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