers and staff. Please review at your convenience and send any questions directly to Melissa Shaub, director of education & leadership, or to inclusion@KappaAlphaTheta.org. Descriptions of each webinar are below, and the webinar link includes access to recording as well as any additional resources shared.

Webinar 1: "Empowered women empower women" is a phrase that is used by many college Panhellenic women. How can we do this for all women if we do not understand and embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion? Where are we falling short? How can we do better? Vernã Meyer, VP of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix and Founder, The Vernā Myers Company, offered, "Diversity is inviting everyone to the party, inclusion is ensuring everyone is asked to dance." Equity is focused on recognizing systemic privilege and tackling barriers to accessibility. In this webinar, we discuss the upcoming DEI Institute, its purpose, and its approach. Additionally, we explore the meaning behind these three terms and how each shows up within NPC organization chapters on college campuses.
Webinar 2: Many NPC member groups have created positions within their officer structures to tackle diversity and inclusion. In some instances where the international organization has not identified a position, chapters and/or college Panhellenics have crafted expectations for themselves to do work in this area. With that said, what education are we providing to prepare individuals for their roles? What programming resources are we providing to support the officer and the chapter in their development? How are we assessing the needs of the chapter to engage in meaningful conversations? These are the questions that we tackle on this webinar as we provide recommendations for consideration.
Webinar 3: Chapters across the country engage in deferred or spring recruitment efforts. Most members discussed who they were looking forward to bringing into their sisterhood prior to the start. However, many Panhellenic communities fall short in discussing explicit and implicit bias. As humans, the research shows that we all have unconscious biases. Our brains take shortcuts based upon our experiences and environments. These shortcuts are not all bad, but they can prevent us from allowing others to bring their authentic selves to the table in recruiting and hosting potential new members (PNMs). Join us as we discuss how we provide resources and ensure our recruitment specialists are prepared to tackle these conversations with members. Bring your questions as we engage in a dialogue about tools we can provide to our collegians and advisors/alumnae in this area.