The Center of Fraternity and Sorority Life Development attended the Northeast Greek Leadership Conference Feb23rd-26th in Pittsburgh, PA. This conference allows our council leadership to connect with other schools in an effort to network, learn and grow as leaders. During this conference period, schools are eligible to nominate themselves for awards. The University of Connecticut was able to be recongized in several of the award categories.
- Guenzler Award- Babara Buzzelli (Alpha Phi Advisor)
The Guenzler Award recognizes a staff member or volunteer of a fraternity/sorority organization who has made significant and long-term contributions to the fraternity/sorority community within the Northeast region or to the Northeast Greek Leadership Association.
Some of her nominators would describe her as passionate, committed and inspiring. Barbara has been working with the Iota Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi for 15 years. She has pushed Alpha Phi to set high standards for their chapter and has help guide them in completing and achieving the standards.
- Civic Engagement Award- Panhellenic Council
Recognizes a chapter, council, or community for their positive and impactful work related to civic engagement. Those who receive this award are recognized for creative programming, events, and fundraising opportunities which allow their community members to truly make a difference.
Carniville is a carnival-themed philanthropy event held in Husky Village. All of our Panhellenic chapters participate by hosting a station to fundraise for their philanthropy, and the Panhellenic Delegates host a station to fundraise for UConn Panhellenic’s local philanthropy.Carniville allowed our community to reflect on the importance of the philanthropic organizations and the causes that we are raising money towards, and brought awareness of other chapter’s philanthropies to outside members. In addition, the Panhellenic community was able to reflect on how the collaborative nature of the event allowed each participating individual to contribute in supporting all the philanthropies involved. Our organization was educated about the social justice issues and philanthropic causes addressed by this program by the Panhellenic Council highlighting each chapter’s philanthropy throughout the semester in various ways. For example, Panhellenic shared social media posts of the chapters and their respective philanthropies, and during Panhellenic meetings, our council hosted a get to know the chapters/philanthropies activity, a local philanthropy presentation, and on a weekly basis shared events held by the chapters and the philanthropies they were being held for. Keeping our Panhellenic community aware of the philanthropies we support played an important part of educating all of our members in the purpose for Carniville.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Recognizes a chapter, council, or community for their positive and impactful work related to development and leadership. Those recognized have demonstrated the importance of a shared vision and a community which fosters everyone to obtain their higher leadership potential.
The "Black Male Excellence Summit" is a program that brings together successful Black men from various professional fields to provide workshops and mentorship to students of color. The program is organized by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and the Scholars House learning community. The workshops cover a range of topics including public speaking, wealth management, and more, with the goal of showing students the limitless opportunities available to them in life. Given the changes brought about by the ongoing pandemic in 2022, the program would have had to adapt in order to continue operations. Some changes that have been made include transitioning to virtual or online format and implementing social distancing measures. The pandemic has added a layer of complexity to organizing events and gatherings, but it also added an opportunity to reach a wider audience and to be more creative with the program format. Additionally, the pandemic opened up more opportunities for virtual mentorship and networking, as well as more access to virtual resources that could have been leveraged by the program to continue its missi
- Multicultural Initiatives/Programming-
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Recognizes a chapter, council, or community for their positive and impactful work that celebrates the diverse nature of our campuses, organizations, and communities.
The "What Does Being Black Mean to You?" program is a multicultural program that aims to give students an opportunity to express their perspectives on what it means to be Black through various forms of artistic expression, such as poetry, art, spoken word, music, and more. The program is organized by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and the multicultural business society. This program focuses on showcasing the diversity and beauty of the Black experience, providing a space for students to share their feelings, thoughts and emotions on what it means to be Black, with their peers and the community through all forms of artistic expressions.
- Risk Reduction- Alpha Phi
Recognizes a chapter, council, or community for programming focused on responsible decision making and holding one another accountable.
This year we increased our focus on Risk management, specifically in the focus of communication in the event of an emergency or risk related issue. In the past two years our chapter has been utilizing the app OurHouse for event safety and member safety. Having periodic “test emergency check-ins” was essential to ensuring members felt comfortable using the app and checking in to assert that in case of a true emergency they would be able to check in for our leadership to monitor safety and reach out to any individuals in potential harm. Aside from using this app in a precautionary manner, we have also conducted scenario based workshops and presentations to educate members on procedures and resources in the event of a personal, campus, or external crisis. Topics such as drugs/alcohol, mental health and body image, anti-hazing, and the science of exercise were workshops that our Chapter organized with the help of university staff to enrich our community and provide proper education. Amongst these conversations we reviewed our Chapter and International Bylaws and Emergency Risk plans to ensure that we clearly stated our position of support as leaders but also acknowledge our limitations and identify scenarios in which it be necessary to call in the help of staff or professionals. This was essential in our management of risk scenarios this year and with the help of advising staff we were able to effectively monitor and problem solve in face of challenges and threats presented to member safety. At weekly chapter meetings we would review the sequence for major chapter events and the expectations and safety precautions for them. Having check in meetings with event monitors prior to any event that alcohol would be present at and ensuring that all sisters were practicing safe habits and following limits on consumption was a measure taken to ensure member safety.
We also had a few members participate in the STEP, STROLL and SALUTE Competition. Members that participated were Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc., Lambda Theta Phi Fraternity, Inc. and Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority, Inc. These participant had 12hr to come up with a routine and practice with members of their chapters from other school in which most of them had never met prior to NGLA, and be ready to perform.
Lambda Theta Phi- 2nd Place Overall
Lambda Theta Alpha 3rd Place Overall
Congrats to all the students that participated and received awards for the great work they are donig here at the University of Connecticut.