Administration has acknowledged Temple’s growing need for a larger selection of Greek organizations and has decided that now is the time to take action.
With the number of female students interested in sororities rapidly increasing, Greek Life administration decided to add another organization to Temple’s community of sororities.
Multiple prospective sororities from the Panhellenic Association will be meeting with administration during the next two weeks, and current sororities will decide which organization best fits the Greek community in such a diverse and urban setting.
The names of these prospective sororities have not been released.
Last year, Temple experienced a 100 percent increase in the number of girls rushing from the previous year, and the trend is predicted to continue. Many male and female students see rushing Greek organizations as a way to make new friends and develop connections once they transfer to campus or start their college career.
“We are definitely adding a new sorority,” Director of Student Activities Christopher Carey said. “Organizations will be coming to campus in the upcoming weeks to do presentations, and then the extension committee will decide on the preferred organization. This is a direct result of the continued growth in the number of women that have registered to be a part of Panhellenic recruitment.”
The sorority that is selected will not be available for rush this semester, but will start their recruitment process in the upcoming spring semester. The sorority that is chosen will be a part of the Panhellenic Association, in which four sororities at Temple have membership.
The Panhellenic Association consists of 14 organizations that are nationally recognized sororities, meaning Temple has 10 remaining nationally recognized sororities in the Panhellenic Association to choose from.
“We will be adding a much needed, fifth Panhellenic sorority,” President of the Temple University Greek Association Cori Shearer said. “We’ve invited two Panhellenic sororities to give presentations. From there, each current Panhellenic sorority is given a vote, and the sorority voted in by the current sororities will begin chartering and recruiting in the spring of 2014.”
Along with a new Panhellenic sorority, Temple will also hire a new program coordinator to advise all of the fraternities, sororities and umbrella organizations. This position has been a vacant spot since the last coordinator moved on to a new role.
“The person will be selected like any other vacancy in our office, which is a phone screening to narrow the candidate pool,” Carey said. “This will be followed by an invitation for an on-campus interview for selected candidates. Those on-campus interviews consist of time with both departmental staff and involved students. The successful candidate’s start time depends on a number of items, so it is difficult to say exactly when she or he will begin.”
The name of the sorority and program coordinator will be released in the near future on a currently unspecified date.
Mary Smith can be reached at mary.smith@temple.edu
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