Greek Alumni Council Report to LUAA Board of Directors Fall, 2013

The Greek Alumni Council (GAC) represents the interest of Fraternity and Sorority Alumni on campus, provides a forum for alumni and actives to interact and receive updates on campus life today, and advises student Greek organizations. GAC officers also participate in the Greek Partnership Council (GPC) and System Wide Assessment Committee (SWAC). We are in the process of reorganizing the GAC Board, through redefining needs, rewriting position descriptions, and recruiting interested and available alumni. We would expect that the board would have a cross-section of IFC, MGC & PanHellenic chapter alumni, including representation by chapters which are not currently recognized at Lehigh, and that some members would be young alumni and some would be older. In the Spring, we mentioned that we were looking into ways to keep our meetings fresh and relevant. As such, we decided that some of our usual content could be conveyed though webinars, which have the added benefit of reaching alumni who might not otherwise be able to participate. They also provide a way for alumni to select sessions which better reflect their interest and involvement in their chapters. These webinars, covering topics such as Expansion/Extension, Residential Services, Advising 101, to name a few, replace the Fall meeting; we plan to meet on campus as usual in the Spring. We consistently aver that Lehigh is in favor of a strong Greek system, but it must be one which enhances the educational experience at Lehigh. Lehigh has invested considerable sums in the support and development of our system, as evidenced by the seven professionals in the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs (OFSA), for example, as well as the shared professionals in many other departments throughout Lehigh (Dean of Students, Residence Life, Finance, Faculty Advisors, etc.). We occasionally lose chapters who have not measured up (most recently Delta Gamma sorority and Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity), and we have consistently sought new chapters who will fill the void when that happens. We welcomed Kappa Delta sorority to campus this year; SWAC has yet to discuss the status of the fraternity system post-FIJI. GAC strongly lobbies that chapter houses which were purchased for Greeks by Greeks must remain Greek, so that a pathway back to the Hill remains available; we view this as a critical component of Lehighs continued support of Greek life. Our fraternity system will be expanding in the fall of 2014, with preference given for chapters which espouse traditional Jewish culture and tradition. SWAC recommended this initiative based on a recommendation of the then rabbi, among others, who argued that

this need was not being met by our current system. This recommendation preceded FIJIs withdrawn accreditation. As alumni, we seek strategies to enhance the engagement of our Greek Alumni with their active chapters. We feel strong mentoring by alumni will assist our actives in further improvements in our Greek system at Lehigh. Actively engaged alumni also cannot help but be more interested in Lehigh as well. Howard Brainerd Foltz 77, GAC President HBFoltz@RCN.com (610) 390-5520