By Nicarlyle Hanchard / Jambar Contributor
Youngstown State University’s Fraternity and Sorority Life program recently contracted RISE Partnerships for an external review.
RISE Partnerships is a consulting firm geared toward providing fraternities and sororities with the tools needed to achieve the goals outlined for its organizations.
Erin Driscoll, executive director of Student Experience and Residence Life, said the program has participated in several reviews over the past decade, but this is the first external firm contracted to review the program’s structure. She said the review process has been insightful, and she looks forward to the findings.
“Now that we’ve had the experience and have developed a good relationship [with RISE] just at the midpoint of this review process, my hope is that it’s something — whether it’s once every 10 or 15 years — that we might continue just to make sure we’re still on track and up to date on national trends,” Driscoll said.
When some people hear of an external review, they assume something negative. Driscoll said that’s not the case for YSU’s program review.
“There were several events that brought us to this point,” Driscoll said. “A few years back, Joy Polkabla Byers moved into the associate vice president role, and so, with her oversight of student experience, Greek Life was something she wanted us to take a look at.”
Dan Wrona, CEO and founder of RISE Partnerships, said consultations help channel an organization’s ideas and guide it toward implementation. He was impressed with the participation and input of YSU’s various stakeholders.
“What’s been exciting about this is we’ve heard more desire for change from folks,” Wrona said. “There are a lot of things that fraternity and sorority leaders want to take on, so our work is helping draw out the ideas that people already have and providing guidance for the best way to approach it.”
Wrona said the review process begins with collecting data on the policies and structure of the organizations, followed by a series of interviews and group sessions to hear firsthand experiences and expectations from stakeholders.
Driscoll said stakeholders in this process include past and present members of the fraternity and sorority life programs, various university administrators, the university president and dean of students.
At the end of the review process, a report will be provided to the program administrators with recommendations for how the organizations could move forward. Driscoll said the implementation process could take up to two years.
Wrona said part of that process is benchmarking YSU’s program against other universities.
“Looking at how they manage and support their fraternity and sorority communities, what’s been successful there, and looking to see what we can learn from them about what to do — or not do — to better support the community,” Wrona said.
For the past decade, there has been a shift in referring to “Greek Life” as “Fraternity and Sorority Life.” Wrona said the change came at a time when students were associating Greek Life — fraternities and sororities — with the culture of Greece.
Some, like Driscoll, believe the shift will positively impact the portrayal of fraternities and sororities.
“There has been some talk, even this week, about how the term ‘Greek Life’ can [evoke] some of the stereotypes of what movies and television might portray about the fraternity and sorority experience,” Driscoll said. “Our students in those organizations have said that’s not the experience they’re having.”
In light of Kilcawley Center’s renovations, Driscoll said she hopes Fraternity and Sorority Life will contribute to student experiences, and doing the review now will give the program ample opportunity to implement the recommendations.
“Looking at Fraternity and Sorority Life really as a way that, once that new student center is in place and operational, hopefully fraternities and sororities are a big part of bringing new life to that newly redesigned building,” Driscoll said.
Both Driscoll and Wrona said students have expressed their desire to grow as leaders within their organizations.
Wrona said he was amazed by YSU’s fraternity and sorority programs, as members have shown how much they value the community they are part of, and built among themselves.
“I’ve been impressed with this community specifically. Their focus is really heavy on philanthropy and service — they want to give back, they want to have an impact on the community,” Wrona said. “That is who they see themselves as, as opposed to just a social group.”