Over 50% of Hanover 's students are affiliated with one of our eight Inter/National fraternity and sorority chapters. Membership in a sorority or fraternity is a great way to become involved in the College community and gain valuable skills and experiences. The founding principles of Greek organizations challenge each member to seek excellence and develop personally through leadership, scholarship, community service, and social experiences.

Founding Principles:
Each Greek organization is founded on important values which set high standards for their members as citizens. Each organization's mission and founding principles compliment and enhance the type of young adult Hanover College wants to develop. The Principles of Hanover College are evident in each of the Greek organization's creeds, mission, and founding doctrine.

In 2005, Hanover embarked on a year long process, called the Greek Summit. The purpose of the Greek Summit was to guide the future direction of Hanover's Greek community and to examine how the founding principles should guide chapter operations and social behaviors on campus. This process resulted in twenty seven recommendations in five key areas: Founding Principles, Recruitment, Collaborative Partnerships, Facilities, and Social Host. Implementation of these recommendations is currently underway.

Leadership:
Leadership development is a key aspect of what Greek membership has to offer. Each chapter has an Executive Council, composed entirely of students, that is responsible for the chapter operations and programming. Most of the chapters' inter/national offices also offer Leadership Conferences and other programs. Members are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities to develop their leadership abilities! The Greek community is governed by the Panhellenic Council (Panhel) for sororities and the Interfraternity Council (IFC) for fraternities. Council officers are elected from Greek community at large while delegates are selected by their chapters. The councils guide all policy and activities of the Greek community and offer Greek members an opportunity to shape the future of the entire Greek community. Outside of the Greek community members are encouraged to participate in campus leadership opportunities such as the Emerging Leaders Conference and Junior/Senior Leadership Series.

Scholarship:
A wonderful aspect of Greek life is that there is always a brother or sister who is majoring in your field of study. This fact allows for a built-in study group and help in finding answers to tough questions like “What can I do with a History degree.” We are very proud of the Greek community's long-standing dedication to academic excellence where the all-fraternity and all-sorority grade point averages have continually exceeded the non-affiliated men and women's averages. Chapters have reward/incentive programs to encourage members to make scholarship a priority, and also have Scholarship programs to help members who are struggling in academics. Many of the Inter/National headquarters or local advisory groups also offer monetary scholarship rewards to members who excel.

Community Service:
Community service is a true focus of Hanover's Greek community. Panhel and IFC sponsor system wide service events and chapters spend hundreds of hours helping our campus and community. Activities include participating in Big Brother/Big Sister as well as Relay for Life, walking dogs at a local shelter, and collecting non-perishable food items for local food pantries. Each organization also supports a national philanthropy through fundraising efforts.

For 2008-2009, IFC & Panhel, the Greek governing councils have partnered with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org, the leading research and treatment hospital for pediatric cancer and catestrophic diseases in the world to conduct a program called Up 'til Dawn to raise money in support of the hospital and kids of St. Jude.

Social:
Greek life has a social focus as do many other campus organizations. Each chapter sponsors social events through out the year including annual events like Chi Ohau, FIJI Island, Lambda Country Party, and Phi Mu's Pink Caddy dance. In addition to these organized functions, chapters provide a support system for members throughout their college career. The ties of brotherhood and sisterhood are developed here at Hanover, but are extended for a lifetime.

Fraternities and Sororities at Hanover College:

* Inter/National Fraternities and Related Links:

Lambda Chi Alpha local | national

Phi Delta Theta local | national

Phi Gamma Delta local | national

Sigma Chi local | national

* Inter/National Sororities and Related Links:

Alpha Delta Pi local | national

Chi Omega local | national

Kappa Alpha Theta local | national

Phi Mu local | national

•  It is important to note that all of our chapters are associated with a national or international organization. Therefore, all of our chapter's rituals, policies, and processes are determined and overseen by the related inter/national body.

Last Updated: September 4, 2008
Expiration Date: May 2009
Page Webmaster: Office of Student Life