New Recruitment Methods Make Alumnae Participation More Valuable Than Ever Recruitment today doesn’t look like it did even a decade ago. And our alumnae are more important than ever in the recruiting process. Recruitment today
With the goal of placing more women in the Greek community and enabling more sorority chapters to attain quota, the National Panhellenic Conference has updated their methods associated with the number of invitations each sorority may extend in any given round of formal recruitment.
What does this change mean?
Alpha Phi collegiate chapters may be required to release more women earlier in recruitment. These would be women who would have typically been released before preference under the previous system, but now they may possibly be released after the open house round. Releasing these women earlier in the process allows them to realistically consider other options and ideally find a home in another sorority. As chapters begin to participate in this change, the need for recommendation forms becomes even more critical. Because chapters must now identify quality potential new members sooner, alumnae input is so valuable. Likewise, it is important for alumnae to recognize it is the chapter’s responsibility to make membership selections that best match its needs. Because the chapter may have fewer invitations to give, there could be situations where women with recommendations may not receive a courtesy invitation. Similarly, it may not be possible to extend courtesy invitations
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Alpha Phi Quarterly
Summer 2012
on campuses having a large number of Alpha Phi legacies.
How to recommend a potential member
Alpha Phi alumnae are asked to provide information to an Alpha Phi collegiate chapter about a potential new member (PNM) involved in the recruitment process. They may do so by completing a 2012 Potential Member Reference Form (page 19). Details are also available at alphaphi.org, keywords: recommendation form. The form includes an area to indicate whether the PNM is an Alpha Phi legacy. Mail the Potential Member Reference Form directly to the collegiate chapter. You may find the chapter addresses by visiting alphaphi.org and clicking the Chapters tab. Addresses and dates for chapters with upcoming recruitments are also listed in this issue of the Quarterly (page 20).
Potential Member Reference Form protocol
Alpha Phi alumnae who submit a 2012 Potential Member Reference Form should be appropriately thanked by the collegiate chapter for playing an important role in recruitment. However, by submitting such a form, an alumna is not entitled to confidential information regarding the recommended PNM. Alpha Phi alumnae must remember that a recommendation does not guarantee a young woman, even a legacy, an invitation to Alpha Phi
membership. An active chapter has the privilege and responsibility of selecting new members who best match its needs. Please Note: All eligible women will receive consideration for membership without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, disability or handicap. If you have any questions or need further information regarding changes to recruitment or Alpha Phi’s legacy policy, please contact recruitment@alphaphi.org. WELCOMING A LEGACY (top left photo) Deana Koonsman Gage (Gamma IotaTexas Tech), right, celebrates when her daughter, Andrea Gage Cheek (Gamma Iota-Texas Tech), is welcomed as a new member. ALL IN THE FAMILY (top right) Five members of a family are all sisters who initiated at Nebraska (Nu). Three sisters joined the chapter in the 1970s-80s, one of their daughters joined in the 1990s and another’s daughter in 2009. Pictured in front of the chapter house prior to attending a football game are (from left) Kelly Williams Horn, Beth Nelson, Jenny Hruska, Amy Nelson Hruska and Lori Nelson Williams. THREE GENERATIONS (bottom right) North Dakota (Pi) chapter alumnae celebrate the initiation of their legacy. Attending the initiation of Emily Apanian, right, were (from left) her aunt, Lisa Phillips McCormick; her mother, Teri Phillips Apanian; and her grandmother, Niomi Rohn Phillips. Her grandmother passed on her badge to Emily.