2008 Woodie Awards
IFC lends a mentoring hand
Will Fitzsimons, '08
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
The Inter-Fraternity Council is announcing a new initiative to promote academic excellence within its member fraternities. The new "Academic Mentor Program" will build on the foundation already laid by the Big/Little Brother system that each chapter currently has in place.
Each fraternity will assign one older brother to each new pledging member to act as an academic mentor throughout the pledging process and after final initiation. The fraternities will attempt to assign mentors from a similar field of study and who share common interests so as to foster the kind of close relationships that can be an invaluable tool for success in all aspects of the collegiate experience.
Each mentor will be responsible for ensuring that the pledging process does not interfere with the academic studies of their new member, and will be expected to serve as an older friend willing to provide advice, help and encouragement to him. The IFC will collect lists of who each new member has as an assigned mentor in order to make sure the program is administrated smoothly and effectively.
It is well-known already that a large benefit from membership in a fraternity is the type of older brother mentoring that is described above, currently just through the informal process of forming close bonds with upperclassmen. By formalizing this, fraternities hope to make sure that every single new member will maximize the potential of this type of relationship, and gain as much as they can from joining such close-knit brotherhoods. The academic success of its members is each fraternity's top priority, and we hope that this program will be a big step in furthering this end.
If there are any questions or comments regarding the "Greek Academic Mentor Program," those interested are welcome to contact the IFC Vice President for Philanthropy, Will Fitzsimons, at fitzsimw@union.edu.
Each fraternity will assign one older brother to each new pledging member to act as an academic mentor throughout the pledging process and after final initiation. The fraternities will attempt to assign mentors from a similar field of study and who share common interests so as to foster the kind of close relationships that can be an invaluable tool for success in all aspects of the collegiate experience.
Each mentor will be responsible for ensuring that the pledging process does not interfere with the academic studies of their new member, and will be expected to serve as an older friend willing to provide advice, help and encouragement to him. The IFC will collect lists of who each new member has as an assigned mentor in order to make sure the program is administrated smoothly and effectively.
It is well-known already that a large benefit from membership in a fraternity is the type of older brother mentoring that is described above, currently just through the informal process of forming close bonds with upperclassmen. By formalizing this, fraternities hope to make sure that every single new member will maximize the potential of this type of relationship, and gain as much as they can from joining such close-knit brotherhoods. The academic success of its members is each fraternity's top priority, and we hope that this program will be a big step in furthering this end.
If there are any questions or comments regarding the "Greek Academic Mentor Program," those interested are welcome to contact the IFC Vice President for Philanthropy, Will Fitzsimons, at fitzsimw@union.edu.
Be the first to comment on this story