College Sororities Recognized for Excellence (has video)

The College of Charleston’s Panhellenic community has been awarded the National Panhellenic Conference College Panhellenic Achievement Award. This is the second year in a row the College of Charleston has been honored with this recognition from the National Panhellenic Conference, which serves as an umbrella organization for its 26-member national and international sororities.

There are currently 26 fraternities and sororities represented on the College of Charleston campus, and about 22 percent of the student body participates in Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Specifically, the Panhellenic Achievement Award recognizes the accomplishments of the Panhellenic sororities on campus, and how the College is “upholding the values and ideals of a Panhellenic through the areas of recruitment, Panhellenic structure, communication with your NPC area advisor, judicial procedures, Panhellenic programming, academics and Panhellenic community impact and relations.”

Sorority sisters during Bid Day 2014.

Speaking of community impact, Fraternity and Sorority Life at the College is responsible for many positive contributions to the Charleston community. During the 2014-15 academic year, fraternity and sorority members at the College volunteered nearly 33,000 hours with some 280 organizations and charities throughout the region, including efforts to assist and support children, senior citizens, animals and the environment.

Fraternity and Sorority Life also raised more than $325,000 for a wide range of philanthropic causes, including St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network, and Darkness to Light, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending child sexual abuse.

And each fall, Fraternity and Sorority Life members host a weeklong Pep Supper to collect food items for the Lowcountry Food Bank. Last year this resulted in more than 80,000 pounds of food being collected for the food bank– their largest donation of the year.

For College of Charleston President Glenn F. McConnell ’69, who was president of Pi Kappa Phi as an undergraduate at the College, Fraternity and Sorority Life’s recognition from the National Panhellenic Conference is well deserved.

“I’m proud of our fraternity and sorority members who are spending their time making civic contributions in Charleston,” said McConnell. “Receiving this recognition highlights the positive course our sororities and the Panhellenic Council have taken at the College. These sorority members are excellent ambassadors of the College and are enhancing the communities in which they live through their commitment to public service and leadership.”

Learn more about the College’s Fraternity and Sorority Life offerings.

And hear from a former president of the College’s Panhellenic Council about one of her best sorority life memories: