University of Arkansas Panhellenic Council Wins National Excellence Award

The University of Arkansas Panhellenic Council received the national organization's highest honor for the first time in history.

The National Panhellenic Conference, one of the largest advocacy organizations for women, announced the University of Arkansas is one of 27 College Panhellenic Associations recognized with awards for excellence in their on-campus work to advance the sorority experience.

"This award speaks volumes about our efforts to enhance fraternity and sorority life at the University of Arkansas," said Parice Bowser, director of Greek Life. "As an award-winning Greek community, we strive daily to represent our institution well at the national, regional, and local level. We are grateful for all of our internal and external partners, and could not have such an excellent organization without the support of everyone involved."

College Panhellenic Associations, which are cooperatives comprised of all NPC member sororities on a campus, are scored on seven criteria, including those of value to all college campuses: academics, programming and community relations.

"The women of the University of Arkansas Panhellenic are so incredibly honored to have received this award. We could not have done it without the help of all of the women in our community," said Mackenzie Lantefield, president of Panhellenic Council. "Receiving the College Panhellenic Excellence Award further reinforces our endeavors in striving for influential leadership, strong academics, and powerful philanthropic efforts. We hope to keep the momentum going and to continue to strive for excellence in the years to come."

The 27 Excellence Award recipients met all seven criteria areas:

• Recruitment
• Panhellenic structure
• Communication with NPC area advisor
• Judicial procedures
• Panhellenic programming
• Academics
• Panhellenic community impact and relations

"I am very proud of our NPC Council and thrilled that their outstanding work has been recognized nationally.  The council is doing a great job to ensure that our local chapters are fully supported," said Charles Robinson, vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

"On behalf of the 2015 Panhellenic executive board, we would like to thank our wonderful chapters on campus for going above and beyond to help us receive this prestigious award," said Marlee Maier, graduate assistant with Greek Life. "Countless hours were served by hundreds of women in our community, and the Excellence award is well deserved. It is great to know that our Panhellenic community keeps striving for excellence year after year. I will always be proud to call myself a Greek at the University of Arkansas."

 "NPC was founded to build cooperation among sororities on campus, and the award winning College Panhellenic Associations embody the idea that by working together each individual chapter becomes stronger," said Frances Mitchelson Panhellenic chairman. "We are especially excited that this year more associations than ever before have reached the excellence level. It is our hope that the number of recipients continues to grow."

The National Panhellenic Conference has recognized student-managed College Panhellenic Associations with awards for more than 50 years. With organizations located at more than 670 U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities, only the top scoring groups receive this honor.

This year's College Panhellenic Excellence Awards winners, in alphabetical order, are:

• College of Charleston
• College of William & Mary
• DePauw University
• Georgia College & State University
• Indiana State University
• Iowa State University
• Louisiana State University
• Loyola University - New Orleans
• Montana State University
• Oklahoma State University
• Quinnipiac University
• Robert Morris University
• Rutgers University
• Sacred Heart University
• Simpson College
• Southern Methodist University
• Texas A&M University
• Texas Christian University
• University of Alabama
• University of Arizona
• University of Arkansas
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Georgia
• University of South Carolina
• University of South Florida
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Panhellenic life at the U of A is a wonderful place to begin building lifelong friendships, finding leadership opportunities, engaging in philanthropy and community service events, and excelling academically. The U of A Panhellenic Association is made up of eleven wonderful NPC organizations that grow and stretch its members into women with purpose and values.

About the National Panhellenic Conference: The National Panhellenic Conference, one of the largest organizations advocating for women, is the umbrella group for 26 national and international sororities. The council's sororities are located on more than 670 campuses with 380,565 undergraduate members in 3,234 chapters. Alumnae are represented in 3,889 associations throughout the world. For more information, including a complete list of NPC sororities, visit www.npcwomen.org.