UA Greek Life Receives National Recognition at Association of Fraternity Leadership and Values

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Pamela Aguilar, Cole Anthony, Mackenzie Lantefield, and Jervae' Franklin accepted recognition in various areas for their respective councils at the AFLV conference.

Greek Life at the University of Arkansas recently attended the Association of Fraternity Leadership and Values and was honored through several national awards.

Fifty-six U of A Greek Life students attended the conference, where they took in educational workshops, community time, and a Unity Stroll-Off.

During the week, Greek Life received the following achievements:

• Gamma Sigma Alpha, the National Greek Academic Honor Society, received the Outstanding Scholarship Fall 2015 for Top Greek Community in the region.
• Panhellenic Council was recognized in the areas of Academic Achievement, Council Management, Membership Recruitment, Philanthropy and Community Service, Public Relations, and Self-Governance and Judicial Affairs.
• United Greek Council was recognized in the area of Council Management.
• National Pan-Hellenic Council was recognized in the areas of Council Management, Leadership and Educational Development, Philanthropy and Community Service, and Public Relations.
• Interfraternity Council was recognized in the areas of Council Management, Leadership and Educational Development, and Membership Recruitment.
• U of A Greek Life received 2nd place in the Unity Stroll-Off Competition.
• Paul Adams was recognized as the 2016 recipient of the AFLV Wilford A. Butler Outstanding Alumnus Award. Adam advises the Omega Psi Phi chapter, as well as mentoring many other Greeks within the UA Greek community. Because of Adams' commitment to Greek Life and his outstanding example of inter-fraternalism, UA Greek councils donated $1,000 in his honor to the AFLV Foundation as a way to give back like he has done for so many others.

Parice Bowser, director of UA Greek Life, said participating in the AFLV conference is about more than just competing for national awards.

"AFLV provides our students the opportunity to learn, grow, network and connect with other Greek leaders from around the country who are working to advance the fraternal experience," Bowser said. "Each year, our students bring back a wealth of knowledge which has helped our overall Greek community become stronger as we lead together."

Bowser, who is also the Chair of AFLV leadership, said just applying for AFLV national awards is a job in itself for the councils.

"Applying for national awards provides our councils with the opportunity to assess where we stand against other Greek communities across the country," Bowser said. "It provides us with the opportunity to become stronger than we are today, challenging us to become better."

To find out more about what UA Greek Life students learned at the AFLV conference, check out the extended feature on ua4student.uark.edu.