A new sorority is coming to Tech early next semester, marking the first new sorority at Tech in 34 years.
Tech will introduce its fifth sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon, with a new chapter of the National Panhellenic Conference organization.
“We have a pretty large, healthy greek system as it is,” said Katie Williams, director of Student Activities. “We have 20 greek organizations on a campus of 11,500 or something like that, which rivals what MTSU has, and it’s three times our size.”
According to Williams, bringing a new sorority to campus is such a laborious process that DPhiE won’t be fully at Tech until early Spring 2015. A new sorority has not been introduced to Tech since Delta Gamma in 1980.
“This process has been on-going for about two years,” said Kelsey Jozwik, graduate assistant for Student Activities.
According to Jozwik, an initial vote is held with Tech’s existing greek organizations to approve the decision of bringing a new fraternity or sorority to campus. After the vote for the new sorority was approved, a newsletter was sent to all 26 NPC sororities stating that Tech was interested in having a new chapter on campus.
Once some organizations expressed interest in coming to Tech, the process became like a job interview. According to Williams, DPhiE was the best fit for Tech.
“What stood out to me, and this is purely my opinion, but they were very Panhellenic-minded,” said Williams. “They had the interest of our sorority community and our greek community at large in mind as they were trying to apply to be a part of our community.”
Each greek organization has philanthropy it focuses on, and DPhiE is no different. Nationally, DPhiE works with Circle of Sisterhood, an organization promoting education in developing nations by raising money and volunteer help to build schoolhouses.
DPhiE also works with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.
According to Williams, DPhiE will send a team to recruit students interested in joining and work with them to create officers, positions and bylaws for the new chapter.
“They will be Delta Phi Epsilon, but Tech students will make that organization what it’s going to be on campus,” said Williams.
