Greek life at the University of Georgia

Greek Life at the University of Georgia comprises more than three dozen active chapters of social fraternities and sororities. While most of the groups are chapters of national organizations, including members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, National Panhellenic Conference and National Pan-Hellenic Council, independent groups and those with other affiliations also exist. On Campus the Greek Life Office is located in Memorial Hall.

Students with Greek affiliation made up 23 percent of the undergraduate student body as of 2007, including 21% of the males and 24% of the females. [ [http://www.uga.edu/panhellenic Panhellenic Council | Welcome ] ] Perhaps the most prominent features of Greek Life at the University are the large, mostly Greek Revival, mansions maintained by the national fraternities and sororities as chapter houses and lodges lining South Milledge Avenue and South Lumpkin Street and the ubiquitous t-shirts worn by students on campus commemorating Greek social events.

In 2005 the University announced that five of the fraternities on Lumpkin Street would need to be relocated by June 2008. The school plans to build academic buildings on the house sites, which the University owns and the fraternities lease. UGA offered to relocate the Lumpkin fraternities and two others to River Road, located on east campus. None of the fraternities have agreed to move to River Road, and some plan to move off campus instead.

History

While the first college fraternities were founded in the early 19th century, Greek letter fraternities did not find their way to the University of Georgia until after the American Civil War (the "Mystic Seven Secret Society" was founded at UGA in 1846, but it was Hebrew in nomenclature, not Greek). This was due, in large part, to the existence of the long-established literary societies, Demosthenian and Phi Kappa which served many of the social needs of the early student body. The first Greek letter fraternity to charter at the university was Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 1865. By the 1870s, a number of fraternities existed on campus, presenting a challenge to Demosthenian and Phi Kappa. Founded in 1871, Phi Delta Theta is the longest continuously opperated of the fraternity at the University. The trustees of the university, in a move common during that time, outlawed the groups in favor of the literary societies. While some continued "sub rosa", many died out. In 1878, Patrick Hues Mell was asked to become chancellor of the university, and did so only on the condition that the fraternities be allowed back on campus. The modern Greek system at the university then began to take shape, and eight groups were represented by the end of Mell's tenure. Mell himself was said to have accepted honorary membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon. [ [http://www.arches.uga.edu/~lnoles/thesis/mellch4.html CHAPTER 4: PATRICK HUES MELL: THE CHANCELLOR, 1878-1888 ] ] [ [http://www.founders.org/library/mell_life/chap16.html Life of Patrick Hues Mell ] ]

Since then, women's fraternities -- also known as sororities -- have joined the system, as well as numerous groups focused on particular ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The first sorority to charter at the school was Phi Mu in 1921.

Many leaders in the state of Georgia and the United States have had their roots in the University of Georgia's Greek system, and many campus leaders also emerge from the Greek houses. The overall grade point average of Greek undergraduate students is consistently higher than the campus as a whole. 84% of Greek women earned a GPA of over a 3.0. [http://ugagreeklife.com/ifc/downloads/2005FallGradeReport.pdf]

However, some students feel Greeks have an undue influence on campus politics and student organizations. Some members of the community have raised concerns about Greek houses, particularly fraternity houses which often fall into disrepair, becoming a bad influence on neighborhoods. The latter sentiments resulted in a 2006 moratorium passed by the Athens-Clarke County government that prevented new construction of fraternity and sorority houses in areas zoned for multi-family residences and commercial businesses until August 2006. [http://www.redandblack.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/20/43f91b3839c99?in_archive=1] [http://www.redandblack.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/13/43efefe17fab5?in_archive=1] Now all new Greek housing built in those zones require special approval. [ [http://onlineathens.com/stories/080306/uganews_20060803075.shtml OnlineAthens.com | UGANews | Greek building curbed 08/03/06 ] ]

Honorary Organizations

The university is home to a chapter of the Order of Omega, an honor society which selects the top 3% of Greek students for membership. [ [http://uga.edu/greeklife/honorssocieties.htm Greek Life Forms & Policies ] ] Two groups unique to UGA are the men's secret society known as the "Order of the Greek Horsemen" which annually inducts between three and seven fraternity men, all leaders of the Greek system, and the women's secret society known as "Trust of the Pearl" which annually inducts five leaders of the Greek system.

List of Chapters

ororities

The following groups are members of the Panhellenic Council. They are listed in order of their chapter's founding at the University of Georgia.

Fraternities

The following groups are members of the Interfraternity Council (IFC). They are listed in order of their chapter's founding at the University of Georgia.

Historically African-American Organizations

The following groups are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

* Alpha Phi Alpha
* Kappa Alpha Psi
* Phi Beta Sigma
* Omega Psi Phi
* Alpha Kappa Alpha
* Delta Sigma Theta
* Zeta Phi Beta
* Sigma Gamma Rho

Other Fraternities and Sororities

The following groups are members of the Multicultural Greek Council.

* Delta Phi Lambda Asian-interest sorority
* Sigma Beta Rho Multicultural Fraternity
* Lambda Theta Alpha Latina sorority
* Lambda Phi Epsilon Asian-interest fraternity
* Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino fraternity
* Sigma Sigma Rho South-Asian Sorority

Other multicultural groups include Alpha Sigma Rho Asian-interest sorority and Xi Kappa Asian-interest fraternity which were both founded at the University of Georgia. A chapter of the Latino fraternity, Lambda Theta Phi, has also been founded at the University of Georgia.

Delta Phi Lambda and Lambda Phi Epsilon, along with Sigma Beta Rho, went on to establish the Multicultural Greek Council at the University of Georgia. Currently three other national organizations have joined the Multicultural Greek Council and have been servicing the University community through various events and community service.

Christian Greek-letter social organizations include Beta Upsilon Chi fraternity and Sigma Alpha Omega sorority.

Xi Delta is an independent local social sorority not associated with any specific culture or heritage.

Zeta Psi (colony) established 2006; while an NIC member fraternity, the colony has not been admitted to the local IFC.

Greek-letter service organizations include Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority and Alpha Phi Omega co-ed fraternity. UGA is also home to a chapter of Phi Sigma Pi honor fraternity.

Co-ed business fraternities on campus include Delta Sigma Pi and Alpha Kappa Psi.

The UGA School of Music accommodates two professional musical organizations, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity and Sigma Alpha Iota sorority. Kappa Kappa Psi, national co-ed band service fraternity, installed a chapter in 1999.

Former Organizations

* Acacia Fraternity (closed 1989)
* Alpha Xi Delta
* Delta Chi (closed 2008)
* Delta Kappa Epsilon (closed 1995)
* Delta Phi Epsilon (closed 2007)
* FarmHouse
* Phi Kappa Tau (closed 2007)
* Sigma Tau Gamma
* Theta Nu Epsilon (secret society)
* Zeta Beta Tau (chapter of Phi Epsilon Pi from 1905 until its merger into ZBT in 1970) (closed 2004)
* Mystic Seven

Notable alumni

Business

*Daniel P. Amos, CEO of AFLAC - Sigma Nu
*Eugene R. Black, Sr. - President of Atlanta Trust Co. Bank and Chairman of the Federal Reserve 1933 to 1934 - Chi Phi
*Eugene R. Black, Jr. - Grandson of Henry W. Grady and President of the World Bank 1949 to 1963 - Chi Phi
*Gene Callaway, Callaway Gardens - Sigma Nu

Education

*William Tate (academic) - Dean of Students, Dean of Men 1946 to 1971, Dean Emeritus, University of Georgia - Delt
*David Crenshaw Barrow, Jr. - Chancellor, University of Georgia - Chi Phi
* Harmon White Caldwell - President of the University of Georgia 1935 to 1948 and Chancellor of the University System of Georgia 1948 to 1964 - Chi Phi
*Walter B. Hill - Chancellor, University of Georgia - Chi Phi
*Charles Snelling, Chancellor, University of Georgia - Sigma Nu
*Charles Knapp, Former President, University of Georgia - Phi Delta Theta

Entertainment

*John Bell - Lead Singer of Widespread Panic - SigEp
*Phil Walden - Founder of Capricorn Records - Phi Delta Theta

Government

*Jesse G. Bowles - Assoc. Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia - Chi Phi
*Saxby Chambliss, U.S. Senator - Sigma Chi
*Joe Frank Harris, Governor of Georgia - Lambda Chi
*Nathaniel E. Harris - Governor, Georgia - Chi Phi
*Johnny Isakson, U.S. Senator - SAE
*Jack Kingston, U.S. Congressman - Lambda Chi
*Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia - Kappa Sigma
*Alec Poitevint, Chairman, Georgia Republican Party - Theta Chi
*Richard B. Russell, U.S. Senator - SAE
*Carl Sanders - Governor, Georgia - Chi Phi
*John Marshall Slaton - Governor, Georgia - Chi Phi
*Earnest Vandiver - Governor, Georgia - Phi Delta Theta
*George Delke Busbee - Governor, Georgia - Phi Delta Theta
*Peter Meldrim - President of the American Bar Assoc. - Chi Phi
*Eugene Talmadge, Governor of Georgia - Sigma Nu
*Herman Talmadge, Governor of Georgia and U.S. Senator - Sigma Nu
*Samuel Rutherford, U.S. Congressman - Sigma Nu
*R. Lindsay Thomas, U.S. Congressman - Sigma Nu
*Charles Gordon Edwards, U.S. Congressman - Sigma Nu
*Boykin Wright - Attorney General, Georgia 1902 - Chi Phi
*Thomas S. Felder - Attorney General, Georgia 1911 to 1914 - Chi Phi
*William Hayes Pope - Chief Justice, Supreme Court of New Mexico - Chi Phi
*Barry Fleming - Congressman, Majority Whip Georgia House of Representatives- FIJI

Journalism

*Henry W. Grady, Journalist, Orator and Spokesman for the New South - Chi Phi
*Tom Johnson, president of CNN - Sigma Nu
*John T. Edge, Commentator & Director of the Southern Foodways Alliance - Sigma Nu
*Lewis Grizzard, writer - Sigma Pi
*William T. Stout, writer - Delta Chi

ports

*Bill Hartman - All American, All SEC RB and Member of College Football Hall of Fame - Chi Phi
*Bill Stanfill, NFL player - Sigma Nu
*Mark Schlabach, Author and Columnist for ESPN.com - Sigma Nu
*Billy Payne, Chairman Augusta National and Atlanta Olympic Committee - Phi Delta Theta
*Bob McWhorter - All American, four-time All SEC DB and Member of the College Football Hall of Fame - Chi Phi
*Bucky Dilts - Three year NFL Punter - Chi Phi
*Charley Trippi, NFL running back - Lambda Chi
*Fran Tarkenton, NFL quarterback - SAE
*Rankin M. Smith, Sr. - Owner of Atlanta Falcons 1965 to 2001 - Chi Phi
*J. Rutherford Seydel - part owner of NHL franchise Atlanta Thrashers and NBA franchise Atlanta Hawks - Chi Phi
*L. Milton "Red" Leathers - All SEC, All American and NFL Player - Chi Phi
*Virlyn B. Moore, Jr. - 1936 U.S. Olympic Baseball Team - Chi Phi

References

External links

* [http://uga.edu/greeklife/ Office of Greek Life]