{"515811":{"#nid":"515811","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Greek Community to Gain Sorority Chapter","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s female population hit an all-time high in 2015 with an incoming class of 42 percent women. One area of campus that has noticed that increase is the Greek community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis fall, to accommodate more women on campus and a growing interest in Greek life, an eighth National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sorority will colonize a chapter at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKappa Alpha Theta will be the first NPC group to bring a chapter to Tech since Alpha Phi came to campus in 2008. The process of bringing a new chapter to campus \u2014 called \u201cextension\u201d \u2014 is largely driven by current students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe NPC provides a checklist with guidelines that they suggest campuses meet to determine if they\u2019re ready for extension,\u201d said Kylie Corcoran, interim director of Greek Affairs. Once it is determined that the campus is ready for extension, current sorority members vote whether or not to approve it. The extension for Tech was approved in November 2015.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn Extension Committee, made up of one member from each of Tech\u2019s Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC) sororities, heard from three finalists interested in forming a chapter at Georgia Tech. Kappa Alpha Theta stood out in part because of its emphases on mental health, academics, and philanthropy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen we asked each chapter why they wanted to be at Georgia Tech, it was clear that Theta has a high regard for the type of women Tech caters to,\u201d said McKenzie Elliott, Tech\u2019s CPC president.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Greek community initially did not vote for an extension in 2014. But this year, with chapter sizes of around 180 people and new member classes as large as 60 women, the need has grown.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe pride ourselves on having a large Greek community, but with groups small enough that you can know everyone and be close,\u201d Elliott said. About 30 percent of Tech women are involved in Greek life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn the whole, students who are involved in Greek life have higher GPAs and graduation rates than their non-Greek counterparts. Based on students who enrolled at Tech in 2009, 90.5 percent of Greek students had graduated within six years, compared to 82.4 percent overall.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKappa Alpha Theta will begin its recruitment process following formal recruitment for Tech\u2019s existing CPC sororities this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to have a big change in our community,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to working together to welcome a new group to campus.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETech\u2019s existing chapters of national CPC groups are Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, Phi Mu, and Zeta Tau Alpha. It also has two associate chapter groups, Alpha Delta Chi and Alpha Omega Epsilon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETech\u2019s Greek community also includes five Multicultural Greek Council chapters, eight National Pan-Hellenic Council chapters, and 32 Interfraternity Council chapters.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKappa Alpha Theta will colonize on campus this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Kappa Alpha Theta will colonize on campus this fall."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2016-03-28 11:24:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:09","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-03-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-03-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"515791":{"id":"515791","type":"image","title":"Kappa Alpha Theta Crest","body":null,"created":"1458923959","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:39:19","changed":"1475895280","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:40","alt":"Kappa Alpha Theta Crest","file":{"fid":"205128","name":"thumb_kappa-alpha-theta-crest-4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/thumb_kappa-alpha-theta-crest-4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/thumb_kappa-alpha-theta-crest-4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":84825,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/thumb_kappa-alpha-theta-crest-4_0.jpg?itok=Dv15v8cK"}}},"media_ids":["515791"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/greek.gatech.edu\/","title":"GT Greek Affairs"}],"groups":[{"id":"1182","name":"General"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}