The Greek Life community at the University of Rhode Island recently won awards for risk reduction, academic achievement and civic engagement at the Northeast Greek Leadership Association (NGLA) Conference.
The URI Panhellenic council also received an honorable mention for Organizational Development in Leadership.
NGLA Conference awards includes applications from 90 campuses and Greek Life communities in New England. The board of directors for the conference chooses one applicant to win each award. There are three different levels of awards, one for fraternities, one for sororities and one for the whole Greek community.
The three awards given to URI were for the Greek community as a whole. The awards signify that out of 90 campuses and Greek communities in New England, URI has done the best work for Risk Reduction, Civic Engagement and Academic Achievement.
Greek Life at URI has been receiving awards since 2005, but over the years the criteria for winning an award has changed.
“Back in the mid-2000s you had to hit benchmarks, and if you hit certain benchmarks then you won the award… it was sort of like a checklist,” said Stephen Simo, assistant dean of students. “Somewhere by the end of the decade, they changed the award. That’s great that you’re meeting the benchmarks, but now to win these awards you need to improve on the work you were doing before.”
Simo said that when URI continued to win these awards after the criteria to win the awards changed showed that Greek Life is continuously improving.
“When they are winning these new awards, it is recognizing that there’s been new and innovative programming, that they’ve done different kind of work that hadn’t been done before,” Simo said. “So actually, they’re always improving. It’s a perpetual process of improving programs and how we do things.”
Greek Life at URI does a lot to maintain this standard of service. Leadership is an important factor in that. The Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils will often have board meetings to align their goals and actions going forward. Chapter presidents also get to take part in leadership, which is a rare situation in some schools.
“One of the biggest things we try to facilitate is development of the leadership in this community,” said Interfraternity Vice President Milan Tolian. “Really focusing on bringing in younger students who happen to be members of the Greek life community and fostering that idea of leadership and community, and also the idea of being in an organization and utilizing that organization to give back to this community and expand on things that make us a cut above.”
New leaders go through trainings as well as leadership retreats, which prepares them for implementing their own ambitions for Greek Life the next semester. The different mindsets of the new leaders help keep Greek Life open to ideas and improvements within their programs.
The Risk Reduction reward goes hand in hand with URI Greek Life’s partnership with I-Stand.
“Greek life has been very supportive of sexual assault prevention on campus,” said Assistant Director of Bystander Intervention Training Keith Labelle. “They are really good partners with the I-Stand program… Greek life has really been there for the entire history of our program. It wouldn’t be where it is without the support of Greek life, for sure.”
Greek life has aided the program with multiple campaign videos, the ‘It’s on Us’ pledge drive, the week of action in April and many other events to raise awareness for bystander intervention and sexual assault prevention. The I-Stand program also does presentations and trainings to newly welcomed members of Greek Life after they are initiated.
The Civic Engagement award fits with the community’s drive to help people. The Greek community contributes heavily to RhodyThon, a program that they don’t directly run. They help as much as they can with many different programs, often without receiving credit or recognition.
The Panhellenic Council President, Laura Creese, embodies that drive and spirit needed to keep improving the community.
“Seeing last year’s president and executive board and how they function, how they do all the Panhellenic stuff for Greek Life, it really empowered and inspired me,” she said. “I knew I wanted to be on the executive board and climb higher and higher.”
Creese’s goals are in line with the Risk Reduction award as well.
“My main goal is to keep everyone safe, so that’s definitely my number one goal for sure,” Creese said.
Labelle praises Greek Life and said the University is impacted by Greek Life.
“As a non-Greek member, but somebody who has been a member of this University for 20 years now, under [Simo’s] leadership you see Greek students reaching out to partner with programs across campus to receive education on sexual violence prevention and to take classes and to become trained… adding real, tangible assets to our community,” Labelle said. “I think that is a true testament to all of Greek life, but especially to the leadership of Greek life. The impact is felt by non-Greek members of the community as well and it’s a really special thing to see and to be a part of.”