New Sorority to Join Community

The University of Cincinnati’s Greek community has not seen a new sorority for 74 years – but Fall 2009 will bring more to campus than colorful fall leaves and eager freshmen.

Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women will establish its 134th collegiate chapter for the upcoming school year.

Three national Panhellenic conference organizations received an invitation to compete for the chance to establish a chapter on UC’s campus, with Pi Beta Phi among them.

In April, Pi Beta Phi officers and staff presented information about their organization to UC students and faculty. UC solidified the organization’s acceptance in early May, inviting Pi Beta Phi to establish a chapter on the school’s main campus.

UC’s newest addition to Greek Life will be Pi Phi’s Ohio Kappa Chapter, the eighth chapter in Ohio.

Grand Vice President of Membership Luellen Smith expressed enthusiasm about the chapter joining the UC Greek community.

“Pi Phi alumnae and collegians in the area are already working on the chapter’s colonization plans,” Smith said.

Pi Beta Phi will assist the new chapter with its establishment, providing a local advisory committee as well as an on-site leadership development consultant. A six-person regional support team will also be available for assistance.

April 28, 1867 marked the Pi Beta Phi founding at Monmouth College in Illinois. The organization was the first national covert college society of women modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men, and it established a feeling of unity among ambitious women during a time when few women were permitted to pursue university education.

The fraternity founded a settlement school in Gatlinburg, Tenn., in 1912 and oversaw all education in the mountainous town from 1912 to 1969.

The fraternity, in accordance with its commitment to literacy, formed a partnership with First Book, a non profit organization committed to providing children from low-income homes the opportunity to read and own books.

Pi Beta Phi currently has 133 active chapters as well as more than 350 alumnae groups in the United States and Canada.

Greek life has been a part of the University of Cincinnati since 1840, and to date there are more than 1,300 recognized Greek members at UC or approximately 4.6 percent of the total undergraduate population.

The addition of Pi Phi to the Greek community will add another piece to the Greek Life puzzle at UC, said Nicole Drumm, UC and Theta Phi Alpha alumna.

“It will help expand Greek Life, promote greater bonds among those involved and give an opportunity for more people who are interested in Greek Life to get involved,” Drumm said.

The UC fraternity and sorority community consists of 22 fraternities and 11 sororities.

“It will be good to have another set of girls on the block,” Drumm said.   

The Greek community’s dedication to community service is part of what makes it such an asset to UC, Drumm said.

“Every year, at the end of Greek Week there is a presentation culminating in a quantitative analysis of what the Greek system has accomplished in Cincinnati and nationally,” Drumm said.  “The organizations need to be a productive part of the Cincinnati and university community. We need to give back – it’s the main reason we’re there.”

Members of Theta Phi Alpha volunteer at the Bethany House, a local shelter for battered women and children. Last winter, the sorority raised more than $4,000 for the shelter as part of the Theta Phi Bowl.

“Greek Life is not only about the bonds of friendship and professional career development,” Drumm said.  “I got a personal look at the Cincinnati community through working with the Bethany House.”

Greek Week 2009 at UC raised $38,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, giving six children in Greater Cincinnati the opportunity to go to Disney World through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“I am sure Pi Beta Phi will add their experience and philanthropic support to the UC campus, both locally and nationally,” Drumm said.  “And I am sure they will become a productive part of the Greek community.”