How can your House Directors help YOU?

Central Fraternal Leadership Conference/National Black Greek Leadership Conference

February 2011St. Louis, MO

Shelley SutherlandTricia Fechter

Learning Outcomes

Build Effective PartnershipsDevelop Useful Training ResourcesEstablish Long-Term Relationships

The Value of House Directors

Research Supports the Value of House Directors – Kay Lynn Kalkowski (2005)◦Exploring Leader-Member Exchange and

Organizational Citizenship Behavior in a College Setting: The Influence of the Fraternity House Mother

Recommendations for Student Affairs

Student and Greek Affairs Officials Should: ◦Advocate and promote house mothers in all Greek

fraternities on their campuses◦Both recruit and train people who aspire to be

housemothers◦Provide incentives and/or compensation for

housemothers in the form of bus passes, permission to audit classes, and access to university events and otherwise recognize them for their contributions.

◦Consider mandating housemothers in Greek fraternities

The National Fraternity should

“Update and publish past records that show the grade averagewsk membership retention,m disciplinary actionws and awards wond by chapters with and without houses”

Conclusions

Houses with House MothersWere better satisfied with at least five

areas: nutrition, amount of food, knowledge of etiquette, etiquette displayed by brothers and class attendance.

Had a higher incidence of forbidding alcohol in the house

Lower incidence of being on probation

Benfits of house directors for Advisors

Provide continuity & act as mature role model

Vital player in the daily lives of studentsPriceless face time with SIX publicsRumor Control & intel Assist in chapter emergencies & campus

crisis plans

Role of the House Director

Understand the role & limits of the jobS/He may work for House Corps, Htq,

chapter or an absentee bossMaintain property & supervise staffMeal PlanningHealth & Fire InspectionsSafety & Security of residents

Building Effective Partnerships

Value & respect the House Director as a person with a thankless job

Successful Advisors utilize a team of resource people

Enable House Directors to become your On-site eyes and ears

Campus Norms & perceptionsProvide professional developmentSet high expectations

Advantages of a House Director Group

Opportunity to:build relationship & resource teampartner with the University to make

campus a better placeprovide professional developmentenable them to solve problemsNetworkingFire & Health inspectionsRelax & socialize together

Best reasons to have a Group

Wise investment of Advisor’s timeFirst year: 3 hours planning per meeting5 meetings = 15 hours per yearSecond year: 1 hour planning per meeting5 meetings = 5 hours per yearAnd/orOrientation One 4 hour program before students return6 hours of planning once a year

Resources for the Group

Campus CalendarDirectory of VIP contactsModel Constitution/BylawsRecruitment scheduleCampus News/trends/critical issuesRules/Regulations – rationaleFIPG Risk Management PolicyCampus Crisis PlanNational Emergency Proticol

Support your House Directors

Provide Benefits:Internet & email addressAudit classesCampus IDLibrary accessAccess to workout facilities, pool etc.Staff rates to campus events

Contact Us!

Shelley Sutherland◦Associate Executive Director◦shelley@aflv.org

Tricia Fechter◦Director of Member Services◦Tricia@aflv.org