University Business - June 2012 - (Page 14)

BEHIND the NEws Penalties for Pledging Ivies cracking the whip on unhealthy Greek behavior Fraternities and sororities are at the core of numerous institutions’ social traditions. But as several universities and their Greek organizations have come under fire for excessive drinking and violent behavior, Ivy League schools have stepped up to make changes to the system. With the implementation of new policies and penalties, a few are hoping to curb behaviors often associated with Greek life pledging—and the negative image these behaviors create in the public eye. In March, Princeton announced that freshmen who join, pledge, or rush a fraternity or sorority will be suspended beginning this fall. The same goes for anyone who solicits freshmen to participate in Greek activities. The policy is based on recommendations in a report from the Working Group on Campus Social and Residential Life, convened by President Shirley M. Tilghman during 2010-2011 and consisting of students, faculty, and administrators. In May 2011, the group recommended banning any level of freshmen involvement in Greek life; it worked for nearly a year on drafting very specific regulations. The policy relies heavily on self-regulation. “Because sororities and fraternities are not recognized by the university, nor P E O P L E W AT C H PradeeP K. Khosla has been taPPed as the eighth chancellor of the University of California, San Diego. he’ll succeed Marye anne Fox, who is resigning, on august 1. as dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s (Pa.) carnegie institute of technology for the past eight years, Khosla has initiated undergraduate curriculum reform, successful diversity efforts, multidisciplinary and multicollege research centers, multidisciplinary graduate offerings, and international programs in europe, asia, and africa. … Duke University President richard h. brodhead has been appointed to a new five-year term starting July 1. brodhead became duke’s ninth president in 2004, and since has developed and led a $300 million campaign for financial aid endowment funds. … ronald J. amrosetti, provost and dean of the college at St. John Fisher College (n.Y.), has been named president of Our Lady of Holy Cross College (la.), to begin July 1. … Marc Johnson, who had served as interim president of University of Nevada, Reno, has been appointed to the post permanently. … another interim president who is now president is cheryl davenport dozier of Savannah State University (ga.). … VinPradeep K. Khosla cennes University (ind.) has named charles r. Johnson provost and vice president of instructional services/ dean of faculty. … effective august 1, niels b. schaumann, professor and vice dean at William Mitchell College of Law (Minn.) will be president of California Western School of Law. —K.D. U are they dependent on university resources, there is no administrative oversight of their activities,” states the report (available at www.princeton.edu/campuslife/freshmenrush-policy). “The policy should serve to support the good-faith efforts of Greek organization leaders to shift recruitment efforts away from freshmen. ... The more serious the potential penalty, the easier it will be for leaders to resist pressure from their members to violate the policy or test its limits.” Princeton isn’t alone in its policy action. In January, Andrew Lohse, a former member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Dartmouth, wrote an op-ed for the student newspaper describing severe hazing he allegedly experienced and witnessed while pledging. After the story was picked up by Rolling Stone, a task force was formed at the college. Last month, the fraternity was put on probation for three terms and ordered to participate in educational programs after some of the allegations were determined to be true. Before this incident, Dartmouth had already acknowledged binge drinking on college campuses to be of serious concern, forming the Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking in April 2011 as the inaugural effort of the National College Health Improvement Project (www.nchip. org) founded in 2010. Yale and Cornell have taken similar measures. In an email to the student body in March, Yale announced that, effective immediately, first-semester freshmen won’t be permitted to participate in fraternity and sorority rush and initiation activities, as recommended by the Committee on Hazing and Initiations. Cornell President David Skorton vowed to overhaul the Greek system and eliminate hazing after the allegedly pledginglinked death of student George Desdunes in February 2011. In April, the Recruitment, Acceptance, Retention, and Education committee released a set of recommendations that will soon be voted on. With 32 Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking partner schools, actions may well be taken elsewhere before long. —Kristen Domonell 14 | June 2012 universitybusiness.com http://www.princeton.edu/campuslife/freshmen-rush-policy http://www.princeton.edu/campuslife/freshmen-rush-policy http://www.nchip.org http://www.nchip.org http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - June 2012

University Business - June 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Marketing
Independent Outlook
Special Section: Thinking Green
4G: Is It Time for an Upgrade?
Unified Security: All Together Now
Collaborative Workflow
Campus Finance News
3 Student Aid Myths
Deepening the Donor Pool
Keeping Tuition Within Reach
Internet Technology
End Note

University Business - June 2012