Greek Life Reports

In 2018, there was a call through faculty governance channels for a review of the Greek system. At the same time the Greek Life working group of the WIDE (Whitman Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) committee noted that there was no external review of Greek Life on record, and therefore it should be reviewed as a way of learning more about the impact of Greek Life at Whitman.

The Student Life committee, which is a faculty committee that also includes staff and students, will facilitate the external review. This committee attends to matters of student experience outside of the curriculum and outside of disciplinary proceedings. That group was charged with facilitating the review of Greek Life.

The Student Life committee has invited three Greek affairs and student life professionals to conduct the review: Lisa Holliday, associate dean of students and director of student engagement and leadership, Willamette University; Brian Joyce, director of fraternity and sorority life, George Washington University; and Moe Stephens, director of student activities, University of Puget Sound.

The external review will be Feb. 10–11, 2022. A report will be prepared by the external reviewers for the Student Life committee, a month after the on-site visit.

The Student Life committee began arranging for reviewers to visit campus for the spring of 2020. They also surveyed recent alumni, facilitated a self-report from Greek leaders and surveyed current students, faculty and staff about experiences with Greek Life.

As arrangements were being made to bring experts to campus in 2020 for the review, COVID-19 was emerging as a serious health threat around the world. Students were sent home, travel was halted and the review was postponed to a later date.

The report will inform the Student Life committee who will, in turn, produce their own short report with recommendations for Greek Life at Whitman by the end of April 2022.