At the University of Oregon, our Greek-Letter organizations function as a values-based community that prioritizes Scholarship & Learning, Community Service & Philanthropy, Brotherhood & Sisterhood, Leadership Engagement, and Community Awareness.
When pursuing membership within one of our organizations, the process of recruitment is designed for potential new members to connect with women from all 11 of our chapters and learn more about how each one encompasses the Fraternity and Sorority Life values. It is important that a values-based recruitment guides a woman to a chapter that will help enhance their growth and development at the University of Oregon, even beyond joining a sorority. The Panhellenic Community strives to make each organization’s values and our community’s values the predominant focus during the membership recruitment process. We believe that sorority membership guides each individual towards becoming the best version of themselves and the recruitment process is only the first step. For more information on our values, please click through the values below.
Community Service & Philanthropy
As a member of the FSL Community, you serve an important role of participating in philanthropic endeavors that strive to raise several hundreds of thousands of dollars for the charitable organizations we are passionate about each year. One of the most satisfying aspects of Sorority life is the sense of satisfaction and pride which comes with involvement in Community Service & Philanthropy. As Greek organizations, we aspire to work alongside our sisters and brothers to create a cohesive, philanthropic community. Fundraising events of many kinds are organized each year by our chapters and often involve working together and/or competing against each other to contribute significantly to the communities both on a local and national level. Such projects help members develop qualities such as moral character, civic responsibility, personal development, and many more through the realization of the need to support those in need of a helping hand.
The University of Oregon adopted the national Panhellenic philanthropy, Circle of Sisterhood. This non-profit organization was founded by sorority women on a mission to raise financial resources to help remove educational barriers for girls and women facing poverty and oppression in 24 countries on four continents. Circle of Sisterhood has been able to grant over $675,000 to organizations around the world and has funded 23 school builds in Malawi, Senegal, Haiti, Nepal and Nicaragua since its founding in 2010.
In addition to our philanthropic events, our organizations are very involved in community service projects. Whether visiting residents of a local nursing home, painting public buildings, or reading to preschoolers, each member experiences a feeling of well-being and a sense of worth that comes from the simple expression of care for others. Below are the philanthropic partners of each Panhellenic chapter:
Alpha Chi Omega
Domestic Violence Awareness and Alpha Chi Omega Foundation
Alpha Phi
Heart Health Awareness and Alpha Phi Foundation
Chi Omega
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Delta Delta Delta
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Tri Delta Foundation
Delta Gamma
Service For Sight and Delta Gamma Foundation
Gamma Phi Beta
Girls on the Run and Building Strong Girls
Kappa Alpha Theta
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation
Kappa Delta
Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA) and Girl Scouts
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Early Childhood Cares and Reading is Fundamental (RIF)
Pi Beta Phi
Read>Lead>Achieve and Pi Beta Phi Foundation
Sigma Kappa
Maine Seacoast Mission and Sigma Kappa Foundation
Sisterhood
From Bid Day to graduation, the bonds of sisterhood have the potential to last a lifetime. The bonds and friendships made are based on the shared values of your organization and our community. Our sisterhoods provide some of the greatest support systems during the collegiate experience, as well as incredible networking opportunities and lifelong relationships beyond college. These relationships will provide you with support to be involved, challenged, and empowered throughout your time at Oregon. Your commitment to your chapter and sisters will uphold the expectations of accountability and promise to your values so you can reach your full leadership potential.
Activities
Philanthropies, socials, and sisterhood events provide opportunities for sisters to grow closer, but our campus traditions of sisterhood retreats really define the closeness of our bonds. Many chapters hold sisterhood retreats at the Oregon coast, local hiking destinations, and other venues such as the trampoline park, ice skating rink, or the pumpkin patch. These retreats can be overnight or just for a few hours and encourage women to meet more sisters, share their experiences, and grow as a chapter.
Additionally, chapters hold events with other chapters to spread Panhellenic love and unity. Whether it’s a joint hike and brunch, a game of dodgeball, or campus-wide dinner swaps, our Panhellenic chapters celebrate one united sisterhood. We do this by supporting other chapter’s philanthropies, as well as our campus wide philanthropy: Circle of Sisterhood. The active Panhellenic community provides so many different opportunities to strengthen the bonds of sisterhood, and try something new here in Eugene!
“Big and Little” is a tradition that is seen across many university campuses. A “Big” sister’s job is to take a new member under her wing and help integrate the “Little” into the sorority. Although, to many Big sisters, this relationship means so much more than that. The bond between a Big and Little is very special and often times becomes a bond that is lifelong. This mentorship program has seen many successful relationships over the years and many women have stated that their college experience would not have been the same without meeting their Big sister.
Academic Achievement
Our Panhellenic community prides itself on holding all our members to a high academic standard. As a University of Oregon student and member of a Greek-letter organization, it is expected of you to strive attach academic achievement and personal development. While each chapter has a unique scholarship program, all our members push their sisters to better themselves and strive for their personal best. Our chapters use many different resources, such as proctored study hours, incentive programs, and scholarship dinners, to help their members reach their academic goals. Panhellenic Council assists in these efforts by offering guest speakers, workshops, community wide study tables, scholarships, and assistance to any chapter’s scholarship chair.
Scholarships
Every year, at our Greek Excellence Awards, we present chapter awards highlighting exceptional Scholarship & Learning as well as multiple scholarships to outstanding women in our community. While the scholarships vary by year, there are always many opportunities for our members to receive financial rewards for their hard work and academic success. Additionally, this coming year, we will begin awarding a Panhellenic-wide scholarship available to all active members.
For more information on all scholarships, please contact [email protected].
Leadership Engagement
The University of Oregon’s Panhellenic community is a group of diverse women that are united in their respective pursuits of leadership and community involvement both within their respected chapter and the entire FSL community. Through the Panhellenic community, every student has ample opportunity to foster relationships and refine skills that not only directly impact our community tremendously, but also translate into the professional world. Our community opens an infinite amount of doors by both inspiring and empowering women to be the best version of themselves and to share that within the Panhellenic community and the University-at-large. Listed below are a few examples of the opportunities provided by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life that members have to grow as a leader and to develop professional engagement in our community:
Panhellenic Council
The Panhellenic Council at the University of Oregon is the coordinating body of 11 National Panhellenic Conference sororities here on campus. The council is composed of current sorority executive board members who disaffiliate from their chapters during the recruitment process in order to provide an unbiased opinion and support for all. Panhellenic strives to strengthen the Greek community and promotes our FSL values of Scholarship & Learning, Community Service & Philanthropy, Brotherhood & Sisterhood, Leadership Engagement, and Community Awareness. The Panhellenic Council provides programs throughout the year to address current issues affecting college women, promote diversity and positive change within the Greek community, and celebrates the contributions each member makes to their organization and to our entire community.
Fraternal Leadership Academy
The Fraternal Leadership Academy is a weekend retreat that invites leaders from the entire community to come together and engage in meaningful conversations surrounding fraternity and sorority life on campus. Through activities ranging from bonding to facilitate group discussions about issues facing our membership, this retreat allows for an open dialogue to exist between the entire community at the start of each year. The Fraternal Leadership Academy creates a network of passionate leaders through relationship building with each other and advisors, and setting shared goals and ways to achieve such goals to set the tone for our community and sets the bar high for what we strive to accomplish.
Emerging Leaders Retreat
The Emerging Leaders Retreat is a program designed specifically for younger, recently welcomed members of the University of Oregon Fraternity and Sorority Community to learn more about the history of Greek organizations, discover their personal values, and engage in activities that focus on leadership development. The goal of the retreat is to start a conversation amongst younger membership that will develop thoughtful leadership and critical thinking in future leaders. Throughout this weekend, members of our community are challenged to think critically about the issues the Greek community is currently facing and what actions are needed to be taken in order to establish a future opportunities of leadership and personal development. Many members who have attended this weekend have gone on to hold leadership positions within their chapter, on the council executive board, and in various student organizations on campus.
