Skip to content
Chancellor's Blog

Chancellor's Blog

Chancellor Austin Lane

Menu
  • Chancellor Home
  • SIU.edu
Menu

It’s Greek to me

Posted on March 15, 2018January 28, 2019 by Carlo Montemagno
Members of the Kappa Alpha Order
From left: Clayton Bertoletti, Jacob Selsor, Brady Cummings, Peyton Boysen, Joe Locher, Evan Smith, Hunter Hill,  Jake Barker, and Jordan Mullen.

Congratulations to all members of our Kappa Alpha Order fraternity for earning five awards – including Samuel Zenas Ammen Award for Chapter Excellence – last month.

The award for chapter excellence is given to the top 10 percent of chapters nationally for excellence in all chapter functions:

  • academic programming,
  • academic achievement,
  • community service,
  • philanthropy,
  • public and fraternal communications/excellence in social media,
  • educational programming,
  • membership education,
  • chapter finances, and
  • recruitment and chapter growth.

The chapter also won awards for educational programming, scholastic achievement, and excellence in fraternal as well as social media communication.

I thank them for bringing pride to themselves, our Greek system, and SIU Carbondale.

An important aspect of student life

SIU’s first fraternity and sorority were established in 1923. Today, our 35 Greek fraternities and sororities provide leadership, service and social experiences that add value to their members and to the campus. Too often, we read about the negatives of Greek life on other campuses, so it’s easy to forget about the benefits and values of Greek organizations.

At SIU, for example, Greek students have higher graduate point averages, retention rates, and graduation rates than the student body as a whole. This is because they focus on academics through study hours, mentoring and other strategies. Members also rely on each other as part of a community.

They volunteer on campus and regionally on projects. For instance, they work closely with Keep Carbondale Beautiful to support the Adopt-A-Spot program and clean-up initiatives, and they work with the American Red Cross to organize an annual Homecoming blood drive.

And Greek organizations help attract students who are looking for the type of experience Greek life can offer.

Greek houses on campus

The old Greek row on the west side of campus reminds us that at one time, many fraternities and sororities lived on campus. I’m pleased to report that several chapters are working with their national organizations to explore bringing their houses to campus. This will be a long process, but it is one more step in revitalizing campus life.

Subscribe

Receive the Chancellor's Blog in your email.

Name

Email


Contact the Chancellor

Share your feedback and questions.

Categories

  • Academic excellence
  • Alumni, friends and community
  • Campus Life
  • Chancellor Carlo Montemagno
  • Chancellor John M Dunn
  • Health and safety
  • Higher education
  • Kudos
  • Recruitment and retention
  • Saluki students
  • Statements
  • Uncategorized
  • Vision 2025

Archives

  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018

RSS SIU News

  • SIU’s Tenney lecture to focus on interdisciplinary teaching of math, art and science
  • SIU students win national business competition
  • SIU student’s research may lead to better control of invasive pythons
  • SIU celebrating Black History Month in February with guest speakers and more
  • SIU’s Valentine’s Day Craft Sale invites public, vendors

CONTACT US
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901 | P: 618-453-2518 | E: universitycommunications@siu.edu

©2023 Chancellor's Blog | Built using WordPress and Responsive Blogily theme by Superb