Beginning this summer, students in Greek Life will no longer be under the Office of Student Life. Instead, the Office of Greek Life will be created and given its own department and office within the division of Student Affairs.

Kari Murphy, associate director of student life, said the office is becoming its own because of growth. The Greek community has increased by five percent over the past four years.

“We've seen a growth in all areas of our community,” Murphy said. "We've started some new chapters [and] we've seen a lot of success within the community. Certainly, I think one of the key pieces of this was the sorority housing project that was just approved this past fall.”

The announcement of the move came as a surprise, and Murphy said having an Office of Greek Life uniquely positions her and her staff to be engaged in a lot of new conversations that will guide the Greek community moving forward.

“I think it enhances things that we already have in place, so it gives us the ability to really strategize around some of the key educational programs we have," said Kevin Carey, assistant director of Greek Life.

Carey said the new office will give Greek students advertisement and support to grow the community through education, prevention and membership.

The future location of the office is currently unknown. Murphy and Carey are not sure if they will get to make that decision. There is currently a council office shared by all three governing Greek councils within the Student Center where small meetings take place.

“As we’ve told students … the thing that I think that resonates most with them is they get to celebrate this because it’s the things they’ve done,” Carey said. “[Students] have been really just excited about the fact that they get to celebrate being identified with an office that shares a similar role … that they can kind of call their own.”

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