Greek Life office gains new leadership

He’s the administrator for the Living at Southeast Facebook page, the leader of nine student success directors and even an instructor for graduate higher education administration courses and undergraduate courses in United States political systems. His name is Bruce Skinner, and as the assistant vice president in the office of student success and auxiliary services, the list of his responsibilities at Southeast is lengthy.

Add to that list interim director of Greek Life.

Following the departure of former director DeAnte Smith to Vanderbilt University, Skinner assumed the role of director until a more permanent solution can be found. The position will be filled by next fall at the latest.

Skinner’s office is newly located in the University Center, just around the corner from where it was previously.

“Our Greek students know this location so I’ll go to where they are rather than expect anyone to come around the corner,” Skinner said.

Also in Skinner’s office are Greek leaders such as National Panhellenic Conference president Emma Hoover, Inter-Fraternity Council president Brian Lamb and National Pan-Hellenic Council president Jaleea Hudson, as well as graduate assistant Amanda Rogers.

Hoover said she didn’t work with Skinner as much last year when he was overseeing the former Greek Life director but since he has stepped into his new role, she has already worked with him “a great deal more.”

When describing his level of involvement from last year to now, Skinner said, “It was sort of like working at the 20,000-foot view, and now I’m at the 20-foot view.”

Skinner said he does not have any “monster changes” coming to the Greek Life system during his time as interim director. He does, however, want to be more inclusive when distributing information.

“I’m a big fan of including advisers in lots of stuff. I want them to be bothered that they hear from us so often,” Skinner said.

Skinner said he also wants to change the way the chapters interact with his office for administrative processes like the way they add or drop members. He wants to be able to put that process online so it’s more convenient for everyone.

Greek Life at Southeast includes three councils that oversee several chapters of sororities and fraternities.

The IFC fraternities at Southeast include Sigma Phi Epsilon, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Tau Gamma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Phi Delta Theta, Theta Xi and Delta Chi. Fraternity recruitment is going on now with bid day on Sept. 1.

NPHC organizations include Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

According to the Semo Greeks website, NPHC recruitment is informal based on “intake, a process individuals interested in a specific organization go through to obtain membership.” The website states that each organization has its own intake process, generally determined by the national corporate office.

NPC sororities on campus include Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Xi Delta, Alpha Phi, Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Sigma Sigma.

Sorority recruitment orientation is Aug. 30 and 31, where Hoover said the potential new members will receive a recruitment booklet that has information about each sorority’s membership dues as well as expected attire.

Skinner said there are about 423 potential new members signed up for formal sorority recruitment, which takes place from Sept. 6 through 10, with bid day on Sept. 10.

He added that IFC recruitment “does not use such a formal process” as NPC does, so the number of potential new members going through recruitment is still “very much in flux.”

An alumnus of Southeast’s chapter of Delta Chi himself, Skinner said he’s still in close contact with several of his fraternity brothers, some of whom he takes a float trip each year.

“Greek Life opens up many doors,” Hoover said. “I’ve been Greek since I was a freshman, and I’ve grown tremendously over the years.”

She added her communication skills and time management have also grown as a result of her involvement in Greek Life, and she cites networking as one of the biggest benefits of being Greek.

“Leading a group of volunteers is a difficult thing for anyone, let alone a college student,” Skinner said. “That’s a skill that, learning as a college student, just pays dividends forever.”

For more information on Greek Life at Southeast, visit www.semogreeks.com or contact Skinner at bskinner@semo.edu.