IFC wins four awards, recognition at national conference

By: Diana Stow

Posted: 3/4/05

Four awards were presented to Drexel's Interfraternity Council at the Northeast Regional Conference March 5.

"They are a great recognition for all the hard work the IFC officers and chapters have done over the past year," IFC President John Dougherty, said. "We've never had it together enough to apply for these awards, let alone win them, so we are thrilled to see how far we have come."

According to the Northeast Greek Leadership Association Web site, http://www.ngla.org, "Awards may be presented to councils (in each division) whose application in a particular programming category indicates outstanding achievement."

"Fraternity and Sorority Life has returned to a proud tradition rooted in leadership, service, good scholarship, and lifelong friendships," Dean of Students David Ruth said. "There was a time at Drexel, not so long ago, when these groups were going in a much different direction, and the recent changes are steps in the right direction."

The council was recognized in four areas, Leadership and Educational Development, Risk Reduction and Management, Council Management and Philanthropy/Community Service, out of the seven for which they applied. The Web site also stated that each council could apply for as many of the awards as they saw fit. IFC applied for seven of the eight that they were eligible to win.

"Any time a student organization is recognized nationally for its educational and leadership development, it speaks positively to the caliber of Drexel University's student body," Director of Fraternity/Sorority Life Stephen Rupprecht said.

The Leadership and Educational Development award's purpose is to develop members' leadership skills by providing resources and workshop opportunities, according to the award application. Qualifying factors included making good use of faculty, resources, international headquarters and promoting idea exchange between chapters. During the 3,000 hours of educational and leadership development programs, fraternity members listened to speakers and participated in events provided by the IFC.

"In the IFC, we keep Greeks safe but still have fun," IFC Technology Chair, Rob Madden said.

The Risk Reduction and Management award is given to councils who play a major role in educating members about comprehensive risk reduction and sound risk management practices by providing proactive educational opportunities. The council must also lead by example in the establishment and application of its own risk management policies. Non-alcohol related social programming encompassed 16,000 hours of the IFC's time. Some events they held include an Etiquette Dinner, BBQs and recruitment events.

Council Communication, Council Documentation and Council Financial Structure are the three sections to the Council Management award. Drexel's IFC is comprised of 12 executive board members and the nine fraternity presidents. "We are satisfied as we were one of the most organized and well run IFC's there," said IFC Recruitment Chair, Mike Kerstetter.

According to the award application, The Philanthropy/ Community Service award's purpose includes philanthropy and community service programs provide initiated and new members with opportunities to raise money for worthy causes and with positive experiences in assisting others while educating them about the importance of volunteering. The council provides resources and support to help member chapters improve programming efforts in this area.

The IFC reported completing 5,700 community service hours by fund raising for various organizations. Some of the events that were held throughout the year included Alpha Chi Rho's Crow Bowl which raised money David Akers' Kicks for Kids and Lambda Chi Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon sponsoring the Horseshoes for Heros Tournament to benefit Muscular Dystrophy Association. During 2004, the IFC supported the PVCA Clean-Up, UCGreen, Philadelphia Food Bank, Salvation Army, Nick Pipino Scholarship Foundation and Red Cross, in addition to others. Through philanthropy, $19,000 has been donated to various charities.

"I hope the fraternities involved with the IFC will see that the awards are to show recognition of the accomplishments, but there's a lot more progress to be made," IFC Vice President, Gale Giger, said. The IFC is interested in strengthening their presence in the Drexel community. Rupprecht commented on the interest by saying the IFC needs to "tap into the best practices of each individual chapter in a collective effort to better educate all of the leaders on how to improve their own operations."

"It should instill a sense of pride in what good things happen here at Drexel," Ruth said. "Anytime someone in the Drexel family is recognized, whether an individual or an organization, it makes all of us very proud."

The weekend long conference, held by the Northeast Greek Leadership Association, gave attendees a variety of educational sessions. Giger said the sessions were about "figuring out and learning your leadership style to discussions about alcohol and hazing and its effects on people."

"It focused on various topics from getting the most out of our advisor, recruitment and leaders in your organization," Kerstetter said, "as well as good morals and leadership."

"The conference is a great opportunity for Greek students to leave their surroundings, interact with other Greeks on a personal level and bring back new and fresh ideas to Drexel," said Giger.

Kerstetter said he was surprised by the size of the conference. From 73 different school, 700 people attended the conference.

"Student development is the goal, and any time our students recognize their own progress and learn from their success, we know our advising is making a difference," said Rupprecht. "The need to work smarter, not harder."