From the NPC Chairman: An Update on COVID-19 and the Sorority Experience

Dear friends,

This time of year is usually filled with Alumnae Panhellenic scholarship luncheons and end-of-year celebrations for our collegiate chapters as they say goodbye to their senior members. Instead we find ourselves at home striving to keep connections with each other while practicing social distancing. For the first time, many of us are working or attending class remotely and dealing with the challenges of work and family in the same physical space.

The women of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), both collegiate and alumnae, know how to manage through difficult times. You already know how to dig deep and you know that the steps we take individually are for the greater good. The COVID-19 pandemic that is causing challenges all over the world is also causing challenges for NPC and its 26 member organizations. But our volunteers and staff have been working diligently to support our College and Alumnae Panhellenics as well as member organizations. For example, the Disruption to Panhellenic Operations Task Force considered potential impacts the pandemic will have on our Panhellenic communities, particularly if disruptions to class schedules or campus operations continue into the fall semester. NPC is now working to act on many of the task force’s recommendations in order to get additional processes in place and tools in the hands of College Panhellenics. That work also includes the formation of the Recruitment Contingencies Task Force to examine a myriad of scenarios that could impact recruitment in fall 2020, and potentially beyond, to help College Panhellenics plan accordingly. (For more information on NPC's COVID-19 response, visit our Coronavirus Resources page.)

We don’t know exactly what the days ahead will look like, but we do know that financial damage inflicted on our organizations could force a change in workforce plans and organizational structure. We also know NPC has met and overcome every challenge we have faced over the years. The Conference spent the better part of 30 years dealing with the upheaval of two world wars and the Great Depression. Financial considerations were of enormous impact, and after the collapse of the American economy in 1929, NPC’s message of belt-tightening took on unprecedented seriousness.

In the mid-1950s, as a result of a wave of traditionalism, female college enrollment dropped to its lowest level since before 1920 and our organizations fought to survive amongst public criticism of Greek-letter organizations. The 1960s and early 70s took a toll on every fraternal group. However, a time of severe pressure – when the sorority world might easily have splintered into self-serving factions – proved to be a time of magnificent solidarity.

This pandemic will be no exception. Without question, we will be living a new reality as students return to campus, and this new reality will affect our organizations’ recruitment and retention of members. The nature of higher education and the environments in which students will be operating most likely will be drastically changed, so how do we preserve valuable sorority experiences while adapting and evolving to meet new needs?
     
NPC’s focus on the future of sorority is now more than ever the organization’s most important role and the most valuable contribution we can make to the sorority community. The NPC Board of Directors is focused on what the sorority landscape will look like this fall and into the year 2021. At this time, there are so many more questions than answers. We are listening to what you are feeling, fearing and experiencing so we can project what the sorority community will look like tomorrow and in the next 12 to 18 months. By drawing on our collective strength and rich history, the Conference and our member organizations can meet this latest challenge together. 

Panhellenically,

Carole J. Jones
NPC chairman

From the NPC Chairman: Understanding and Anticipating the Future of Sorority

As the new year approaches and the calendar turns to 2020, I am taking this opportunity to write about important work that lies before all of us as we focus on the future of sorority. If our member organizations are to continue to exist, we must enhance our relevance and understand and anticipate what the future looks like for sorority membership.

The NPC Board of Directors and staff are researching and studying changing student demographics, enrollment fluctuation, greater financial need for students and new models for classroom-type learning, and it is clear we need a full understanding of who our potential members will be in order to create conditions for their success and engagement.

Points for all of us to consider include the following:

1. The overall number of high school graduates will plateau for most of the next decade – 3,561,051 (2020-21) to 3,298,597 (2030-31). Between now and 2023 undergraduate enrollment is expected to stagnate. The next high point of high school graduates is expected in 2026 with another drop off immediately following. As a result:

• Elite colleges and universities (the top 50 in U.S. News & World Report rankings) will most likely see an increase in enrollment.
• The national schools (the next 50) will see only modest declines.
• Two-year colleges are facing a potential 13% decline in demand from a 2012 baseline.

2. The racial/ethnic mix of high school graduates will shift significantly toward a more diverse population.

• The Hispanic population will see the greatest increase in number of high school graduates in the South and West, with the exception of California and Utah where the largest population of graduates will be white.
• There will be a steep downturn of white graduates in the Midwest with strong growth in the numbers of minority graduates, Hispanic being the largest.
• Regionally, the South is the only region of the country that will experience growth in the number of high school graduates. However, the East South Central (Ala., Ky., Miss. and Tenn.) will face a 29% decline. The Northeast will have the least number of graduates.

3. Family incomes are expected to stagnate so financial need at institutions will increase. With an increase in students attending college with greater financial need, membership in NPC member organizations may become cost-prohibitive, especially on those campuses with large or expensive housing.

What does this mean for the future of sorority? As the race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, national origin and age of college students change more dramatically than ever, all of us – College Panhellenic women, Alumnae Panhellenic women, NPC member organizations and NPC volunteers and staff – must focus on marketing and reaching out to more women, including those who may not be considered likely joiners, to share the story of the sorority experience. 

As I have said before, we are the best public relations we have. We are all responsible for sharing how we have benefited from sorority membership so more young women have heard about our organizations long before they enter college and are eager for the opportunity to join us.

Panhellenically,

Carole J. Jones
NPC Chairman

From the NPC Chairman: The State of the Conference

This month’s Chairman’s Message is an edited excerpt of the “State of the Conference” address delivered by NPC Chairman Carole Jones during the 2019 NPC Annual Educational Conference.

This moment in the history of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is one to be viewed with gratitude and pride. NPC is in a position of remarkable strength due to the collective efforts of our volunteers and staff to exceed the expectations outlined in our 2019-22 Strategic Plan. The plan’s key priorities broadly define the approaches NPC volunteers and staff will use during the next few years to accomplish our mission and drive toward our vision of Advancing the Sorority Experience.

Most importantly, the plan and the work of our NPC volunteers and staff have positioned NPC and the entire sorority community for a future that ensures our organizations, and the critical experiences and empowerment of young women, not only continue, but thrive.

NPC Chairman Carole Jones delivers the "State of the Conference" address
during the 2019 NPC Annual Educational Conference.

Stronger Than Ever

Put simply, the National Panhellenic Conference today is the most strategic and purposeful version of itself that has ever existed. As a conference we are positioned to act on our strategic plan in the months ahead, and we are equipped to be deliberate and intentional about how we chart a future for all sorority women.

Investments in NPC staff have equipped us to act on the strategic plan, and each day NPC volunteers work with campus professionals to strengthen relationships and cultivate new ones.

A re-imagined Board of Directors has the freedom to prioritize the strategic direction for NPC to ensure long-term viability and success. This new focus is a shift from our approach in years past, but it is the type of work that will move us forward – together. 

Future of Sorority

NPC’s focus on the future of sorority is arguably our most important role and the most valuable contribution we can make to the sorority community. By asking the right questions about our organizations, the environment we operate within and the nature of higher education today, the board can ensure we preserve valuable sorority experiences, while adapting and evolving to meet new needs.

• How do we best protect the sorority experience in environments that can be skeptical of our mission and sometimes hostile to our existence?
• How do we protect student rights and the right of free association?
• How do we develop new partnerships with student affairs professionals and campus leaders?
• How do we evolve and embrace questions of diversity, inclusion and gender identity that reflect our values and respond to the expectations from new members and prospective members?
• How do we anticipate and prepare for legal and legislative battles that may impact our right to operate and thrive?
• How do we continue confronting challenges like hazing, sexual assault and high-risk drinking?
• How do we define feminism and women’s empowerment for our organization and our women at a time when equality and gender equity is front and center in our national and international debate? 

These are far from the only questions we must ask ourselves, but these are exactly the type of questions that must be front and center on the agenda for the Board of Directors. While our work is just beginning, our efforts to answer these questions and more are reflected in so much of the work already being done across the conference at the staff, volunteer and board level.
   
But, perhaps our most important future-looking work lies in Project 2029 – a focused effort to imagine the sorority experience in the year 2029. This project embraces each of the three priorities of our strategic plan and honors the work of our PR & Marketing and Recruitment & Expanded Membership Model Think Tanks. If we are to not only continue to exist, but to enhance our relevance into the future, we must understand and, indeed, anticipate what that future looks like.

This work does not replace our three-year strategic plan. Rather, it is a futuristic thought process designed to ensure we are employing long-term thinking while implementing our short-term plan. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, changing student demographics, enrollment fluctuation, increased financial need for students and new models of learning.

With student populations and expectations for membership changing more rapidly and dramatically than ever, the board recognizes we need a clear understanding of who our potential members will be in order to create conditions for their success and engagement. Project 2029 is one of the major steps we will take to achieve that goal.

Thoughtful Oversight & Open Lines of Communication
    
As a board, we are committed to providing thoughtful oversight of existing NPC activities and the execution of the strategic plan. And we’re equally committed to engaging the conference at large, seeking your counsel and your input.

How we work may change, but our commitment to our mission remains as steadfast as ever. And our vision for consensus and collaboration across the conference will continue to be central to our identity and how we advance the sorority experience together.

Panhellenically,

Carole J. Jones
NPC Chairman 2019-21