Eta Pi
| Eta Pi | |
|---|---|
| HΠ | |
 | |
| Founded | November 5, 2011 |
| College | New York University |
| Location | New York, NY |
| Homepage | Eta Pi Website |
| Media related to Eta Pi Chapter | |
New York University, New York City, established 1831
Chapter founded as Eta Pi November 5, 2011'
117 initiates (as of June 2013)
Some of Eta Pi's Outstanding Alumnae: (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)
Fraternity Council Officers:
Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:
Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
In 1830, Albert Gallatin, the distinguished statesman who served as secretary of the treasury under presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, declared his intention to establish “in this immense and fast-growing city ... a system of rational and practical education fitting for all and graciously opened to all.” Founded in 1831, New York University is now the largest private university in the United States. Of the more than 3,000 colleges and universities in America, New York University is one of only 60 member institutions of the distinguished Association of American Universities.
From a student body of 158 during NYU's first semester, enrollment has grown to more than 50,000 students attending 14 schools and colleges at five major centers in Manhattan and in sites in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. The center of NYU is its Washington Square campus, located in the heart of Greenwich Village. Students come from every state in the union and from 133 foreign countries.
Colonization
Kappa Kappa Gamma was invited to colonize on the campus of New York University when the active members of the 10-year-old local group, Kappa Psi Delta, petitioned the Fraternity to establish a chapter. The 20 Kappa Psi Delta women who pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma on September 7, 2011, describe themselves as quiet girls who flourished upon joining Kappa Psi Delta, and they expect to continue growing as members of Kappa. Eta Pi will join the chapters at St. Lawrence, Syracuse, Cornell, Marist and Colgate to make six Kappa chapters in the state of New York.
The women of Kappa Psi Delta are articulate, poised, intelligent and organized. With an overall GPA of 3.45, they understand the importance of education, leadership opportunities and building relationships. Already leaders involved in many campus activities, they are focused on philanthropy. They are described by others as considerate, down-to-earth, uniquely able to make others feel welcome and comfortable. The values of Kappa Psi Delta and Kappa Kappa Gamma align perfectly, making it an extraordinary fit. Kappa is privileged and honored to join the NYU community and build a future with the women of Kappa Psi Delta.
Eta Pi colony became Kappa's 138th active chapter when it was installed and complements the growing campus Panhellenic, which consists of Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Delta Phi Epsilon and Pi Beta Phi, plus two local groups. Zeta Tau Alpha also colonized at NYU in the fall of 2011.
Installation
On November 5, 2011, 20 collegiate members and 11 alumnae of Kappa Psi Delta were initiated as members of Eta Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, establishing the Fraternity’s 138th active chapter.
Shortly before Installation, one of the alumna initiates wrote to the Director of Alumnae expressing her feelings about Kappa: “I am a 2010 graduate of NYU. In the 2007 spring semester, I was a shy freshman, unsure of where I belonged in the country’s second-largest private university in the most populated city. Kappa Psi Delta welcomed me and I felt like I had a college home. I made some of my best friends and favorite memories during my three and a half years as an active sister. I worried about the future of Kappa Psi Delta as a small local sorority surrounded by flourishing national sororities in a quickly growing Greek system. When I learned my organization’s plan to be absorbed by a national organization - and to be absorbed by an organization that permitted the initiated of alumnae – I was relieved! As corny as it sounds, I always felt there was something special about Kappa Kappa Gamma. When I was doing research as a senior about national organizations we could work with KKG stood out to me. I look forward to being a part of such an established organization with generations of proud members.”
There are many opportunities for the new chapter on the NYU campus. Laura Osborne, College Panhellenic Adviser, said, “We have high hopes that the addition of Kappa Kappa Gamma to the College Panhellenic Council at NYU will promote stronger leadership, deeper bonds of friendship, increased awareness of service to the community and higher ideals of scholarship among all the members of the fraternity and sorority life community.”
Fraternity President Julie Marine Leshay, Colorado College, led the Installation team of Susanne Wolff Vander Hayden, Washington State, Director of Alumnae; Barb Adams Goettelman, Syracuse, Extension Chairman; Nancy Eyermann Foland, Tulsa, and Kelly Matyas Magyarics, Pittsburgh, Region 1 Directors of Alumnae and Chapters; Kim Heinig Pegg, Vermont, and Jodi Bilotti Howe, Syracuse, Alpha Province directors of Alumnae and Chapters, respectively; Alexandra Vukov, Michigan State, Chapter Consultant; Nicole Pitsinos, South Carolina, Coordinator of Chapter Development; and Rachel Dunlap, Baylor, New York Alumnae Association President. The New York City Alumnae Association President presented a badge, set with light-and-dark-blue stones, to be used as the chapter president’s badge, to the Eta Pi President, Caitlin Geehan.
Visiting the 9/11 Memorial:
On November 3, 2011, Fraternity President Julie Marine Leshay, Colorado College, Susanne Wolff Vander Heyden, Washington State, members of the Eta Pi extension team and many New York-area Kappas visited the 9/11 Memorial to honor and extend deepest respects to: Jean Rogers, Penn State, flight attendant on American flight #11; Jen Kane, Villanova, World Trade Center; Kaleen Pezzuti, Cornell, World Trade Center; Norma Lang Steuerle, Carnegie Mellon, passenger on American flight #77 (Pentagon).
Fraternity President Julie Leshay brought copies of the front cover of The Key, winter 2001 edition, along with a copy of the article, “Honoring Those We Have Loved and Lost.” These items were placed at the name of each Kappa on the memorial. Amanda Brown, Puget Sound, Assistant to the Director of Alumnae, provided irises that were placed by each name with the article. Many 9/11 Memorial visitors stopped to read the information that our group left behind. All assembled were part of our Kappa Memorial Service led by Fraternity President Julie Leshay. It was a very moving experience and something we felt was important to do in connection with our new chapter at New York University.
Highlights of 2011-2019
2012
Scholarship: Eta Pi supports sisters in their academic endeavors by offering study hours in the library each week and an open study room booked 24/7 during finals week. Chapter members are also encouraged to maintain high grades by participating in the “Wise Owl” program, in which they are entered in a drawing for gift cards each week during chapter if they received an “A” on a paper, exam, or project during the week. Girls with a 3.8 GPA or above are awarded a “Kappa Kappa Genius” T-shirt. For the spring of 2012, these girls were Madeline Aaron, Jillian Fairchild, Elizabeth Green, Ariana Marsh, Madelyn McClung, Meredith Menache, Rebekah Nielsen, Elizabeth Owen Skidmore, Puja Patel, Kristina Rathjen, and Karen Shin. In the Spring of 2012, Kappa received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Program at the Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards.
Group Honors/Awards: We received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Program at the FSL Awards. We placed 3rd at Greek Night. Out of 10 chapters, we had the 4th pick for 2012-2013 housing.
Traditions: We continued recognition of Kappa Psi Delta's founding anniversary date of December 11th. We also incorporated Kappa Psi Delta traditions into our Big/Little sister reveal ceremonies in both the spring and fall. Following initiation, we continued our tradition of hosting a family brunch inviting parents to celebrate with us and learn more about KKG.
Beginning in the fall of 2012, Eta Pi started the new tradition of “fleur dates” in which initiated sisters and new members each draw the names of different sisters to meet up with during the week. Our annual Thanksgiving Sisterhood Potluck was our first big event after Hurricane Sandy, and displayed the strong bond between our sisters through the good and bad times.
Special Events: Founder's Day was celebrated on Oct 6th, 2012. Kappa Kappa Grandma Sisterhood movie nights occurred each semester, in addition to regularly scheduled events. At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, Eta Pi members gathered in Central Park for our Sisterhood Picnic. Our FSL Housing theme month was “Neighborly November,” during which we collaborated with Alpha Epsilon Pi to host events for the NYU community and held a food drive for Sandy victims.
Philanthropic Involvement: Eta Pi continued our relationship with PS2, a local elementary school in Chinatown, to tutor and provide fun activities for students who do not speak English as a first language. Eta Pi also coordinated a dress drive to provide old prom and homecoming dresses for Operation Fairy Dust, an organization that gives the dresses to underprivileged girls. We also participated in Relay for Life, with almost all girls raising money before the event, and even raising more money throughout the night by selling “Kappa Quesadillas.” Many of the fraternities and sororities on campus participated in our Big/Little Newlywed Game, which raised over $300 for Relay. Chapter Goals: Eta Pi strives to strengthen our sisterhood and increase Greek presence in the greater NYU community.
Challenges and How They Were Overcome: Our chapter has many new goals, as reflected in the LAP report for 2012. With regards to understanding and appreciation of Kappa, we are working to continue discovering Kappa. Our specific goals include implementing more mandatory ritual review and practices, hosting presentations on post-graduate Kappa involvement and opportunities, increasing usage of Kappa’s website as a resource, and increasing support and understanding of the Kappa Foundation.
With regards to interpersonal development, our focus is to strengthen enthusiasm and attendance for events. We did this by using the group system to gather enthusiasm and attendance at Greek-wide events, increasing co-sponsorships with other organizations, more recognition and positive reinforcement of sisters who attend events, and drafting an attendance policy to define commitment for all members. For self-discovery and intellectual development, Eta Pi strove to increase philanthropic and academic focus and involvement. We did this by increasing the number of service events and opportunities, encouraging the use of advisers and professors as resources, maintaining and improving our GPA as a chapter, and encouraging academic buddies to help in course selection and general support. Finally, with regards to leadership and skill building, we worked to use all available tools to improve efficiency, particularly with regards to communication.
We worked to streamline emails and make good use of chapter time, began planning a Chapter Council Leadership Retreat for 2013, worked harder to delegate tasks to committee members, and helped each sister become more confident and comfortable in Chapter Council positions through connections with Advisers and the use of chapter resources.
World/Local Events: Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast in October. New York University was affected by widespread power outages in the dorms and campus buildings. The Eta Pi chapter conducted and exercised our emergency protocols to ensure that each sister was safe. Members, new members, and alumnae housed fellow sisters in apartments and dorms with power. Following the storm, KKG participated in food drives collecting nonperishable goods for people affected by the hurricane, and individual members helped in efforts to clear rubble and rebuild houses.
Recent Changes: In the Spring of 2012, the Eta Pi chapter welcomed and initiated 35 new members. In the fall of 2012, Eta Pi initiated 44 new members. We held elections of the 2013 Chapter Council in November of 2012. As the newest chapter, Eta Pi is still learning about all of the facets of Kappa, but we are enthusiastic about learning and growing.
Note to Chapter Registrar: Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of The Key to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.
Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!
