USM College Panhellenic Chapter Earns National Recognition

Wed, 08/31/2022 - 02:03pm | By: David Tisdale

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) College Panhellenic Association Chapter earned national awards for Innovation in Leadership, Programming, and Marketing from the National Panhellenic Council (NPC) for the 2021-22 academic year.  

College Panhellenic Associations are affiliates of NPC established to enable cooperation among the women’s-only sororities on campus. Each College Panhellenic Association is student-led and composed of all NPC member sorority chapters on the respective campus. College Panhellenic Associations were eligible to receive recognition for their work in academic innovation, community impact, judicial procedure, leadership, marketing, programming, and recruitment.

“These College Panhellenic Associations have excelled in areas of council achievement and community support,” said Linda Henderson, 2020-22 College Panhellenics Committee chair. “We’re pleased to recognize these associations and their member chapters for excellence and innovation in Panhellenic operations during the previous academic year. The success of these College Panhellenics demonstrates there is a bright future ahead for their associations and the wider Panhellenic community.”

Additionally, to receive an Excellence Award or an Innovation Award, the College Panhellenic must demonstrate a set of Panhellenic core competencies, such as adhering to NPC Unanimous Agreements and policies, meeting deadlines for dues and reports and keeping NPC’s information and contacts database up to date.

"Watching these incredible students develop their leadership skills and put in hard work behind the scenes is one thing - seeing them get this level of recognition for their dedication is a completely new level of pride,” said Hannah Scott Back, coordinator and college Panhellenic council advisor for USM’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. “They knew the challenges ahead of them and faced every single one head on with confidence and an open mind. Our CPC Executive Board, and the entire Panhellenic community, have truly embraced our charge of 'Embrace. Equip. Empower.' over the past year.

“As not only their advisor, but a Southern Miss sorority alumna myself, I could not be prouder."

Laura Laughlin, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, concurred. ““Fraternity and Sorority Life is very proud of our hard-working students,” Laughlin noted. “Our College Panhellenic Council (CPC) exec members are innovative and have proven they are dedicated to bettering the sorority community. Our office appreciates their service, and we congratulate them on their many accomplishments. I can’t wait to see what they do this semester.”

NPC is the largest organization advocating for the women’s-only sorority experience and is the trade association for 26 national and international sororities. NPC sororities are located on nearly 670 campuses with more than 375,000 undergraduate members in more than 3,350 chapters. Alumnae are represented in nearly 3,500 associations throughout the world.

For more information, including a complete list of NPC sororities, visit npcwomen.org

For information about Fraternity and Sorority Life at USM, visit https://www.usm.edu/fraternity-sorority-life/index.php.