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Accentuating the positive helps greeks continue journey to greatness

By Andy Elder, Student Affairs Writer

To Kevin Kerr’s way of thinking, scaling a mountaintop isn’t good enough, at least not for long.

Kerr, the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life since mid-July, has applied that philosophy to fraternities and sororities at Penn State.

“There is always room for improvement in any situation,” Kerr said. “When you think you’ve hit the pinnacle your start sliding downhill.”

That’s the guiding principle behind “Greek Pride: A Return to Glory.”

Simply put, Greek Pride is an effort to foster, enhance and accentuate all the best that Greek life has to offer.

“We’re working with students to help create minimum standards and a program of excellence. We’re looking at ways to help chapters reconnect with alumni. We’re trying to help chapters be good neighbors, to stress to them the importance of following rules and regulations and applying to them to encourage more leadership,” Kerr said.

“We’re undergoing an appreciative inquiry process. We’re trying to engage all the different stakeholders in the Greek system – from alumni to national headquarters, to all the different partners -- to work together to make sure they’re doing the right thing. It’s an ongoing process. It’s really just beginning.”

An appreciative inquiry is a process of creating sustainable change, of visioning for the future that focuses on what’s good, what’s positive from the past and current experience and builds on that to provide the goals and structure for the future.

The process takes participants through four stages:

• Discovery – appreciating and valuing the best of “what is”
• Dream – envisioning “what might be”
• Design – dialoguing “what should be”
• Destiny – innovating “what will be”
  

In the limited time “Greek Pride” has been implemented, a lot of students who have been exposed to it have reacted positively.

“It’s achieved some moderate success. We’re continuing to get more and more students involved. It’s a paradigm shift for the students. This is a case of the institution wanting to engage with the students. We actually want to help them,” Kerr said.

“In the past, there’s been a distance between the institution and the chapters. The relationship has not been as effective as we would have liked. This is changing that relationship. It is making the distant between them nonexistent.

“Several chapters have asked either myself or one of my staff members to come out and help the chapter become more engaged. Those experiences have been very positive.”

Kerr said he instituted “Greek Pride” at the urging of Penn State President Graham Spanier and Student Affairs Vice President Vicky Triponey. They, along with Kerr, felt it was important to remind Greeks of the root of the whole Greek system.

“It’s about getting back to basics. ‘What does it mean to be a fraternity man or sorority woman?’ There are principles or ideals every organization adheres to,” Kerr said. “Some understand completely. They are the apostles preaching out to rest of group, saying, ‘this is what it is supposed to be about. Others look at you as if to say, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

The hope is that the more word spreads about “Greek Pride” more positive role models will emerge.

“We’re dealing with 88 different organizations and each has its own character,” Kerr said. “But the common thread that runs through them all is a commitment to values and principles, a commitment to Penn State and supporting its mission, to being strong, good neighbors.”

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