ONE OF THE CHAPTER'S BEST RESOURCES IS USUALLY RIGHT ON CAMPUS

“I need to see you ASAP!” These words always made me cringe when I was President of the Memphis Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, especially when they were voiced by the Director of Greek Life. Now, as the Associate Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at the University of South Carolina, I look back on my experience as chapter president and I often think of the relationship I had with my Greek advisor. The truth is it was never a contentious one, and nine times out of 10, I left the Greek life office feeling energized and supported; often with answers to questions I had or new ideas to discuss with my executive committee on Sunday.

So why did we loathe them so much? They were once fraternity or sorority members just like we are; they willingly gave their time to come to council meetings, chapter meetings, philanthropy events, etc; they did not get paid nearly enough for the time they put into their jobs; and they often made suggestions that helped our chapter avoid problems we were not anticipating. In fact, the Greek advisor was there to make my job as president easier, just like your Greek advisor is there on your campus to make your job as president easier.

So how can you take advantage of what I pushed aside? Here are some tips:

• Visit their office regularly. Most Greek advisors have open door policies, so feel free to stop by and chat regularly about the challenges you are facing as a fraternity president, as a student, or just in life.
• Ask questions. I never understood all the policies and procedures our Office of Greek Life had in place for our fraternities and sororities, but all we did was complain about them. Feel free to ask questions if you do not understand something, or why the university does something a certain way. Either you will get a reason or you will raise a question your advisor has not thought about before.
• Be honest. When something goes wrong in the chapter (and things always go wrong), do not try to hide it. Come forward and talk to your Greek advisor about the problem at hand. Chances are they will find out anyway and you WILL get points for coming forward. If you lie and try to cover something up that the Greek advisor finds out about later, you will be in even more trouble.
• Ask for advice and expect feedback. But that is not a bad thing. Most Greek advisors I know now were chapter presidents one day. They know what you are going through and appreciate the challenges you face on a daily basis. They can help you avoid needless mistakes.
• Invite them over for dinner/meeting/anything. When I got into fraternity and sorority advising, I promised myself I would work as hard as I had to so that my job was 90 percent positive work and only 10 percent investigation/conduct hearings/sanctioning/negative stuff. It is a relief to be invited to the good things you and your chapter do, so do not be afraid to invite us out and get to know more people in your chapter than just you.
• Introduce them to your new executive committee. Once elections are complete, start the process of transition by sitting down with the Greek advisor to introduce the new president and to discuss his goals for the next year. That is a great way to get their term started off on the right foot.
• Utilize them for chapter presentations. You do not always have to wait for a leadership consultant to come through to have a chapter training session. Many times your Greek advisor has the necessary skills and knowledge to make a presentation to the chapter or lead a retreat.
• Get to know them. Your Greek advisor is a person who enjoys having a good time just like you do. Do not be afraid to talk about non-work related items with them in meetings or just when stopping by. I could spend hours talking about SEC football or Memphis basketball with anyone that will listen. Feel free to engage in that conversation, it will make working together that much easier.
• Share the good things you do. Did your chapter win a Buchanan Cup or get recognized at your Carlson Leadership Academy? Did you set a record for philanthropy or recruitment? Did you have a member selected for the Quest for Greece, Ruck Leadership Academy, or as a regional director? Share that! We want to promote the good things you do to everyone else on campus, and we will help you promote those things to the rest of your community.
• Be responsible and responsive. When we do call, email, text, or tweet, please respond in a timely manner. Ignoring our messages will not help you in the long run. Remember that your Greek advisor is not “out to get you.” In fact we would prefer to spend our time working on positive changes for your community. So call or email us back, so we can work to improve the chapter.

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