Sigma Phi Epsilon“SigEp”

The NC Delta Chapter The University of North Carolina

Chapel Hill, NC

18 November 2008

Group #3Patricia Szeto, Jack Michel, and Jonathan Pegram

Sociology 410

What is Sigma Phi Epsilon at UNC?Sigma Phi Epsilon is a campus organization with a long history at UNC

Officially known as the Sigma Phi Epsilon NC Delta Chapter Founded on campus on February 26, 1921More than 1,200 chapter alumni including

Current UNC Chair of the Board of Trustees - Roger Perry (1973)Advertising Mogul (Young and Rubicam CEO) and Silver Star Recipient – Edward Vick Jr. (1966)Extreme Long Distance Runner (successfully ran the Sahara Desert) and CBS producer – Charlie Engle (1984)Distinguished former UNC professor - Dr. Sterling Hennis (1952)

45 current membersFrom many places across the United StatesInvolved in numerous other campus organizations

Possess a 6,000 square foot chapter house located at 207 West Cameron Avenue

The NC Delta Chapter is an entity of the national Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity

Founded on November 1, 1901The largest national fraternity with over 14,000 current undergraduate members262,000 lifetime members including

Dave Thomas, Dr. Seuss, John Goodman, Rich Gannon, Orel Hershiser, James Naismith, and many more…Over 260 national chapters

First fraternity to charter a chapter in all 50 states

Goals of Sigma Phi EpsilonImplicit

Be the best fraternity Have the

highest GPAmost and highest quality membersmost chaptersmost successful alumni

Promote the well-being of all fraternity members Ensure strong membership development, a suitable living environment, and provide outstanding opportunity for chapter members

Ensure the fraternity’s future survivalMinimize risk-management violationsTrain leaders for chapter and national fraternity leadership

ExplicitMission Statement: “Building Balanced Leaders for the World’s Communities.”Chapter members live life following the fraternity’s three cardinal principles of virtue, diligence, and brotherly love.

Activity Systems• A list of some activity systems within the

Fraternity• Programming

• Membership Development (Covered in detail on next slide)

• Social Events• Mixers, Cocktails, Alumni Tailgates, Rush

• Philanthropy/Service Events• Slugfest• Relay for Life• Carrboro Rec Youth Coaching

• Chapter Meetings• Exec Board and general chapter meetings

• Chapter Operations• Finances, food, housing, recruitment, etc..

Activity Systems

New Member• Pledge Class Cohort System

Every semester, the fraternity recruits a pledge class (usually between 10-25 young men) that goes through the new member program together. The cohort system emphasizes the importance of teamwork, group responsibility, and true friendship (brotherly love).

• Rituals Most important to new members. These teach the values, meanings, and lessons of the fraternityAll brothers participate in these every semester to reaffirm the meaning and valuesOnly known to initiated members

Initiated MembersThe Leadership Continuum

The national fraternity offers three leadership programs:

the regional EDGE Camp (for young initiated members)the regional Carlson Leadership Academy (for incoming chapter officers)the national Ruck Leadership Institute (individual personal development funded by the SigEp Educational Foundation)

A Chapter Sponsored Speaker Series

Alumni Mentoring/NetworkingThere are over 1,200 alumni from the NC Delta Chapter and many give back through their time and experience. With so many successful alums, the networking opportunity the chapter provides to its members is exceptional.

Membership Development

The In-take Process• An obvious membership barrier of entry exists through the member

intake process of Sigma Phi Epsilon. • There are two important divisions to the overall member intake

process:

• Rush/Formal Recruitment• Rush is the period when all of the Greek organizations at UNC make an effort

to recruit new members into their intake programs. Typically, fraternities at UNC throw recruitment oriented parties and invite potential new members out to eat during this time. This recruitment period is officially sponsored by UNC through the four Greek councils.

• The Official New Member Program• A typically eight week training period for all who desire to become a member

of Sigma Phi Epsilon. This program requires much personal effort to complete. At the conclusion of the program, new members undergo initiation to become full initiated members. Every initiate is proud of the effort and time put into becoming a member.

Boundary Maintenance

Fraternity SymbolsBoundary Maintenance

Physical Borders• The chapter house is the most

obvious physical boundary of any fraternity on campus across the nation. At UNC, SigEp is no different.

• The SigEp house provides members a location to meet, spend time together, and conduct fraternity business.

• About the House:• Close to 6,000 square feet• Built in 1984 • Provides shelter to as many as

forty two members and food for all members• Twenty Four Bedrooms• Possesses a full kitchen and serving

facilities

Boundary Maintenance

Inception Stage

Richmond CollegeThere were 12 Founding Fathers

These twelve men decided everything about the fraternity.Their beliefs and reasoning are still found in almost everything within the fraternity today.

Founding Date: November 1, 1901

Founder’s BlueprintThree Guiding Principles

Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love

Learn from the mistakes of the already established fraternities

The SigEp NC Delta ChapterUNC Chapel Hill

There were 13 Founding FathersThese thirteen were present at the time the UNC chapter was created.

Founding Date: February 26, 1921

Founder’s BlueprintFollow the blueprints of the original twelve founding fathers at Richmond College to create an excellent chapter at a prestigious university

Evolutionary History - FoundingThe First SigEp Chapter

Subsequent Changes - Chapter History

The History of SigEp at UNC has had Three Clear DivisionsActive (1921-41)

This was an attempt at the local founding stage that eventually disbanded. Unfortunately, much of this early history was destroyed by a fire in 1935.

Dormant (1941-48)Chapter financial difficulties along with the influx of World War II caused the chapter to close and go dormant at UNC. The plan was for the chapter to eventually re-emerge at UNC.

Active again (1948-Present)Many WWII veterans returned to UNC Chapel Hill. Some had been SigEps at Davidson College before going off to fight, but instead of returning to Davidson, they came to UNC on the GI Bill. With the support of earlier alums and the national chapter, these veterans re-started the chapter. The support from the national chapter ensured it was done according to SigEp standards.

Evolutionary History

Three Main Divisions

Subsequent Changes

• The chapter has undergone much change since 1948 in terms of its officer structure. There was a minimal number of positions at the time:• President• Comptroller (Finances)• Social Chair• Secretary • House Manager• Chaplain

• The chapter’s officer structure today is much different as can be seen just by simply examining a flow chart (on the next slide)

Evolutionary History

NC Delta Chapter Original Office Structure

Subsequent ChangesEvolutionary History

Chapter Bureaucratization – The Results

Subsequent ChangesEvolutionary History

The Bureaucratic System of the National Fraternity

Subsequent Changes• In 1991, a mass organizational change swept through the fraternity with

the establishment of the Balanced Man Program. This program abolished the traditional pledging model and replaced it with a continuous four year member development program. • Any new or re-charted chapter emerging after this date would only have the

option of chartering as a Balanced Man chapter. • Anytime a chapter has its charters revoked, it may only return as a Balanced

Man Chapter. • Existing chapters could voluntarily decide whether to remain traditional or

adopt the Balanced Man Program.• Some chapters adopted the program

• Most remained traditional and openly criticized the program for not being anything similar to what a fraternity should be.

• When a traditional chapter has a risk management violation or an incident in violation, the chapter is often offered conversion to the Balanced Man Program as an alternative.

Evolutionary History

Mass Organizational Change – The Balanced Man Program

Subsequent Changes• Following the creation of the Balanced Man Program, little was different in

the traditional NC Delta Chapter for it was one of the strongest chapters within the entire fraternity. • However, a string of poor recruitment efforts and series of bad events

led to the chapter falling to average Sigep Standards by the year 2000.• The national fraternity pushed hard for the NC Delta Chapter to adopt the Balanced

Man Program in order to return the chapter to its former self.• The NC Delta chapter’s alumni and brother leadership heavily resisted national’s

efforts. As a result, the relationship between the chapter and the national fraternity was severely damaged. Some chapter alumni lost so much respect for the national fraternity that they have not been involved since. Other chapter alumni who supported the Balanced Man Program felt ostracized from the chapter and also have not shown much involvement since.

• Today, the chapter is still a traditional chapter. It is making strides to return to its former glory days through strong brother and alumni effort. The national fraternity is still pushing hard for the chapter to adopt the Balanced Man Program. This relationship is still strained.

Evolutionary History

The Effect of the Change on the NC Delta Chapter

Inter-organizational Relationships

• UNC Inter-fraternity Council

• SigEp is one of the twenty two member organizations that make up the UNC Inter-Fraternity Council.

• This is a self-governing group that has council-wide standards and judicial policies.

• SigEp delegates attend IFC meetings that occur every two weeks

Evolutionary History

• UNC Greeks• The chapter is one of the organizations

comprising the UNC Greek System. There are 54 organizations within this system.

• The chapter receives the same benefits and standards of other Greek Organizations on campus. The chapter attends meetings that are held once per month for these organizations.

• SigEp socializes frequently with many of the fraternities and sororities that make up the Inter-Fraternity and Pan-Hellenic Council.

• Since a person can only be a member of one social fraternity, no SigEps are members of any other Greek social organizations.

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Sigma Phi Epsilon is recognized as an official organization at UNC. It receives the same standards and benefits as all other organizations on campus.

• The chapter is invited to all general organization meetings held at UNC.

• The chapter is in communication with various other organizations at UNC.

• A number of fraternity members participate in other organizations on campus.

• The National Fraternity and Other SigEp Chapters• Each chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon is a

separate entity even though it is part of the mother organization.

• All initiated SigEp members are welcome at other SigEp chapters.

• Local interaction is the most usual. Other main points of interaction occur at the Leadership Continuum Events, as well as at the national SigEp Conclave.

Inter-organizational RelationshipsEvolutionary History

Other National Fraternities have produced concepts similar to Sigma Phi Epsilon’s “Balanced Man Program.”

Beta Theta Pi“Man of Principle”

Sigma Alpha Epsilon“True Gentleman”

Pi Kappa Alpha“True Pike”

Lambda Chi Alpha“True Brother Initiative”

The SigEp National Fraternity uses this trend as a push on chapters resistant to change. They ask: “If it does not work, then why is everyone copying it?”

National Imitation of the Balanced Man Program

Prospects of the FutureEvolutionary History

• The problem of low numbers and less effective recruitment• People are able to have the

same benefits in other clubs that fraternities provide

• Numbers for the entire Greek system at UNC have been going down

•Conflict with UNC • The current Chancellor does not

fully support the Greek System. He was not a member of a fraternity during his time here. He sees the Greek System as a source of problems for UNC.

•The Balanced Man Program + Conflict with Nationals• The NC Delta Chapter still relies

upon the traditional cohort system. The national fraternity wants 90% of all chapters to be Balanced Man by 2011. The NC Delta Chapter is one of less than 40 chapters that are still traditional.