Chapter Advisor Monthly Winter 2012, Issue 2
Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life Update Winter 2012 has been all about transition in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. The 2012 IFC and Panhellenic officers were installed into office at the end of January. MGC and NPHC recently concluded their 2012 elections and will transition the new officers within the upcoming weeks. Gamma Sigma Alpha, Order of Omega, and Rho Lambda have also been in the midst of officer transitions and goalsetting for 2012. Finally, OFSL lost a staff member at the end of January; Danny Miller accepted a job at Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity Headquarters in Indianapolis, IN.
Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta recolonized its Beta Pi chapter on Saturday, th February 4 . Since Delta Tau Delta has returned to campus and began recruitment efforts last fall, the fraternity has 73 members. Delta Tau Delta will work toward becoming a chartered chapter at Northwestern during the upcoming months. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life congratulates Delta Tau Delta on a successful colonization!
In this issue: MGC and NPHC Elections Delta Tau Delta Colonization Black History Month th MGC 10 Anniversary Staffing Changes Goal Setting Good Practices in Student Affairs Chi Psi Closing Important Dates & Upcoming Events If you have suggestions for future articles or topics, please contact Maggie Heffernan at margaretheffernan@northwestern.edu.
Delta Tau Delta Colonization; Hardin Hall, February 4th, 2012
Black History Month MGC and NPHC Election Results The Multicultural Greek Council held elections for the 2012 th board on Monday, February 13 . Congratulations to the following men and women on their election! Isabella Pasbakhsh, Sigma Lambda Gamma, President Allison Hung, Sigma Psi Zeta, VP Operations Zachary Kisfalusi, Omega Delta Phi, VP Programming Lucy Lui, Kappa Phi Lambda, VP Administration Alma Gallegos, Sigma Lambda Gamma, University Liaison The National Pan-Hellenic Council held elections for the th 2012 board on Monday, February 20 . Congratulations to the following men and women on their election! Juliana Singleton, Alpha Kappa Alpha, President Adam Jackson, Kappa Alpha Psi, Vice President Amanda Anumba, Zeta Phi Beta, Secretary Calvin Poku, Phi Beta Sigma, Treasurer Jasmine James, Delta Sigma Theta, University Liaison Newly elected officers will be officially installed into their positions on Tuesday, February 28th at 5:00 pm in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Levere Memorial Temple.
February is Black History Month; this month provides all students with an opportunity to celebrate the history and culture of African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history." This year, the Northwestern University community has done its part to celebrate the history and culture of African Americans. Fraternity and Sorority men and women sponsored many programs in recognition of the event including documentary screenings and discussions, programs on African American women’s health issues, quiz bowls, discussions on black radicalism, and a program on HIV and AIDS in the Black community. The fraternity and sorority community was well represented among the University’s Black History Month events and is continuing to acknowledge the diverse student body at Northwestern University.
Fraternity and Sorority Life Staff Changes After three and a half years as the Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Northwestern, Danny Miller left on Friday, th January 27 to pursue new opportunities. He accepted a position with Alpha Sigma Phi Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. During his time at Northwestern, Danny primarily worked with the Multicultural Greek Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council and he did some amazing and innovative things for the office and Northwestern students. Upon Danny’s departure, Dominic assumed the responsibility of advising the National Pan-Hellenic Council and Maggie now advises the Multicultural Greek Council. We thank Danny for his hard work and dedication over the past three and a half years and we wish him well in his new endeavor. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life is currently searching for a new Assistant Director; the job description is available on the Northwestern University website. Please contact the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life if you have specific questions regarding the position.
Chapter Goal Setting Adopted from Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors’ “Chapter Advisors Manual” Winter and spring quarters is a time of transition in many chapters as new officers are being elected and transitioned into their new positions. The shift in leadership presents chapter advisors with an exciting opportunity to reflect on the past year and work with new leaders to design a vision for the chapter’s future. Goal setting is critical to transitions and chapter advisors should consider setting some time aside with new officers to set clear and action-oriented goals for the future. Once chapter officers have had an opportunity to develop personal goals and develop consensus around the direction for their executive board or counsel, it is time to involve general members. The old quotation still rings true: “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” Undergraduate leaders are oftentimes so busy with the mundane, daily chores of leadership that they don’t take the time for proactive planning and goal setting. Some leadership teams set goals but fail to involve the entire membership, thus missing out on opportunities for the general members to get excited about reaching the chapter’s goals together. They also miss out on key leadership development opportunities through committee work aimed at the chapter’s goals. Help the chapter plan a goal setting session. Remember, people support what they help to create. Give the general members a chance to set the direction for the organization and help them build some personal pride in accomplishing group goals. You will be strengthening their chapter management and leadership skills. Below you will find a list of “best practices” associated with successful goal setting and some ideas for moving forward with your own advisory board as we get into a new year, the new chapter leaders, and general members.
Chapter Advisors should help guide the “goal-setting” discussion, but goals should be generated by chapter leaders and chapter members. Students are more likely to support an idea or work toward a goal when they feel a sense of ownership.
Utilize visual aids. Think about using posters to illustrate individual, council, and chapter goals. The visual representation helps some students better process their ideas and engage with the discussion.
Start with the individual. Chapter leaders can set personal goals specific to their position. Once everyone has some idea of their direction, the board can come together to generate a vision for the year ahead which helps align individual goals with the board’s overall priorities. Once the board has developed a vision, the chapter should have an opportunity to weigh-in, provide feedback, offer their own ideas, and develop a sense of buy-in for the future of the chapter.
Think about last year; it can be helpful when thinking about the year ahead to consider and reflect upon what went well during the previous term, what needs to stay, what needs to change, and where the chapter can focus their energies.
Set expectations. During your goal setting session, consider discussing expectations within the group; setting expectations can help with follow-through and accountability. What do you expect from chapter leaders? What do chapter leaders expect of you and your advisory board? What do leaders expect from one another? What do the leaders expect from general members? What do the general members expect from chapter officers?
Follow-up. It is important that goal-setting does not stop with officer transitions. Students should be held accountable to their goals. It is up to the chapter advisor to suggest or implement some type of accountability structure to check-in on individual officer’s progress. Advisors can also think about checking with on the chapter’s big-picture vision throughout the year to ensure the chapter is moving in a direction that is congruent with their values and initial goals.
Chapter Goal Setting, Cont. Be SMART in your goal setting. Encourage chapter members to create SMART goals in order to stay focused and ensure follow-through. Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six "W" questions: Who: Who is involved? What: What do I want to accomplish? Where: Identify a location. When: Establish a time frame. Which: Identify requirements and constraints. Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal. Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as......How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished? Attainable: When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals. You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Realistic: To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Timely: A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? "Someday" won't work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, "by May 1st", then you've set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal. Adapted from: Meyer, Paul J (2003). "What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals". Attitude Is Everything: If You Want to Succeed Above and Beyond. Meyer Resource Group, Incorporated, The.
Good Practices in Student Affairs Adopted from Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors’ “Chapter Advisors Manual” Today's context for higher education presents student affairs with many challenges. Among these are new technologies, changing student demographics, demands for greater accountability, concern about the increasing cost of higher education, and criticism of the moral and ethical climate on campuses. Institutions of higher learning are also influenced by social and political issues, including multiculturalism, personal responsibility, and equal opportunity. Fraternities and Sororities present an opportunity for student development within the world of Higher Education and Student Affairs; both campus and chapter advisors are both integral constituents within Student Affairs and should work together to ensure that their practices are aligned with proven principles in the field. These principles are a means to conducting learning-oriented student affairs work, based on extensive research about the impact of college on educational outcomes. They offer unambiguous, yet adaptable, guidelines for productive use of resources for learning. They intend to shape how we think about our responsibilities communicate our purposes to others, and engage students. Below is a condensed list of good practices within Student Affairs that chapter advisors are encouraged to consider incorporating into their work with students. 1. Engages students in active learning. 2. Helps students develop coherent values and ethical standards. 3. Sets and communicates high expectations for student learning. 4. Uses systematic inquiry to improve student and institutional performance. 5. Uses resources effectively to achieve institutional missions and goals. 6. Forges educational partnerships that advance student learning. 7. Builds supportive and inclusive communities. A complete description of each of these practices is available through ACPA, the American College Personnel Association and the following article: http://www.acpa.nche.edu/pgp/principle.htm.
MGC 10th Anniversary Celebration th
The Multicultural Greek Council celebrates its 10 Anniversary at Northwestern this year. MGC hosted a 10 year celebration on rd. February 23 The celebration brought students, alumni, and administrators together for an opportunity to recognize the growth of the council since 2002 and reflect on milestones in the council’s history. Ben Hernandez, member of Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. and 2005-2006 MGC President spoke at the banquet on the council’s history, his personal experiences with MGC, and the impact that the council has had on so many. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life congratulates MGC on 10 years and looks forward to the future!
AFLV The Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values (AFLV) hosted their annual Central Fraternal Leadership Conference in conjunction with their National Black Greek th th Leadership Conference February 9 -12 in St. Louis, Missouri. The coinciding events bring more than 2,000 fraternity and sorority leaders together for a unique networking, idea sharing, and leadership development opportunity. This year, Northwestern was able to send 19 community leaders to the conference; seven women from the Panhellenic executive board, seven men from the IFC executive board, two students recently elected to MGC, and three women from NPHC. The students spent three days in St. Louis connecting with one another and sharing ideas with students from across the mid-west.
The Northwestern University delegation at the CFL/NBGLC Closing Awards Banquet in St. Louis, Missouri on February 11th
During the closing banquet on Saturday night, MGC was recognized in six awards categories and was a finalist for “MGC Council of the Year”. MGC was recognized in three categories in 2011, we congratulate the students for their successes this year!
Chi Psi Chapter Closed Northwestern’s Chi Psi chapter was officially closed on th February 7 , 2012. The fraternity’s national Executive Council voted to close the chapter due to “an undergraduate experience incongruent with Fraternity values,” Brad Beskin, Chi Psi assistant executive director, wrote in his press release. The Epsilon Delta chapter was founded at Northwestern in 1892. Its local nickname, “Lodge,” stems from Chi Psi’s history as the first fraternity to have its own housing facility in 1846. With the chapter’s closing, all Lodge members become alumni and current new members are released from the fraternity and may now rush other fraternities. Northwestern’s Interfraternity Council issued the following statement on the chapter’s closing: "We are sad to see that Chi Psi National Headquarters has decided to close their Epsilon Delta chapter. The Northwestern Interfraternity Council prides itself on building a community that fosters maturity and leadership in the face of brotherhood. Our goal on this campus is to enrich the lives of Northwestern men so that they contribute to their own chapter, the rest of the Greek community, and the larger Northwestern community. Unfortunately, the series of choices this chapter has made has been incongruous with the ideals and goals put forth by IFC and by the greater Chi Psi National Headquarters. This is what ultimately led to Chi Psi Nationals taking the necessary steps to close this chapter. Above all, it is disappointing to realize that a chapter we supported at Northwestern was not a place where such fraternal ideals could be facilitated." Any questions or concerns regarding Chi Psi’s closing can be directed to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Important Dates and Upcoming Events It is important that chapter advisors are aware of what is going on within the fraternity and sorority community and the greater Northwestern campus community. Please encourage chapter members to participate in community events and attend relevant campus programming. If you have questions about a specific event, please contact an OFSL staff member or speak with your chapter president. As changes are made to this schedule, we will be sure to update advisors via future newsletters or email correspondence.
February 28th- MGC, NPHC, and Rho Lambda Officer Installation Ceremony March 3-5th- Northwestern University Dance Marathon March 12-16th- Final Exams March 17-25th- Spring Break March 26th- First day of classes for Spring Quarter April 10/11th- May 22nd-23rd- Greek Emerging Leaders Class (applications will be available in March) April 14-15th- Greek Leadership Retreat May 5th- Greek Scene (Annual NPHC Step Show)
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