Community Values
Fraternities and sororities are the largest, most visible and most active values-based organizations on college campuses. We all share a common code of friendship, service, academic success, and leadership development. Every fraternity and sorority is guided by founding principles and values that serve as a moral beacon for its members.
Friendship
Brotherhood and sisterhood are among the founding principles of all fraternities and sororities. The bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood are life-long. Joining a Greek-letter organization results in an extended family, both on-campus and across the nation.
Service & Philanthropy
The entire fraternity and sorority community collectively donates time, money, and effort to service projects. Each individual chapter also raises awareness and money for their own philanthropies throughout the year. On a national level, we are the largest network of young volunteers in the United States. We provide 10 million hours of volunteer service a year. We mentor at-risk students, raise funds for medical research, offer aid at senior citizen facilities, build homes for the poor and collect food for the homeless. Our emphasis on service learning prepares members for a lifetime of community involvement.
Leadership Development
Fraternities and sororities are the most successful leadership development program for college students. Financial management, conflict resolution, public relations, effective goal setting and basic democratic principles are everyday lessons for our members. Comprehensive leadership programs teach values-based management skills and members graduate with the management and interpersonal skills needed to excel in today's society.
Academic Success
Our community promotes academic success through chapter-based scholarship programs. There is a minimum GPA for membership, and incentives encourage chapters to maintain a cumulative average higher than the all-university GPA. Fraternity men and sorority women consistently do better academically than the average WCU student.
Academic Performance of Fraternity and Sorority Members
| GPA | Fall 2021 | Spring 2022 | Fall 2022 | Spring 2023 | Fall 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0> Semester | 67% | 65% | 68% | 67% | 71% |
| 3.67 (Deans List) | 32% | 32% | 32% | 26% | 35% |
| 4.0 | 10% | 11% | 9% | 10% | 11% |
| 3.0> Cumulative | 81% | 78% | 73% | 73% | 71% |
Mission & Vision
Mission
To engage fraternity and sorority members in a commitment to their values, shared governance, and advancing the common good through a diverse learning environment that builds a lifelong affinity to West Chester University and the fraternal community.
Vision
Every fraternity and sorority member will carry out the lifelong commitment to live in alignment with their values.
History
Fraternities and sororities have existed at WCU since 1967. View the history of fraternity and sorority life.
Programming
Members of the WCU fraternity and sorority community participate in a wide variety of educational programming on such topics as leadership development, diversity initiatives, alcohol and other drug education, personal health, and career networking. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life provides direction in programming such as:
- Olympus Leadership Series
- Presidents Series (monthly)
- New Officer Training programs
- Council Officer attendance at national and regional conferences
- Fraternity and Sorority Awards and Assessment
- Departmental Partnerships - Women's Center, Career Center
The Fraternal Programming Board is responsible for providing community-wide programming that brings the different chapters together, creating a sense of community and shared purpose such as: community service block cleanups, community wide philanthropy, Greek Weekend and Homecoming events.
Awards and Recognition
Fraternities and sororities were founded to support the academic mission, vision, and values of the host institution where a chapter is recognized. The Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life conducts a yearly assessment of its chapters in order to determine how the core values of individual fraternities and sororities support West Chester University. It is also the intention of the Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life to evaluate its impact on the co-curricular experience at WCU.
Award Winners for the 2023 Academic Year
- Fraternity Member of the Year
- Troy Smith, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
- Sorority Member of the Year
- Annie Stuart, Kappa Delta
- Brianna Joseph, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Outstanding Chapter Presidents
- National Pan-Hellenic Council
- Multicultural Greek Council
- Interfraternity Council
- Panhellenic Council
- Desiree Hall, Delta Theta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
- Sadeyah Persales, Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority, Inc.
- Matteo Santoleri, Pi Kappa Alpha
- Emily Pillarella, Zeta Tau Alpha
- Peter C. Galloway Faculty/Staff Advisor of the Year
- Lisa Bryant, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Matthew Tavares, Alpha Chi Rho
Order of Omega
Order of Omega is a leadership honor society for members of fraternity and sorority organizations. Order of Omega recognizes college juniors and seniors who have exemplified high standards in the areas of scholarship, leadership, and involvement within their respective organizations, campuses, and local communities. Members are selected from the top 3 percent of students at each institution. To date, more than 570 chapters have been chartered throughout North America, each sharing the common goal of recognizing the many outstanding student-leaders at their institutions. The West Chester University Theta Sigma Chapter was re-chartered in the fall of 2019.