StudentLife.ou.edu - Panhellenic Overview

Panhellenic Overview

Overview
When you join one of the National Panhellenic Conference sororities at OU, you also become a member of the Panhellenic Association. The University of Oklahoma Panhellenic Association is the umbrella organization for the NPC sororities chartered at OU, and is responsible for organizing activities of mutual concern and interest to all the sororities on campus. The National Panhellenic Conference, founded in 1902, is the encompassing organization for 26 international women's fraternities and sororities. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae. Members are represented on over 600 college and university campuses in the United States and Canada and in over 5,300 alumnae associations, making up over 3 million sorority women in the world.

Panhellenic Creed
We, as Undergraduate Members of women's fraternities, stand for good scholarship, for guarding of good health, for maintenance of fine standards, and for serving to the best of our ability, our college community. Cooperation for furthering fraternity life, in harmony with its best possibilities, is the ideal that shall guide our fraternity activities.

We, as Fraternity Women, stand for service through the development of character inspired by the close contact and deep friendship of individual fraternity and Panhellenic life. The opportunity for wide and wise human service, through mutual respect and helpfulness, is the tenet by which we strive to live.

It's Greek to Me

ACTIVE	An undergraduate sorority member who has been initiated by her chapter.
ALUMNA	A sorority member who is no longer a member of a collegiate chapter. [plural is Alumnae]
BID	An invitation to join a sorority or fraternity.
CHAPTER	A membership unit of a national or international sorority or fraternity.
CONTINUOUS OPEN BIDDING (COB)	COB bids may be extended and accepted at any time during the school year other than formal recruitment. (COB is also called open bidding and informal membership recruitment.)
FORMAL MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT	A designated membership recruitment period during which a series of organized events are held by each NPC sorority; membership recruitment is organized and implemented by the Panhellenic Association.
FRATERNITY	Greek letter sisterhood or brotherhood.
GREEKS	Sorority and fraternity members.
FRATERNITY AND SORORITY STUDENT LIFE	Fraternity and Sorority Student Life is a Division of the Center for Student Life at the University of Oklahoma. Fraternity and Sorority Student Life is comprised of the following four umbrella organizations: Latino Greek Council (LGC), Interfraternity Council (IFC), Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and Panhellenic Association (Panhellenic).
INITIATION	Ritualistic ceremony during which new members receive life long membership privileges.
INTENTIONAL SINGLE PREFERENCE	When a woman only lists one sorority on her Membership Recruitment Acceptance Card.
INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL (IFC)	IFC is the men's counterpart to the College Panhellenic Association. It is membership is comprised of fraternities belonging to the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC).
LATINO GREEK COUNCIL (LGC)	The Latino Greek Council represents two Latino sororities and one fraternity on campus.
LEGACY	A woman whose mother, sister or in some cases grandmother is an alumna or active member of a sorority.
MULTICULTURAL GREEK COUNCIL (MGC)	The Multicultural Greek Council is the most recent council to join the Fraternity and Sorority Student Life. There are three sororities and four fraternities under the MGC umbrella.
NATIONAL PANHELLENIC CONFERENCE (NPC)	NPC is a Conference body, comprised of 26 national women's fraternities, each of which is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women, undergraduates and alumnae.
NATIONAL PAN-HELLENIC COUNCIL, Inc. (NPHC)	The National Pan-Hellenic Council is the official coordinating agent of the nine constituent member Greek letter, historically African-American, fraternities and sororities.
NEW MEMBER	A woman who has accepted a sorority bid but is not yet an initiated member.
PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION	The College Panhellenic Association is a cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of NPC sororities.
POTENTIAL MEMBER	Any woman interested in becoming a sorority member who is matriculated and eligible to join according to the Panhellenic Association's requirements.
PHILANTHROPY	Community service or fundraising effort to promote human welfare.
PREFERENTIAL BIDDING	A system used at the conclusion of formal membership recruitment to match sorority and potential member preferences.
QUOTA	The number of women that may join an NPC sorority during Formal Recruitment.
RECOMMENDATION/ REFERENCE	A form written by an alumna member recommending a potential member to a sorority.
RECRUITMENT GUIDE (RHO GAMMA)	A Panhellenic representative who has no contact with her own chapter during formal membership recruitment and is available to guide women through the recruitment process and answer questions.
RECRUITMENT	An organized activity to meet potential members.
SISTER	A term used within a women's fraternity when referring to other members.
SORORITY	A Greek letter sisterhood.

The Greek Alphabet