| Greek Strategic Plan seeks to reinforce core values
 William Jewell College and its Greek community are engaging in a historic partnership to enhance the rich traditions of Greek life at the college. As a part of this partnership, both undergraduate and alumni members of the Greek community have joined faculty and community leaders to develop a Greek Strategic Plan. This plan combines shared goals designed to create a constantly evolving Greek experience more deeply grounded in the vision and core values of the Greek experience.
“Greeks play a significant role in campus life at Jewell, with one-third of the student body participating in seven fraternities and sororities,” said Dean of Students Rick Winslow. “The goal of the strategic plan is to ensure the long-term existence of a strong, positive Greek experience for Jewell students.”
The planning process, which began with a series of meetings last spring, provided an opportunity for various segments of the Jewell community to come together and discuss important issues related to Greek life.
“At its best, the Greek community is the most intense laboratory for practical leadership at William Jewell,” said committee member and associate professor of political science Dr. Gary Armstrong. “At its worst, it's not much of a community, and there's a chasm between its ideals and daily life.” Reconciling those two ends of the spectrum of Greek life is an important part of the planning process.
“A Greek strategic plan brings all the organizations together and helps create a shared identity based on shared values for everyone to see,” said committee member and alumnus Graham Houston. “It also helps each organization reconnect with their purposes for existing.”
A number of issues have crystallized as a result of the planning process, committee members said. Among them is the need to create a credible, all-Greek judiciary system to deal consistently with issues of misconduct; the need to strengthen alumni boards and advisors; the need to develop on-going training for Greek leaders and advisors; and the advisability of positioning the entire Greek system to take a long-term view aimed at ensuring the continued viability of the Greek community at Jewell.
“Developing a unified community identity lifts all boats,” Houston said. “This planning process has challenged the students to deal with the negative behaviors that have been counterproductive. Everyone wants to graduate leaving a positive legacy.”
Committee members agreed that the Greek community has emerged stronger through the process of self-examination and reflection.
“We really want a Greek system that students, parents, faculty and staff will recognize as a model of responsible community living, because the Greek community has earned it,” Armstrong said.
| Nelson Kanning heads Jewell's Greek advancement effort
 Nelson Kanning '00 is a true believer in the “leadership laboratory” that the Greek community can provide to William Jewell College students.
A business major who also participated in Jewell's Pryor Leadership Studies certification program, Kanning went directly from William Jewell to work at the Sigma Nu national headquarters in Lexington , Virginia . He served as director of expansion and recruitment and also helped to design an international recruitment plan for the organization.
Kanning, who is part of the third-generation of a Jewell legacy family, accepted an invitation from President David Sallee to serve as a volunteer on Jewell's Greek Strategic Planning Committee, which began its work in February. He shared Dr. Sallee's vision of what a strong Greek community can mean to a college campus and quickly agreed to become a part of the college's advancement team with responsibilities for Greek fundraising activities.
“The Greek system should be like a leadership lab,” Kanning says. “You learn to deal with issues, to grow personally and to build your own value system. It's also a place where you establish lifelong friendships.”
Kanning's top priority will be to build relationships among Jewell's Greek alumni community and to help fulfill pledges toward the college's Greek housing complex. He will also be laying the groundwork for fundraising toward a new sorority complex for William Jewell. |
As part of the process of examination and reflection on the Greek experience, committee members developed the following language regarding the mission, vision and goals of the Greek community at William Jewell College:
The Mission The Mission of the William Jewell College Greek community is to develop and support our men and women by upholding the core values of the college, emphasizing integrity and excellence through:
- Scholarship
- Leadership
- Responsible community living
- Lifelong brotherhood and sisterhood
- Service to members, college, and community
The Vision Greek Life at William Jewell College will be :
- A model of ethical leadership and responsible self-governance
- Distinguished by its academic achievement
- A unified community
- Attractive to all students and welcoming of diversity
- Encouraged by parents
- Respected by the entire campus community
- Supported by an involved and trained team of alumni/ae
- A model of superior residential facilities that promote community
- A premier system recognized nationally
The Goals
The following goals have been designed to fulfill the mission and vision of the William Jewell College Greek system:
• Create an Accountable, Credible, and Responsible Self-Governance Structure
• Facilitate a Unified Greek Community
• Design, Implement, and Support a Positive Recruitment and New Member Experience
• Design and Implement Supportive Alumni and Advisor Leadership, Development, and Education
• Positively Recognize and Promote Our Greek Community
• Support and Improve Academic Achievement
• Proactively Build Campus and Community Partnerships
• Design, Implement and Support Member Leadership Development and Education
• Promote a Greek Community that Welcomes and Values Diversity
• Strengthen and Define the Role of Inter Fraternity Council and Panhellenic Council |
