Discusses the rise of modern universities in the United States in the late nineteenth century, characterized as a period of wrenching change. Examines the founding and growth of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity, describing its formal traditions. Emphasizes the importance of ritual and tradition in education and society. (GEA)

Franklin and Marshall College and Gustavus Adolphus College have withdrawn recognition of their fraternities and sororities, and Bowdoin College has proposed a wide-ranging reform of its Greek system. These actions came in response to a deterioration of behavior by members of the Greek organizations. (MLW)

The study concludes that the trend toward more individualization and greater activism would seem to lead to difficulty in distinguishing Greeks from the rest of the student body. (Author)

There were 72 fraternities studied to discover reasons for the variation in the degree of success attained by these organizations on campus. Analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between success as a fraternity and the use of management practices indicating that organizations would find such practices influential in future survival…

Research involving 6,782 undergraduates (50% first-year students, 50% seniors, 16% fraternity/sorority members, and 58% females) at 15 AAU public research universities revealed that Greek affiliation had a weak positive relationship with engagement and gains in learning. The effects for Greek affiliation were stronger for seniors than first-year…

Focuses on the current issues confronting traditional fraternities and sororities, highlighting developmental theory and research with direct implications for the Greek experience. Offers practical suggestions for student personnel generalists who work with fraternities and sororities as one portion of their responsibilities. (Author/NB)

Explains how institutions can clarify their relationships with student organizations through development and implementation of contracted independent organization agreements. Contends that formal statement of a university's relationship with student organizations can be beneficial and foster student organization development and that, by clarifying…

Adapted Leadership Practices Inventory for use with college students. Validated Leadership Practices Inventory in nationwide survey of fraternity chapter presidents. Correlations between chapter presidents' leadership behaviors (challenging, inspiring, enabling, modeling, encouraging) as viewed by executive committee members and latter's…

Examined correlates of pledging fraternities or sororities and academic performance in one introductory biology course over a nine-year period. Data from 1,147 students, 243 of whom were pledges and 904 of whom were nonpledges revealed that nonpledges performed better than pledges on biology tests, including test administered prior to pledging.…

Nannerl Keohane became president of Duke University in 1993, one of the first women to lead a top research university. This article details some of the changes that have taken place during her tenure as president. (JM)

This investigation compared the prevalence rates of pathological and problem gambling between Greek-affiliated and non-Greek-affiliated college students. The 954 participants volunteered to take the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; Lesieur & Blume, 1987), which measures gambling disorders. A statistically significant association was found between…

By charter, national Greek organizations (ie, fraternities and sororities) place an emphasis on upholding personal integrity, academic scholarship, and development of campus leaders. Recent concerns, however, assert that the drinking behaviors of members of Greek organizations are antithetical to the mission of their universities. Objective: The…

The future of Greek letter organizations on campus and the effects of demographic trends and societal changes are considered. In the last decade, Greek membership has increased despite the decrease in students between the ages of 18 and 24 entering college full-time. Greek chapters are primarily at four-year institutions and their members are…

In order to differentiate college fraternity and sorority members from non-members, 86 undergraduate students were administered the Eysenck Personality Inventory, Rotter's Internal External Control Scale, Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale, and a biographical data blank. (Editor)