Question re IFC, NPC & alums

[33girl]

Is it possible for a college to have such a thing as an alumni IFC or alumni panhel, with members who are alums of the collegiate chapters at the school?

I ask about something like this to have a purpose as a) a voice for the chapters, who often are afraid to speak up since they are students and b) to make sure the IFC/Panhel advisors don't have their heads up their butts.

[PenguinTrax]

Both the NIC and NPC have alumni organizations that run independently from the college-based IFC and Panhell groups. The alumni organizations are city-wide, as Hootie indicated. They are available to assist the collegiate IFC/Panhell groups, but only when asked. The alumni groups play no official role on campus. Alumni IFC orgs are rare, while Alumnae Panhellenics are quite common.

I'm just stepping into the presidency of our local APH, after 2 years as VP. We want to have more input on the FSU campus, but we are satisfied with attending the weekly Panhell meetings and having a Panhell rep attend our monthly meetings. On critical issues (complaints during recruitment, etc.) we do meet directly with the Director of Greek Life. The intereaction between the Alumnae Panhellenic and Collegiate group is govered by NPC agreements.

The only alumnae that should be grouped together for the sole purpose of representing the interests of (only) the campus chapters should be the advisors who could, if circumstances warranted it, form a Campus Advisors Council. Since these men & women are directly involved with their chapters, their first-hand knowledge would be better suited to assist the chapters.

Barbara

[This message has been edited by PnguinTrax (edited June 08, 2001).]

[33girl]

Barbara, here's the deal. I'm an alum of a small state school. For the most part graduates leave the area when they are
finished, they do not stay around. The nearest "local" APH is 150 miles away. And most of the groups on campus are not represented on that APH.

As far as an advisors council, well there are a few problems with that: a)Most of the chapter advisors (who due to a dictate of the school, must be faculty members) are not alums of the groups they advise, if they are
Greek at all; b) Many of them advise "in name only"; c) Many of them just don't know what they are doing. Even if there were willing and able alumni/ae in the area, if they aren't faculty, they cannot be "official" advisors. This hurts because even though someone could serve on a chapter advisory board, the school really will only recognize the official advisor. As far as the IFC and PH advisors, "incompetent" would be too nice.

What I was envisioning is a group similar to the alumni association board of directors that basically keeps things in check, supports the system as a whole, makes sure NPC/NIC procedure is being followed, since the school refuses to hire anyone who knows their ear from their elbow. Do you know if there is anything in NPC/NIC policy to PREVENT the formation of a group such as this?

[Siobhan]

At UBC we have the VAPA - The Vancouver Alumnae Panhellenic Association. We help out the current panhel, have meetings, and have alumnae delegates from each of the sororities, even the ones that are no longer on the UBC campus. The VAPA helps with the organization of Rush, Panhel workshops, Send off Seniors, and they organized and hosted our first annual High School Forum for graduating students heading to university in the fall.

What is VAPA?
We are a non-profit organization of university alumnae supporting women in higher education by providing housing, scholarships, mentoring and networking. Our goal is to ensure that every woman has the most fulfilling and well-rounded university experience possible.
www.ams.ubc.ca/greek/forever_friends/index.html

[This message has been edited by Siobhan (edited June 08, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Siobhan (edited June 08, 2001).]