From the NPC Chair: NPC State of the Conference Update

 Dear friends,

The Annual Membership Meeting of NPC was held on March 23, 2024 in Carmel, Indiana. As part of that meeting, Dani Weatherford, CEO, and I delivered a State of the Conference report on behalf of the NPC Board of Directors to the Council of Delegates. In our report, we shared the work we have conducted to support the Strategic Framework’s two objectives: 

Growing our Panhellenic communities and, 

Championing the sorority experience.  

I pointed to the similarities and differences in our member organizations based on the history of when each joined the Conference, our focus on supporting growth without harming our communities, the need for continued sharing of data to drive informed decision making, and insights that the Culturati research data is providing us that can drive changes to resonate with this generation and future generations.  

Dani Weatherford provided insights into new projects coming online for NPC over the next several months.  Among them, she pointed to a continued interest in connecting the data from our recruitment registration on campuses to the larger data warehouse from NPC.  Additionally, she shared successes from the campus-based digital marketing program market segmentation along with recent advocacy efforts by NPC staff and partners.

A recording of this report is available here.

In addition to the State of the Conference, the Council of Delegates voted on policy legislation, approved the Council of Delegates manual and elected a nominating committee to oversee the 2025-27 NPC Board of Directors election process. 

I want to thank the Council of Delegates for their thoughtful discussions throughout this year as well as the NPC staff for all of their work in preparing and implementing the outcomes from these meetings.

Panhellenically,

Kelly Beck

2023-25 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: Welcome Spring Semester!

Dear friends,

How is it February already? I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season and time with their loved ones. We are well into the spring semester now, and recruitment on our campuses is well underway. This spring, our marketing coaches are working with more than 70 campuses with a goal to increase recruitment registration. This work is mid-way through the cycle, with coaching starting back in early December and running through each school's Bid Day (happening through the end of February). We look forward to sharing updates and results with the NPC family once Release Figure Methodology (RFM) are finalized in late spring, with a full webinar for semester results in early April. We wish all of our campuses a successful recruitment season!

Just a few weeks ago, the National Panhellenic Conference hosted our annual College Panhellenic Academy weekend, during which nearly 300 College Panhellenic officers and fraternity/sorority advisors met in Indianapolis to enhance their knowledge of College Panhellenic operations and how they can continue to grow their communities.  While there, they also participated in a case study competition featuring a fictionalized campus with a College Panhellenic in crisis, learned from a keynote speaker about resiliency and continued to develop their leadership skills. The feedback was positive; as one woman put it: “My biggest takeaway is that by having consistency and structure within my Panhellenic organization, I can excel in my position and create strong relationships with the other members of the Panhellenic community.” If you weren’t able to join us this year, we hope to see your campus participate next January.

As we look ahead to warmer weather, new leaves on the trees and flowers blooming, there are a few dates we want to highlight as well. As you may know, February is the Month of the Scholar. We love hearing your stories of scholarship and academic achievements, for yourselves as individuals and your chapters as a whole. Don’t miss your opportunity to be featured on NPC social platforms - send us your stories! Emma Austin, marketing specialist, is looking forward to featuring your stories of sorority scholars, so send them her way: emmaaustin@npcwomen.org. 

March is Women’s History Month. What better way to celebrate women than to wear your badge on International Badge Day, which is Monday, March 4, 2024! This is one of my favorite events, as all sorority members throughout the world, collegiate and alumnae, wear their badges and show their pride in our shared sisterhood. Hopefully the wearing of your badge sparks a conversation with someone not familiar with sorority life and provides an opportunity for you to share more about the benefits of membership. NPC will be distributing a toolkit for member organizations to use in promoting and amplifying the message as well.

Also, don’t miss the deadline for applying for an NPC Foundation scholarship; it’s March 10th. They will award five scholarships to outstanding Panhellenic women for the 2024-25 academic year. To apply, all you need to do is answer a brief essay question, upload your resume and provide two letters of recommendation. You can submit your materials through the NPC Foundation scholarship application. Good luck!

Lastly, in April, many of our Alumnae Panhellenics will be hosting their annual scholarship luncheons, when they will recognize women in their area for their academic achievements and pursuits. These events are one of the hallmarks of our Alumnae Panhellenic programming and provides our members with another way to continue to demonstrate their commitment to the sorority experience and our future women leaders. Thank you to all the alumnae who work tirelessly to fundraise, review scholarships and organize events to recognize our collegiate members.

For those of you graduating this spring, we want you to remember that your membership in your organization is for a lifetime. I encourage you to seek out an alumnae chapter once you’re settled in wherever your post-graduate endeavors take you. If there isn’t one in your area, maybe you start one! Reach out to your national headquarters and they will gladly help you get connected. I would also encourage you to explore opportunities for continued leadership and service in a volunteer capacity both within your member organization or within the National Panhellenic Conference. 

We’re always looking for good women who want to give back to our College Panhellenics to further this experience for more young women. And if none of those opportunities seem to fit your life right now, getting together with chapter sisters, reading your magazine and supporting your collegiate chapter are also great ways to remain connected. Regardless of the path you choose, the most important part is that you stay involved. I often hear women say, “I was in a sorority when I was in college." You ARE a sorority woman, even after college! Who knows, maybe you’ll be a future national president of your member organization or serve on the NPC Board of Directors! There are so many opportunities just waiting for you.

Wishing you all a wonderful semester! 

Kelly Beck

2023-25 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: Holiday Thanks!

 Dear friends,

It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the end of 2023. I feel as though the year has flown by! As I reflect on this year, I am grateful for our Panhellenic community. We have worked together to strengthen the sorority experience and our member organizations. A few accomplishments worth noting include:

• Total Method Setting Team- The Council of Delegates voted in the spring to pilot a new way of setting total on our college campuses. Our sorority community mobilized quickly to get this pilot started in the fall and we have learned a lot in the process, which we will apply to this spring. I want to thank those on the Total Method Setting Team and those on the RFM Team who also jumped in to support this initiative. They worked quickly and invested many hours to make this successful. We appreciate their time away from family and friends to support our communities.
• Digital Marketing Campuses-  Our marketing coaches worked with more than 100 campuses experiencing challenges in recruitment registration this fall. As a result of that support, those campuses experienced a 13.69% increase in registration. This is in comparison to last year when that same group of campuses was down 19%. When our community works together strategically, we see outstanding results.
• Annual Conference-  Nearly 200 leaders from our 26 organizations gathered in Texas for fellowship, learning and strategic discussions. While we were together, TCU welcomed us to their campus for a fun evening of touring their Greek village and dinner in the Legends Club overlooking the beautiful stadium.

This work could not have been accomplished without our dedicated staff, passionate volunteers, committed fraternity and sorority professionals and enthusiastic sorority women! We know the value membership in our organizations provides and our ability to collaborate and work together allows us to continue our vision of advancing the sorority experience together.

As you celebrate the holiday season, I hope it will be filled with moments of reflection and cherished time with loved ones. May the spirit of sisterhood fill you with joy and peace. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Panhellenically yours,

Kelly Beck

2023-24 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: 2023 Annual Conference

Dear friends,

Fall is finally here in most parts of the country, although it seems in some places, we are bouncing between late summer and fall. And while the seasons are in flux, our campuses are more than halfway through the fall semester and already starting to plan for the spring. My, how the time flies by!

Just a few weeks ago, the NPC board of directors and staff welcomed more than 170 member organization leaders, partners and other guests as we hosted our Annual Conference in Dallas. As I shared with the attendees: “One hundred and twenty-one years ago, nine member organizations came together to formally create the National Panhellenic Conference. They were focused on creating standards that all sororities would adhere to, along with fostering cooperation and mutual assistance. As we gather this week, let us embrace the continued spirit this Conference was founded upon, which has and will continue to play an integral role in navigating our path forward together.” I am pleased (but not surprised) to say, that as I connected with old friends and met many new Panhellenic sisters, I could feel the desire of all attendees to work together to advance the sorority experience. 

Attendees had the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers during several large group sessions. We opened with our higher education panel discussion entitled Promoting the Women’s Only Experience: Lessons from Women’s College Admissions, which included marketing and enrollment professionals from women’s-only colleges and universities.

The panel explored the parallels between NPC member organizations and their schools in how they approach the recruitment and retention of today’s young women. As one panelist shared: “When you educate a woman, you empower the world”. Today’s young women are looking for connections with other women who can lift them up and help them build strong networks that will benefit them long after they have left college. 

Our second speaker was attorney Toby Eveland, managing partner for Saul Ewing LLP’s Chicago office. Toby shared several recent campus situations that impact our industry, especially those that may harm freedom of association.

Our second panel discussion, What’s Happening on the Ground? Thoughts from College Panhellenic Officers and Advisors, was comprised of College Panhellenic presidents and their fraternity/sorority advisors from Southern Methodist University, the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Texas at Arlington. These women shared their insights on recruitment, marketing and the impact of NPC policies on their campuses. They were open and honest about the successes and challenges they face on their campuses today. 

Our final speaker was Chris Smith of Smith Insights. Chris presented during last year’s conference and returned this year to provide an update on the project he has been working on for NPC regarding analysis of recruitment and membership data and trends. Chris shared insights related to the timing of recruitment registration, the number of women signed up, and overall member organization trends regarding recruitment and retention. Each member organization was provided with its own data to better understand how they are performing as it relates to structured recruitment and COB.

A luncheon was held to recognize the recipients of several NPC Awards and their service to the sorority community. We wrapped up the conference with a visit to Texas Christian University (TCU), where attendees could tour the sorority houses in Worth Hills Greek Village and enjoy dinner in the Legends Club overlooking the TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium. NPC thanks TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. for hosting us and providing a wonderful evening full of Panhellenic spirit and fun.

Following the Annual Conference, a meeting of the Council of Delegates was held. Delegates voted to amend Unanimous Agreements and several NPC College Panhellenic policies. Jen Daurora, chair of the Total Method Setting Team (TMST), joined the meeting as the Delegates discussed total setting and key indicators of success for the current pilot.

The TMST has been partnering with campuses this fall in determining the best method of setting total on each campus, factoring in unique campus attributes and data points within the community. In the spring, this process will be simplified because College Panhellenics will no longer need to vote on the total method. This is an “all hands on deck” effort and I am grateful for the time and energy our TMST team members have, and continue to, provide. I am also thankful to our member organizations for sharing their talent with NPC. 

Overall feedback on this year’s Annual Conference has been positive and individuals expressed their gratitude for changes made in the overall schedule and, more importantly, the quality of speakers and information shared. The Annual Conference provides leaders of our organizations time to establish new relationships and deepen existing ones. I always feel energized after spending time with my Panhellenic sisters discussing our positive impact on today’s college women and future generations.

As we now turn towards a season of thanksgiving, I want to take this moment to say thank you to each of you reading this letter. You are a vital part of our community and your dedication to ensuring the Panhellenic spirit continues and grows is greatly appreciated. 

Panhellenically yours,

Kelly Beck

2023-24 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: Back to School Updates

 Dear friends,

While we’re still in the throes of summer, our campuses are coming alive as our collegians return to campus during the next few weeks. Back-to-school activities and recruitment work weeks are filling up calendars as our member organizations prepare to grow their chapters and welcome new members this fall. The summer hasn’t slowed NPC’s marketing to connect young women with sorority recruitment.
 
NPC's marketing coaches kicked off our Fall campus marketing campaign in late spring, working with more than 100 campuses to target social media advertising at incoming and unaffiliated women and encourage them to register for recruitment.  Ads started running as early as July 10th on Snapchat, mostly. These ads are designed with imagery highlighting the local campus and current sorority members. This is the third semester of this marketing campaign, and it is gaining momentum. Additionally, for the first time, we are able to connect women responding to our national marketing campaign directly to the College Panhellenics to begin the registration process!
 
We are also continuing our partnership with Her Campus, a media platform that connects college women with native content written by college-aged women. Together we developed an article about the sorority experience, which is available for use by any NPC member organization. Throughout this month, seven select social media influencers in the Her Campus trendsetter network are promoting their own content, that highlights their own experiences as sorority women and offers recruitment advice to potential new members. This content will be promoted on social media channels and used in social media advertising nationally.
 
In addition to our marketing efforts, the Council of Delegates passed a resolution last spring to pilot a team approach to total setting, thus creating the Total Method Setting Team. This team is focused on promoting healthy Panhellenic communities while maximizing opportunities for women to join our member organizations. They have adopted a centralized, data-driven approach that also factors in unique campus situations and member organization information in identifying the best total setting method to be used on each campus.

This team has been hard at work preparing: developing methods and decision-making trees, gathering feedback and connecting with our fraternity/sorority advisors, College Panhellenics and NPC volunteers that will support this work. The team’s guiding principle is to “Do the Next Right Thing” and is taking actionable steps this term to support community health. I’m encouraged to see the Panhellenic spirit alive and well with this work.
 
Back to school is always a fun and exciting time. Next year, I’ll get to participate in it myself when my son starts his college journey. As we’ve been touring college campuses, one of his questions is always learning more about Greek life. My son has grown up around the sorority experience and has attended a few sorority conventions, so he’s seen first-hand the impact this experience has had on me personally. I hope each of you reading this message also shares your personal stories far and wide, including on social media. If you have a few minutes, I’d love for you to answer one of these questions on your social media platforms:
 

Why is sisterhood so important to you?
How has being in a sorority affected your college experience?
How has being in a sorority affected your experience after graduation?

 
Be sure to include tag @thesororitylife as well so your message can reach beyond your network. We would love to share your experience with women interested in sorority membership. I can’t wait to see the responses!

Best of luck to all of our college panhellenics this fall!



Interfraternally,






Kelly Beck
2023-24 NPC chair

 Dear friends,

As I reflect on the past four years as director and last two years as chair for the National Panhellenic Conference, I think about the people who inspire me and the commitment of NPC staff and volunteers, and the many staff and volunteers in our 26-member organizations, who do the hard work to ensure that our member organizations stay relevant for the thousands of women who are sorority members now and in the future. I continue to be amazed by sorority women and their resilience and determination in working to find solutions to issues while living their values through their special sisterhood in their own member organizations.

While our industry has had many challenges during the past few years with the pandemic and enrollment challenges in many parts of the country, housing issues, and ultimately declining membership for some, it is worthwhile to note that NPC has shifted its focus to increase direct marketing and advocacy efforts to help increase the pipeline of potential new members. I am optimistic about our progress and the work that continues to be accomplished into the next biennium.

On a personal note, I want to thank the women I have served with during the past two years. These are incredibly dedicated women who believe in the Panhellenic spirit to serve for the good of all past, present and future sorority women.

• Laura Doerre
• Jen Daurora
• Helen Lahrman
• Patty O’Neill
• Laura Sweet
• Leslie Williams

On behalf of all of us, we thank the Conference for their trust in us to focus on the timely needs of the day and to ensure that the resources of the Conference are directed in the appropriate manner. We also want to give a special shout-out to the NPC staff under the direction of CEO Dani Weatherford. Her unwavering leadership of the NPC team continues to amaze us all with her depth of knowledge and relationships throughout the industry, as well as the ability to put in motion the strategic framework that is at the core of our strategic direction toward growth.

I will not lie, there have been some tough times with intense conversations on the issues that keep us all up at night, but ultimately, I realize the goal of all sorority women, especially those in leadership positions, is to ensure that we are here for future generations so that they too can experience the joy of belonging and sisterhood that we have all had the pleasure to experience.

As I leave board service, I know NPC is in great hands, as there are talented women who will be serving in the next biennium and are committed to serving the needs of the Conference and ensuring that the sorority experience remains alive and well into the future.

Interfraternally,






Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: State of the Conference

Dear friends,

During the recent NPC Annual Membership Meeting held April 29 in Carmel, Indiana, NPC Chair Cheri M. De Jong and NPC CEO Dani Weatherford, J.D., shared a State of the Conference report on behalf of the NPC Board of Directors with the Council of Delegates. Following the event, they recorded a video version of the report so all NPC family members and stakeholders could hear the message.

In the State of the Conference report, De Jong’s portion focuses on noting the board’s strategic framework which includes:

• Growing our Panhellenic communities
• Championing the sorority experience

She outlines membership trends, the challenges many member organizations face with declining enrollment and the board’s role in supporting staff. Additionally, De Jong addressed the upcoming leadership transition as the biennium comes to a close at the end of June.

Weatherford then reports on many strategic framework initiatives over the past year, noting detailed analysis and results from the campus-based digital marketing campaigns to an overview of the national marketing campaign with Carnegie. She also reports on the data analysis program and ongoing efforts of campuses looking at alternative recruitment models.

You can watch the recording of the State of the Conference here.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: Making an impact through NPC board service

It is the start of a new year and the perfect time to start fresh and re-focus. One of the things ​​​​​I think about and consider is how I am spending my time and making an impact in the various things I may be doing. As we approach the next cycle of NPC board service for 2023-25, I have been reflecting on my board service over the last two biennia—first as a director from 2019-21 and then as chair from 2021-23—and want to share how exceptional and unique my service has been on the NPC Board of Directors.

As one of the first board members to serve in our new governance model, it has been challenging and stimulating to be part of the change occurring in this organization. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, there was a need for strategic thinking on how to get through the crisis and ensure that our member organizations could still recruit and Panhellenics could function on our college campuses. Over the years, our board has also addressed many other issues impacting the future of sorority and the health of our Panhellenic communities—declining college enrollment, anti-sorority activism and freedom of association concerns, just to name a few.

Being a part of the NPC Board of Directors has taught me to look at the bigger picture of sorority life rather than just my own member organization leadership experience. The sorority experience looks very much the same for many of us, but the future holds numerous changes in student demographics and diversity, college life, educational systems and how our students view our member organizations. Technology and people are changing at a swift pace. NPC’s vision of advancing the sorority experience together is one that the board takes very seriously, and it truly is the mantra we look to as we meet, discuss, debate and decide on various topics and issues. 

Throughout, our board teams have worked together to make sure that NPC financial and people resources were deployed in a way to impact all of our member organizations for the better. I am so very proud of the women I have served with as a member of two different board teams. Working with our amazing CEO, Dani Weatherford, and the NPC staff and volunteers has been absolutely amazing, knowing that we are here making a difference. 

Serving as an NPC director offers a special opportunity to work with Panhellenic sisters as part of a governing board overseeing many facets that affect our member organizations and our collegiate and alumnae members. I ask you all to consider this exceptional opportunity, whether for yourself if you are an alumna or to share with others who would think and work in the panhellenic spirit to advance the sorority experience together. Review the NPC board service webpage and fill out the interest form as part of the beginning of the nomination process. 

Thank you for considering a rewarding and worthwhile board service opportunity.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: NPC's strategic framework guides our vital work

Dear friends,

I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe another year has passed and that 2022 has just a few weeks left! As we approach the end of the year and the holiday season, may we all treasure the time with family and friends. This will most likely include lots of food and other festivities! The new year will be upon us soon; for me, it is always a time of reflection.

This past year has been busy, as I am sure it has been for many of you. Finding time to reflect on the past year and assess the good times and perhaps not-so-great times will help us as we look toward 2023 to set goals and determine how we want to proceed in areas such as our careers and family matters, as well as volunteering. As this message goes out to the broader NPC family, we are all engaged in promoting the sorority experience through our work or volunteerism. Take some time to look back on this past year to see if there are areas that need continued work and development and if so, make a strategic effort to plan in 2023 to address those issues.

As NPC chair, I know our work is never done. The NPC Board of Directors continues to evaluate and assess our progress for our strategic framework in the areas of growing our Panhellenic communities and championing the sorority experience. In the new year, NPC will continue its work and report to our stakeholders the progress made during these past six months and our plans for the remainder of the fiscal year. 

The board knows the importance of this work and how we are impacting the sorority experience through promotion and marketing to attract and recruit more women so they may join our member organizations. We also know the important work our NPC volunteers and staff are doing to better analyze our recruitment data, deliver marketing and recruitment education for College and Alumnae Panhellenics, help College Panhellenics use the best recruitment style for their communities, and reduce barriers to joining for more women.

Across all our efforts, we are committed to spending our resources most efficiently and effectively in our growth and advocacy efforts. That is our continued goal as we look to 2023.

As I reflect on the past year and look to 2023, I strive to live up to the many expectations others have of me in this role. I aim to work with the rest of the NPC Board of Directors and staff as a team to ensure the success of our vital work. 

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chair

From the NPC Chair: Giving thanks for those who make a difference in the lives of others

Dear friends,

November—the month of Thanksgiving in the United States. As I ponder the meaning of Thanksgiving and giving thanks to others, I immediately think of the mentors I had during my collegiate years that I gained through my sorority experience. I am sure many of us can identify those in our life who have truly made a difference in who we are, what we value, and how we live our lives today. I challenge you right now to think of those who have made a difference in your life and simply thank them! 

My sorority experience has impacted my life tremendously. I would not be the woman, mother, grandmother or businesswoman I am today if not for that experience. I grew as a leader and gained the confidence to follow my dreams. I also acquired my many sorority sisters, and now Panhellenic sisters, that are indeed the best friends one could have. That is what the sorority experience is about for many of us. 

As chair of NPC, I see many women making a difference in the lives of sorority women. First and foremost, I want to thank our NPC staff who go above and beyond to foster NPC's mission of being the premier advocacy and support organization for the advancement of the sorority experience. They help to guide, educate and train our College and Alumnae Panhellenics, work with our many NPC volunteers, and champion and defend the sorority experience on behalf of our member organizations.

There are also so many NPC volunteers to thank! These individuals volunteer their time and talents to NPC to work with our collegiate and alumnae members. As you look around at the people with whom you interact with consistently, thank the volunteers around you—they are helping our collegiate members make wiser decisions, grow in their leadership, and even provide mentorship to others in their chapters. There are also those that work with our Alumnae Panhellenics that help our alumnae members continue their sorority experience beyond college.

In just a few weeks, many of us will celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving with our families and friends. Let us all reflect on this past year and consider those who have impacted our lives. I hope you will all join me in celebrating—not just during this time of Thanksgiving but also all throughout the year—the many women who work tirelessly to advance the sorority experience.

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and quality time with your families and friends.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC chair

From the NPC Chair: Member Organizations Gather for Fall NPC Annual Conference

Dear friends,

NPC Chair Cheri De Jong
welcomes attendees.

Fall is definitely in the air with our enjoyment of autumn leaves and all their colors and the cooler temperatures. While our collegiate members have been engaged with more normal college activities this fall, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) also returned to our regular fall schedule when the leadership of our member organizations and NPC gathered together in Indianapolis for our Annual Conference just a few weeks ago. 

I want to give you all a quick recap of the Annual Conference so you can know more about the work of NPC, driven by our strategic framework, and the discussions NPC and member organization leaders are having together about overcoming challenges and improving our experience. 

Our kick-off speaker, Chris Smith, is helping the NPC Board of Directors address our strategic priority of gathering and analyzing data—an area we are investing in to aid in decision-making. Chris is a proud member of Alpha Tau Omega and a long-time staff leader of that organization. In 2019, Chris started his own data consulting company, Smith Insights, and he has built a history of leveraging membership data into metrics for organizational success. NPC has now partnered with Chris on a year-long project to review and analyze data that we currently have in order to provide recommendations regarding growth strategies and policies, what data we still need and how to get it, and how to develop a storage and reporting system that will prove helpful for years into the future. 

Chris reviewed some fascinating recruitment-related data and he presented the results of his analysis that point to the campuses having the most success and the greatest challenges. This information will be very helpful in making future decisions for NPC and our member organizations.

Our keynote speaker on Friday was Jeff Selingo who is frequently called on to present on trends and the future of higher education. Jeff has written about higher education for more than two decades and is a New York Times bestselling author of three books. His newsletter on all things higher education, titled Next, is also widely read, including within our community. (For more about Jeff Selingo, including access to his higher ed resources, newsletter and podcast, please visit his website.)

​​​​As both an observer of higher ed and an insider with an academic appointment at one of the largest universities in the country, Jeff occupies a unique position to explain the intersection of work, life and learning. He shared with us his observations on the future of higher education and work, enrollment trends, and what today’s and tomorrow’s students expect from their college experience. He also shared a great deal of information about our college communities and provided us with much food for thought as our organizations strive to deliver a meaningful and relevant experience to all our members. 

Our Higher Education Trends Panel, sponsored by the NPC Foundation’s Alpha Gamma Delta Higher Education Trends Panel Fund, consisted of the following panelists: 

• Dr. Kathy Adams Reister, associate vice president for student affairs & executive associate dean of students at Indiana University-Bloomington;
• Dr. Laura Blake Jones, dean of students at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor;
• JC Lopez, dean of student success at DePauw University; and
• Dr. Alexander Miller, vice president for student life at Denison University.​​​​​​

​​​​Panelists discussed everything from the challenges they see Panhellenic women encountering, recruitment issues and the relevancy of the sorority experience to how to best partner with campus personnel and faculty to how their institutions are approaching student health and wellness. Their insight helps us know more about what our campus communities are seeing and how our member organizations can work together with administrators to deliver the best possible sorority and college experience to our members.​​​​

We also heard from Heather Matthews who is well-known to our Panhellenic community. For more than 15 years, Heather has been working with both sororities and fraternities to build and implement impactful communication strategies. She has served her member organization, Zeta Tau Alpha. Heather has also served as chief communications officer for both the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and Sigma Phi Epsilon, and she recently began her own consultancy. Heather joined us to review the digital marketing campaign she helped direct for NPC during fall 2022. That campaign is also a strategic initiative for NPC and a large financial investment in growing our Panhellenic communities and championing the sorority experience. 

Heather oversaw the campaign to provide direct marketing support, in the form of one-on-one marketing coaching and marketing grants, to more than 230 College Panhellenics this fall. During her presentation, she shared the strategy and tactics within the campaign, outcomes, lessons learned and recommendations to date, and she will present a final report to NPC in mid-November when the fall campaign is officially complete.

Annual Conference attendees listen to a keynote speaker.

Our final session was our Conference Conversation. Our board and staff have been listening closely during the past several months as many member organization leaders have shared with us the challenges our organizations are facing. The Conference Conversation offered a chance for these leaders to also talk directly to each other in a large setting group to share information with and gather insight about what might be next steps for our organizations. Together, they discussed the difficulties they are facing with sorority housing, barriers to membership growth, and how organizations partner together during situations of college/university overreach.

Overall, the Annual Conference provided a terrific setting to get to know many new faces within the leadership of our organizations as well as to have strategic discussions regarding the most pressing issues that face us as a Panhellenic community and how we can continue to advance the sorority experience together. 

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chair

5 Quick Fixes for Your Recruitment Marketing

This summer, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) has been working with more than 200 College Panhellenic Associations to boost their recruitment marketing efforts. As we’ve worked with them, we’ve identified some things that are holding back their recruitment marketing efforts–and that could be holding back yours, too. Here’s part of what we’ve learned and five quick fixes for your recruitment marketing for every Panhellenic:

1. Put your Recruitment registration link and deadline EVERYWHERE.

If potential members wanted to join a Panhellenic sorority on your campus, could they find information on how to do that? If you google “sorority recruitment at [name of your campus]?” what comes up? Your recruitment registration link and the deadline to register should be everywhere online and on campus (where permissible). 

Check and update:

• Your college/university’s Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL) website. Coordinate with your fraternity/sorority advisor if your Panhellenic officers do not have access.
• Your Panhellenic’s social media accounts. If you’ve already posted once about the links and deadlines, keep posting. You need to share this information repeatedly to ensure it stays at the top of your feed.
• Your Panhellenic webpage. If your Panhellenic maintains a separate website from the FSL site, make sure your recruitment registration link and deadline are listed here, too.
• Chapter websites and social media. The sorority chapters on your campus also play a role in promoting the sorority experience. They should be able to post about when Panhellenic recruitment will be held, what the registration deadline is, and how to register. Encourage chapter members to share individually, too!

2. Share recruitment event dates.

If potential members can find your recruitment registration link, can they identify when recruitment registration ends? When recruitment orientation is? When each round, preference and Bid Day will be held? Provide as much information as possible so potential members can plan ahead and mark their calendars so they don’t miss out on any part of the recruitment process!

3. Be clear about PNM expectations.

Do you offer multiple orientation sessions and do potential new members (PNMs) need only attend one? Do they need to register for recruitment before they attend orientation or after? Is orientation required? If you host a partially structured recruitment, have you explained to PNMs what events they are expected to attend prior to when invitational rounds begin? Be sure to spell out PNM expectations on your website and social media so they don’t miss a critical part of the process and, therefore, miss out on joining a sorority.

4. Explain how to meet sororities/members prior to recruitment.

How are you providing ways for potential members to meet the sororities or sorority members prior to recruitment? It might be that some members participate in summer programs with new students, that Fraternity & Sorority Life members are allowed to present during orientation or that sororities/sorority members play an important role in new student move-in. Your campus might also have an all-student organization fair once classes start or there might be special events to meet all fraternities & sororities on your campus. Whatever opportunities your campus or Panhellenic offers, promoting those opportunities can go a long way to making connections with new and transfer students and helping them become interested in sorority recruitment and membership.

5. Be open to questions. 

Even if you’ve fixed items 1-4 above and you’ve provided a ton of other information about the benefits of joining a sorority, potential members may still have questions about recruitment or joining a sorority. Be sure to share how PNMs can contact your Panhellenic to ask questions. And, be sure someone is monitoring those accounts so questions can be answered quickly.

If you’ve gotten through this list and you know your Panhellenic is doing all of these things, give yourself a huge pat on the back! If not, there’s no time like the present to get started making these changes, whether your recruitment is this month or not for several months.

We’ll be sharing more of what we’ve learned during this project in the coming months. In the meantime, if you have a question for how to improve your recruitment marketing or you want to share an idea that works great for your campus that you think others can benefit from, please feel free to reach out to me by email.

Panhellenically,

Loretta Good
Chief Marketing Officer
National Panhellenic Conference

From the NPC Chair: A time to grow sorority membership

Dear friends,

Summer is still in full swing with heat waves across the country, but fall is in the air as colleges and universities are starting back-to-school activities, and we will soon have college football every Saturday! Hooray! This also means that fall sorority recruitment has begun across many of our campuses. It is the time of year that many of our chapters welcome new members and bring them into their sorority families, whether that is through the primary recruitment process or continuous open bidding (COB).

This time of year may bring back fond memories for those of us who joined a sorority during primary recruitment or who participated as sorority members and had conversations with many potential new members. However each of us remembers our recruitment experience, we all realize that recruitment is the lifeblood of our organizations and that we all have the opportunity to encourage relatives, young women in our hometown and community, and others we know about the benefits of sorority life. 

As I wrote about last month in the chair's message, championing the sorority experience is a priority in our strategic framework. NPC's responsibility is to promote the life-changing impact that sorority life can have on our young women today. Research I have previously mentioned shows that our members have strong positive emotions, robust relationships, life meaning, and accomplishment due to their sorority membership. The role of sorority is to foster a community where our members thrive and feel empowered to lead and champion their causes by equipping them with skills and confidence. Now is the time for us to identify and encourage young women to sign up for recruitment and join a sorority so they can become tomorrow's trailblazing women.

Everyone has their story about how their sorority membership has provided sisterhood, a home away from home, leadership opportunities, confidence, and the ability to provide care and support to others. I invite you to think about your life and how your sorority membership has changed you for the better, equipped you with exceptional skills, and provided remarkable lifelong sisters and other Panhellenic friends. I, for one, have been forever impacted by my sorority membership. I value my sorority sisters, and I treasure my many Panhellenic relationships. I hope you share similar sentiments.

This fall, let us remember how sorority has shaped our lives and strive to engage as many women as possible in the recruitment process so they may enjoy the benefits of sorority membership and our Panhellenic communities can grow and prosper now and for generations to come.​​​​​​

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chair

From the NPC Chair: A New Strategic Framework for NPC

Dear friends,

The NPC Board of Directors met in June in Louisville to conduct business, including a robust discussion of a new strategic framework to guide NPC’s work during the next two years. 

In setting our future direction, the board approached strategic planning in a slightly different way. We began by reviewing our strategic priorities as identified last fall:

    Growth in Panhellenic communities

    Champion the sorority experience

We then discussed the Conference's current strategic goals and our renewed focus on growth in recruitment. We also noted that our previous strategic plan was very complex, with many layers, and more challenging to measure.   

As the outcome of our discussion, we determined we should streamline our approach and incorporate the prior two strategic priorities into a new strategic framework that the board and staff will build upon and monitor on an ongoing basis. Moving forward, we are focusing on the priorities that matter the most to our constituents. The board plans to communicate our objectives, initiatives, and measurable outcomes from our workforce on these initiatives to our wider Panhellenic community on an ongoing basis. We plan to do that by using a simplified reporting format for all to clearly see progress.

Following is a high-level look at our new strategic framework and the two priorities in it.

PRIORITY 1: GROW PANHELLENIC COMMUNITIES

Through dedicated coaching and resource sharing, NPC personnel will assist College Panhellenic Associations in increasing recruitment participation and, as a result, collegiate membership.

Stimulating the growth of our collegiate Panhellenic communities is of utmost importance, and we will do that by leveraging a number of recruitment-focused strategies. Specifically, this includes the digital marketing campaign already underway with our College Panhellenics to increase promotion of the sorority experience and stimulate recruitment registration numbers so NPC organizations see increases in membership. A top priority also includes reducing the barriers for potential new members to participate in recruitment and join a sorority as these barriers hinder our membership growth capabilities. NPC staff and volunteers will continue to look at innovative opportunities for our College Panhellenics to reduce restrictions and barriers for potential new members and recruit more women to our organizations.

Data collection and analysis is another critical area that NPC is investing in so the entire Conference can have important information available to everyone as we look to make crucial decisions regarding how to best support growth within our Panhellenic communities.

PRIORITY 2: CHAMPION THE SORORITY EXPERIENCE

Through marketing and community engagement, NPC will improve the public perception of the sorority experience.

Continued advocacy for our sorority experience is critical for our broader publics—potential new members, parents/caregivers, guidance counselors and coaches, college/university personnel and administrators, among others—to support and engage with us. National and campus-based advocacy initiatives within our new strategic framework will provide further positive messages and images to promote the modern sorority experience, improve public perception and, ultimately foster new member interest in recruitment and sorority membership. 

The board recognizes that we need to stay agile and flexible with whatever may happen within our community in the future. Continuous review and oversight, along with the possibility of shifting and changing objectives and initiatives, is critical to the success of this strategic framework. 

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chair

Together as Sorority

This content first appeared in the Summer 2022 edition of "The Lyre," the official magazine of Alpha Chi Omega, and is reprinted with permission.

When you join a sorority, you enter a community. You have chapter sisters to laugh and cry with, an alumnae network to help you pursue your dreams and even a national sorority that connects you to sisters coast to coast and beyond! But have you ever thought about the even larger sisterhood you're a part of?

When you accepted your bid to your chapter, you also joined the Panhellenic community. As the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) vision states, we are all "advancing the sorority experience together." We come together as nearly 5 million sorority women across the world.

Jen Daurora (Delta chapter of Alpha Chi Omega at Allegheny College) serves on the NPC Board of Directors and points out that no matter which of the 26 NPC member organizations we are members of, we all have shared experiences including leadership opportunities, education and the ability to support our communities through philanthropy and service. And most importantly, she adds, "I think the underpinning of women supporting women rings true throughout the NPC experience."

We strive to uplift our sisters in all their endeavors, and our empowerment can extend to the Panhellenic community. It's why our collegiate chapters have Panhellenic delegates to connect the Alpha Chi Omega chapter to the larger campus, and why many cities have Alumnae Panhellenics to bring together women from all organizations for networking and making a difference.

In a time when some are questioning the value of the sorority experience, we can work together as sorority women to share the benefits we've received and that others can obtain if they are open to the experience.

"From my perspective, togetherness for NPC really means the way we leverage our collective strength to advocate for and promote the sorority experience as a whole," Jen explains. "Because while it is important that each member organization strives to be its best and each chapter strives to reach its full potential, it's important that as a community we're helping one another reach our goals as well."

How can we do that? Jen suggests that collegians let potential new members (and others!) know what makes them proud to be in a sorority, whether it's learning to manage an officer budget or having a sister notice your potential that you didn't even see in yourself. For our alumnae members, Jen recommends they share openly with their networks that they're sorority women. She also explains it's important to articulate broad benefits; the collegiate experience you had might look very different for today's student, but the opportunities and lessons are far-reaching.

Of course, while we all share a sorority experience, we also each have a story. And your story—with all of its nuances and lessons and moments that make it distinctly yours—is a powerful piece of advocating for the experience.

"Be proud of what you've gained from this experience," Jen says, "and tell your own story."

From the NPC Chairman: New Research Highlights Benefits of Sorority

Dear friends,

Summer is here! Congratulations on making it through another school year. I hope that you have had a successful year and are now enjoying your summer vacation. Reflecting on this past year, I thought about how much the sorority experience matters, including my lifelong membership journey that began more than 30 years ago. That experience has changed my life in so many ways, and my sorority and NPC service have brought me in contact with women I treasure and filled my life with joy. I also contemplate how my experiences made me into the businesswoman, mother and grandmother I am today.

Many of you have similar stories of how your sorority experience has significantly impacted your life. Whether your experience was 30 or 40 years ago or as recently as last year, the effect has been powerful and one that I want to explore alongside some recent research findings.

NPC and member organization leaders and volunteers recently attended a Zoom presentation by Dr. J. Patrick Biddix regarding his latest Panhellenic sorority research on belonging and well-being. I noted a few key takeaways from the research that I believe support how impactful the sorority experience is for young women today.

• Sorority women generally feel a stronger sense of belonging and satisfaction at school v. non-sorority women.
• A vast majority, 75-80% of sorority women, agree that their organizations support and respect individuals and unique differences among their members and welcome and appreciate culturally different views of their members.
• A vast majority, 75-80% of sorority women, agree they feel comfortable having open discussions about race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, religion and mental health and well-being.
• Our members show strong positive emotion, engagement, robust relationships, life meaning and accomplishment due to their sorority membership.

We all know that increased well-being leads to positive emotions and satisfaction with life, and that can increase member retention and overall student success. Positive general comments reflect that women value their experience and feel support and respect from their sisters. They also value their leadership skills and ability to grow and develop into influential leaders.

While the sorority experience is highly valued, there is room for improvement. Specifically, some women indicate struggles with diversity, equity and inclusion. This is an area that continues to evolve where we as NPC and our member organizations must continue education and awareness to promote a culture shift in our members, including collegiate members, alumnae and advisors. For our experience to remain valuable and relevant for years to come, all of us must work together to create a more welcoming and inclusive Panhellenic community.

Overall this research provides important insights as we strive to extend our message about the power of sorority and the positive impacts of membership. So, as you relax on these long summer days, reflect on your experience as a sorority woman and what you value the most. Is it the lifelong leadership skills you acquired or the invaluable friendships you still have from those good old college days? Whatever it may be, hold on to those thoughts and share them with others to promote an unforgettable and valuable experience so that others may flourish as a result of the sorority experience.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC chairman

From the NPC Chairman: Reflecting on the end of the academic year

Dear friends,

As the school year winds down and many of our students prepare for graduation, it is a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to what is next. As a matter of fact, I plan to attend my niece's graduation at Colorado State University—she just happens to be a sorority woman too! 

As we look back on this past year, we began with a great deal of promise that the pandemic was waning and things were getting back to normal, yet the pandemic did continue, perhaps to a different degree depending on where you lived. For many, it was finally time to be gathering together in person and cultivating more friendships within their chapters and sorority communities. The year has been one that has many of us seeing challenging times in our community growth, housing concerns and issues, and the mental health of our students. Yet, I see a resilient base of sorority women who have stepped up in their philanthropic and service efforts to help others and demonstrated excellent care in taking care of each other. 

Personally, as I reflect, I am proud and humbled to be a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) Board of Directors and serve as its chair. I see the thousands of sorority women graduating this month from around the country looking forward to their post-college life, and I know that through their sorority experience, they are ready to head out into the world and make a difference.

The NPC board is also looking forward to making a difference. Our College Panhellenic communities need focused marketing efforts to help them experience growth in recruitment and thrive. A major action the board has taken is to approve a concentrated marketing plan throughout this summer aimed at helping many of our campuses that recently have seen noticeable declines in sorority membership to grow.

Our sorority experience is incredibly valuable for so many women that all of us must promote and advance our Panhellenic communities so more women want to join our organizations. We want potential new members to know that the sorority experience can help them establish leadership skills, build their confidence, create lifelong friendships, and establish the importance of service to others.

As each of you reflects on the end of the school year, remember how much the Panhellenic experience has meant to you and determine ways that you can promote and advocate to others the power of sorority.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chairman

From the NPC Chairman: The State of the Conference | April 2022

Dear friends,

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) recently held its Annual Conference, March 31 – April 1, in Louisville, Kentucky. This was the first large in-person gathering of Conference and member organization leaders, volunteers and staff since October 2019, prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this Annual Conference, NPC CEO Dani Weatherford, J.D., and I shared a State of the Conference report on behalf of the NPC Board of Directors. That report recapped the work of the NPC board and workforce (volunteers and staff) and offered insight into our current efforts and future focus. I'm pleased to share with you edited excerpts of the report below.

Interfraternally,

Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chairman

The State of the Conference | April 2022

Speaker: Cheri M. De Jong, NPC chairman 

It is a privilege and honor today to be a part of providing the state of the National Panhellenic Conference. NPC has had many achievements over the past year, yet there continue to be a variety of challenges that all of us are facing together. 

Today I will discuss the work of the board this past year, various initiatives that the board has directed and how that is defining our focus in the coming years.

These incredible women that make up the NPC Board of Directors bring forth broad professional expertise, countless leadership experiences within the fraternal community, assorted professional skills, different perspectives and knowledge within NPC, and unique thoughts and ideas on improving and enriching NPC and how we advocate for the sorority experience. 

As this board began their work of the Conference nine months ago, we determined that with a change of leadership, a still-new governance structure and the many challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic brought, it would be essential to engage in a listening tour of our constituents. This listening tour had each of our board members reach out to member organization leadership teams that consisted of delegates, inter/national presidents and executive directors to discuss their strategic interests and priorities, challenges and feedback on NPC activities. These meetings with member organizations provided clear and direct feedback for the board on the Conference's priorities.

The loud messages were compiled, and the board reviewed the information, keying in on areas that member organizations believed NPC could make a difference and how those issues align with our strategic focus areas. It was determined NPC should remain committed to two main areas:

• Cultivate Strategic Growth of Panhellenic Communities.
• Champion the Sorority Experience.

The key focus for this board is the growth and promotion of the sorority experience through marketing and public relations efforts. Growth is of utmost importance for our member organizations. Additionally, marketing about the sorority experience is also a top priority to create awareness of sorority life that can benefit all of our recruitment efforts.

Our organizations also have many challenges and opportunities:

Housing. If there is one thing that so many member organization leaders have voiced during the past several years, it is housing and the inability to fill some of your houses due to lower membership numbers. As a former national president, I understand and sympathize with each and every one of you. These financial burdens weigh heavy on your organizations and potentially drain resources that could be deployed elsewhere. …

Declining college enrollment in some regions of the country is significantly impacting many of our collegiate chapters. The changing demographic is perhaps the bigger issue of students enrolling in college. …

 Alongside this is declining interest in our organizations and questions about our relevancy to young women in today’s collegiate experience. The world is changing, and so are our potential new members. Our organizations are making changes too, whether it be to legacy or recommendation policies, acceptance of transgender members and creating more diverse and inclusive membership opportunities. Our communities are transforming, and this is a moment of adjustment for all of us. … 

Each of these challenges is being felt by all our member organizations, and we realize that these challenges create opportunities for NPC to help grow our Panhellenic communities, promote and advocate for our sorority experience and continue to be a convener for our member organizations to work together on campus-specific needs or engaging in issues that we all face. …

So where do we go from here?

The board has embarked on several initiatives as a result of the priorities previously discussed and is driving our future focus. (Those initiatives include:)

• Opportunities to partner with researchers to support our marketing messages with strong relevancy data. …
• The Growth and Marketing Pilot currently underway … to target campuses to increase recruitment of potential new members … 
• A full audit of the NPC Manual of Information to streamline the information and strengthen accountability to Unanimous Agreements, policies and best practices. … 
• Diversity, equity, inclusion and access with the board’s focus shifted to including and incorporating access and equity in our conversations, resources and communications for our College and Alumnae Panhellenics to use. … 

The NPC Board of Directors wants to see all of us working together toward the same goals: focused marketing and other initiatives to grow our Panhellenic communities and consideration of ideas to break down the barriers to membership in our organizations.

If we want to survive and be relevant in five, 10 or 20 years, we need to do this collaboratively. I hope you all feel that we are partners in this critical work. We want to dive into the issues and create the best possible solutions to ultimately provide an inclusive, values-oriented, affordable and relevant membership experience to as many collegiate women as possible. And together, we can make this happen. …

Speaker: Dani Weatherford, NPC CEO

 This was a year when we were able to return our focus to the Strategic Plan after pausing almost all of that work from spring 2020 to spring 2021 to respond to the COVID pandemic and anti-sorority activism. As a reminder, the plan prioritizes three major areas:

Priority number one is to Cultivate Strategic Growth of Panhellenic Communities. I think of this bucket of work as direct and tactical support of our College and Alumnae Panhellenic communities. Providing them with the tools and resources needed to function appropriately and focus their efforts on bringing more women of various backgrounds into the community. (Work in this priority includes but it not limited to:)

• Our flagship opportunity to train College Panhellenic officers is the College Panhellenic Academy. … 
• New recruitment resources and education for College and Alumnae Panhellenics.  … 
• Providing resources related to creating a more inclusive recruitment process. … 
• A new partnership with Phired Up to provide a three-part marketing training series to current and incoming Panhellenic marketing and recruitment officers. …
• Nearly a full year of work dedicated to recruitment reform. …
• Our Growth and Marketing Pilot to provide targeted coaching to Panhellenic communities in the most need. … 
• Several other projects and work groups supporting our College Panhellenic communities. …

Priority number two is Champion the Sorority Experience. I think of this priority as our advocacy work mostly done at the national level—promoting our brand and protecting the experience—but we also do this at the local level. (Work in this priority includes but it not limited to:)

• The work of the NPC staff in managing campus concerns. …
• The promotion of the sorority brand through awareness campaigns, including direct advertising, national marketing partnerships and pipeline program partnerships. …
• Advancing our legislative agenda through policy advocacy work, engaging on such topics as freedom of association, anti-hazing initiatives and tax parity. …
• Research partnerships, including our renewed collaboration with Gallup and a partnership with Dr. Patrick Biddix. These efforts are focused on the impact of sorority membership. … 

Priority number three is Leverage the Collective Strength of our Member Organizations, along with our industry partners, to continue advancing the sorority experience. (Work in this priority includes but it not limited to:)

• NPC volunteer recruitment, development and accountability, including for the volunteers supporting 583 College Panhellenics and 171 Alumnae Panhellenics. …
• Growing the NPC Partner Program. …
• Convening (virtual) NPC Family Gatherings to share data and information with internal stakeholders. …

Thank you for what you do to advance the sorority experience and to create a community that is kind and welcoming to all women who want to be a part of this extraordinary sisterhood.