Hayden Fay, President Sigma Nu Fraternity
Every year, Delta Theta undergoes an evaluation of its Chapter Life or what Sigma Nu calls the “Pursuit of Excellence Plan.” It covers:
Service and philanthropy
Campus leadership
Values congruent environments
Intellectual development
Candidate development
Brother development
Alumni development
Recruitment and manpower
Chapter operations
Governance and accountability
Each area is evaluated and awarded either an “excellent,” “very good,” “good,” “acceptable,” “fair,” “substandard”, or “poor.” Any rating less than “acceptable” is considered substandard, while anything more than “acceptable” is considered good to exemplary.
To obtain “Rock Chapter” status, Sigma Nu recognizes:
“The Rock Chapter Award honors collegiate chapters that have achieved excellence in all areas of chapter operations. To be granted the award, a chapter should be expected to attain an ideal state or a nearly perfect state across the range of these areas of fraternity operations.”
While we are still working towards obtaining “Rock Chapter” status, this was the first time in two years Delta Theta did not receive anything lower than an “acceptable” rating in any category.
Excellent
Delta Theta was deemed “excellent” in governance and accountability, the highest rating possible. The Chapter worked hard over the past year to update its by-laws for the purposes of transparency and accountability and then worked to maintain this high standard. It was a team effort, and we are proud of Delta Theta Chapter for its growth and look forward to its continued improvement over the coming year.
Very Good
Delta Theta received a “very good” in campus leadership, values congruent environment, intellectual development, and chapter operations.
Delta Theta was heavily involved on campus, and several brothers held leadership positions in various organizations on the Knox College campus. The Chapter has also maintained a strong relationship with the Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) Advisor and the connected campus office.
In terms of values congruent environments, which deals with chapter health and safety, Delta Theta did several things related to its event Risk Reduction policy. The Chapter also made every effort to attend campus events pertaining to health and wellness. To improve on this rating, the Chapter plans to sponsor a discussion on health and wellness with another organization on campus.
Academics are a priority in the Delta Theta chapter. The house bested a 3.00 GPA over the last two quarters. But we can do better. To improve on our good work, there are several changes we are looking to make. Our new Scholarship Chair is setting new goals, setting up study hours, and deciding on incentives for Brothers who have the best GPAs and for Brothers who make marked improvements. We are also working on defining “academic probation” and how we can assist members who struggle with academics.
As for chapter operations, Delta Theta record system is well-managed. Our Treasurer has worked tirelessly to update our financial system and plans to continue with some changes that should make collecting dues easier. The plan is to maintain a system that makes annual transitioning from one treasurer to the next easier.
Good
Brother development is supported by Sigma Nu’s LEAD Program. LEAD is Sigma Nu’s award-winning ethical leadership development program. The LEAD Program is a tool to assist the Chapter membership in both “gaining the knowledge and developing the skills and abilities needed to be an effective and ethical leader for life. The LEAD Program is a comprehensive ethical leadership development program designed to ensure participants ” ‘learn by doing.’”
Delta Theta LEAD sessions covered leadership, goal-setting, and other important skills. While we had a few guest facilitators, we need more, including from our alumni, to improve the program. The Chapter has also worked hard to improve how officers transition their duties from the outgoing officer to the incoming officer. Each position now has a dedicated transition meeting in which the outgoing officer gives the incoming officer any pertinent documents and advice, as well as explains in greater detail the responsibilities and common problems the new officer will be expected to handle.
Delta Theta received a “good” for recruitment and manpower. The Chapter has a written recruitment plan and hosts a chapter recruitment skills workshop before formal recruitment. The Chapter expects at least one new member in the fall and is planning for a new class of brothers in the spring.
Acceptable
Delta Theta received an “acceptable” rating for its service and philanthropy, as well as candidate development and alumni development.
For philanthropy and service, the Chapter had more than six hours of community service per member and held both philanthropy and service events. The Chapter also supported a local non-profit organization. However, to improve, we plan to incorporate more reflection about the events we host as well as to sponsor more events with organizations on campus, specifically other Greek Life organizations.
For candidate development, the Chapter has a solid Candidate Education program it follows. However, the Chapter was dilatory in its completion of one component, CommunityEdu, which is a short course on everything Greek Life that all candidates need to complete. Rather than ask candidates to complete it on their own time, the plan is to have everyone do it at the same time together with the Marshall or Candidate education officer.
As to alumni development, we have lines of communication with the alumni and are working on strengthening those bonds. The Chapter is planning to expand these communication lines through periodic alumni contact and newsletters.
In conclusion, Delta Theta owes a massive “Thank you” to its team of advisors as well as to the Campus Life office for their support in helping us improve ourselves. Our growth is a testament to the considerable effort everyone in the Chapter made over the past year. We are confident that we will continue to build on this foundation and be able to excel over the coming years. We also believe we can obtain “Rock Chapter,” demonstrating excellence in all areas of chapter operations.