When Lehigh University introduced its 10-step plan for “Greek Excellence” in 2019, the goal was ambitious: reform Lehigh’s Greek life by balancing socialization with academic achievement, leadership and community service.
Driven by former Vice Provost for Student Affairs Ricardo Hall — who has since left Lehigh — the plan sought to address ongoing issues in Greek life, such as alcohol abuse and party-centric culture.
The goal was to start implementation in fall 2020 and conclude in fall 2021. The plan included implementing faculty and staff advisors for all fraternity and sorority chapters, assigning live-in graduate assistants to all Greek houses, staffing upperclassmen and graduate assistants in house manager positions and requiring chapter presidents, recruitment chairs and new member educators to live in the organizations’ chapter house.
It also aimed to ban hard alcohol in Lehigh’s on-campus housing, establish an All-Greek Council, Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs recruitment chair and new member education institute, create an LU Summit on Greek Life Excellence and Innovation and an LU Center for Greek Life Excellence and Innovation.
Prior to the creation of this complex plan, Lehigh’s panhellenic community and interfraternity council had faced mounting criticism for a disproportionate focus on social events — particularly those involving alcohol — which led to numerous incidents of misconduct, underage drinking and hazing.
Reflecting on these occurrences and feedback from the Lehigh community, the university hoped to reframe the Greek system as a cornerstone of personal development rather than just a social hub.
Hall described the 10-point plan as a roadmap to restore the original ideals of fraternities and sororities — leadership, academic excellence and community service — while simultaneously improving student safety and responsibility.
Now, several years after the plan was intended to conclude, an analysis into its successes and failures is needed.
What was achieved?
- Alcohol restrictions: One of the most immediate and visible changes was the ban on hard alcohol in on-campus housing, aimed at curbing risky behavior at social events.
- Live-in graduate assistants: The plan called for the assignment of graduate assistants to each house who were trained in crisis response and chapter management. This aspect faced significant delays, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when quarantining and health and safety measures halted this process. It was implemented for some chapters in spring 2023 and others in fall 2024.
- House managers: In fall 2020, Lehigh implemented student “house managers” for each Greek life chapter. Though promised to be upperclassmen, some Greek houses had sophomores as their house managers. House managers help maintain the physical aspects of the house and uphold the hard alcohol ban.
- Living requirements: The plan called for chapter presidents, recruitment chairs and new-member educators to live in the house during their term. Though this was common before, this new requirement helps ensure Greek students in executive positions are meeting expectations.
Where did the plan fall short?
The plan looks good on paper, but in actuality, it did not address many of the deep-rooted issues that make change difficult.
Despite the crack down on hazing, alcohol-related incidents have occurred since.
And despite the goal of reforming Greek life at Lehigh, since 2020 five chapters have been deemed unrecognized groups on campus — meaning their chapters have lost their recognition by the university and/or by their Inter/National Headquarters and are not allowed to reserve university space.
In addition, a number of fraternities have also faced probation and other consequences for alcohol and hazing related charges.
In fall 2019, Lehigh promised to establish a center for Greek Life Excellence and Innovation. After an internet search, it’s apparent they did not follow through.
An article published in The Brown and White in Nov. 2020 mentioned major delays that were ongoing in the 10-point plan, particularly with the goal of having live-in graduate students.
“Live-in graduate assistants were to be assigned to Greek chapter houses during the fall 2020 semester. Since members are not living on campus, this was no longer necessary. Now, graduate students may not even be assigned by next fall, said Chloe Abshire, assistant dean and director for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs,” the article wrote.
The plans of creating an all-Greek council fell through as well, mostly due to the pandemic.
Although the plan represents a well-intentioned effort to recalibrate Greek life at Lehigh, its success is limited. It doesn’t seem that much has changed within the Greek community’s culture overall.
Many of its initiatives were delayed or have yet to foster the widespread cultural change that were envisioned.
The future of Greek life at Lehigh remains uncertain and balancing tradition with reform will continue to be an evolving process.
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