SAE Alumni Board Agreement with Active Brotherhood
March 28, 2003The Alumni Board of Sigma Alpha Epsilon has agreed to fund the Creating Chapters of Excellence program under the sponsorship of Cornell University as one significant step in improving the SAE experience for the active chapter. Creating Chapters of Excellence is a program offered by Cornell through the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. The program is intended to foster a renaissance of the Greek letter organizations in stronger partnership with alumni leadership, while maintaining the integrity of a self-governed system. The program emphasizes three areas: mentoring, cultural and educational programming, and chapter facilities. Faculty, staff, and alumni all play a role in the program, but the focus is on enriching the Cornell experience for the participating chapters. Membership is by invitation only, limited to five chapters, and will be under the direction of a newly hired Chapter Services Director. Creating Chapters of Excellence begins as a two-year pilot program in the Fall of 2003.There are, however, some important parameters involved with our participation which are spelled out below:
* We expect that the chapter will participate with enthusiasm and significant attendance and will always put their best face on for the program.
* We expect the chapter to help assess the merits and value of the program as an assist to both the alumni and Cornell University.
* The chapter needs to remain in good standing with Cornell University and SAE National.
* The brothers need to be aware of their individual and collective responsibilities, both financial and practical, with both the spirit and intent of the context of the l985 agreement between Cornell, the NY Alpha Alumni Association body and the active SAE Chapter.Creating Chapters of Excellence - Update June 2005
[Newsletter from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, Cornell University - pdf]Creating Chapters of Excellence Update October 2004
[Newsletter from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, Cornell University - pdf]
Creating Chapters of Excellence - Update June 2004
[Newsletter from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, Cornell University - pdf]Creating Chapters of Excellence - Update April 2004
[Newsletter from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, Cornell University - pdf]Creating Chapters Of Excellence Entering Next Phase
from The New York Alpha News - Spring 2005
CCE Pilot Program Enters Second Year
from The New York Alpha News - Fall 2004Creating Chapters Of Excellence Initiative Gains Momentum
from The New York Alpha News - Spring 2004SAE Helps Kick Off CCE Pilot Program
from The New York Alpha News - Fall 2003
Chapters of Excellence Archived DocumentsChapters of Excellence FACT SHEET
Chapters of Excellence MINUTES - September 18, 2003Chapters of Excellence MINUTES - October 2, 2003
Creating Chapters Of Excellence Entering Next Phase
from The New York Alpha News Spring 2005
The Creating Chapters of Excellence (CCE) pilot program has entered its final semester and planning has begun for the next phase of the CCE program. While final details of the program are expected to be forthcoming, a discussion with the CCE program director has provided a glimpse into where the program is headed.
The initial goal for the CCE program will be to retain all current pilot chapters and recruit an additional nine chapters. While the program will retain its original core mission to foster the intellectual, cultural, and civic growth of its member chapters, a new aspect moving forward will be the grouping of CCE chapters into "neighborhoods" intended to foster cooperation between neighboring houses.
To assist in the facilitation and oversight of these neighborhoods, the CCE program director has proposed hiring three graduate assistants who will play an active role in building bridges between participating houses. Ideally, these graduate assistants would be drawn from graduating members of the Greek community who will be continuing their graduate education at Cornell.
Another proposal from the CCE office involves the creation of a resident manager post for each of the member houses. The resident manger could be an upperclassman from the fraternity or a live-in graduate student. The resident manager, if elected, would serve on the house executive board at the vice president level. If hired, the resident manager would be selected by and paid by the house.
As communicated by the CCE office to member chapters, the role and responsibilities of the resident manager is expected to extend well beyond that of the current house manager. The resident manager would: supervise or work closely with the house manager to develop house rules regarding the facility day-to-day maintenance, quiet hours, use of the kitchen, etc.; assist in the organization and implementation of fall and spring check-in and check-out processes and closings during breaks; serve as crisis manager regarding the facility and residents; know the emergency contact information for each resident, have a master key to the rooms, help in conducting fire drills for the facility, review an emergency evacuation plan with residents each semester, and make sure that the plan is posted on each floor; counsel students and respond to crises that may occur in the chapter house; serve as a conduit for residents to indicate repairs that are in need of attention, and contact the appropriate vendor to make repairs; serve as a liaison to the alumni board in executing plans for renovation during the winter and summer months; communicate regularly with alumni about the condition of the facility; supervise all house personnel (cooks, caterers, cleaning service, super, etc) and ensure that all contracted services are performed as agreed; help to create a living environment that is supportive of the academic mission; perform such duties as agreed upon with the alumni board and chapter leadership; assist in the training of house managers; and attend trainings and meetings sponsored by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.
The cost of continued participation in the Creating Chapters of Excellence program is expected to be around $5,000 per year. As the pilot comes draws to an end, the alumni board will be reviewing the benefits of participation in the program and decide upon continued participation moving forward.
Ralph Lambalot '87
CCE Alumni Liaison
As the Creating Chapters of Excellence (CCE) program entered its second year of a two-year pilot initiative, a review and appraisal of the program with alumni representatives from SAE and four other participating Interfraternity Council organizations was held during the second week of August via teleconference with CCE Program Director Lisa Blockus. In year one, CCE sponsored 23 programs that were either specific to a chapter, co-sponsored by two CCE groups, or open to the entire membership of each of the nine organizations. These programs fell into the following categories: cultural and educational programs (5), intellectual development and faculty (4), civic responsibility (6), leadership and professional development (6), and community building (2).
In order to emphasize greater faculty involvement in the CCE program, Professor David Delchamps, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, has joined the CCE effort and now serves as co-chair of the fraternity and sorority programming council with Suzy Nelson. Professor Delchamps will represent the CCE program on the campus-wide faculty-in-residence oversight team. The next step toward greater faculty involvement is to meet the program strategic imperative of recruiting and involving faculty fellows in each of the nine participating chapters. In addition to greater faculty involvement, other year-two program objectives include increasing chapter member participation in CCE events by balancing the type and size of programs sponsored by the CCE programming council, devoting greater attention to the health and success of individual chapters and increasing the visibility and name recognition of the CCE pilot program within the Greek community and throughout Cornell.
The CCE alumni advisory board advanced several recommendations to better serve the interests of each individual chapter, as well as to strengthen the pilot as a whole. There are five specific program aims for year two that were enumerated by SAE alumni:
Emphasis on building a greater level of pride and respect for the physical facility among chapter actives.
Further strengthening of general chapter operations, governance, and management.
Chapter teambuilding events designed to help transition new members into the house and to integrate all classes of the chapter.
Alumni mentorship is imperative to the continued success of the chapter. Alumni-undergraduate career networking opportunities are welcome and would be seen as a real chapter benefit.
Greater emphasis should be given to the cultural and intellectual development piece of the CCE program to avoid redundancy and balance the existing social and community service events the chapter already participates in independent of the CCE program.
As the pilot continues into the 2004-2005 academic year, SAE and the other participating chapters will focus on recruiting a faculty fellow and begin developing annual goals for the intellectual, cultural, and civic growth of its members. SAE will continue to work with the CCE Program Director in areas like: property management; guidelines for behavior; leadership and public service training; career development; and ongoing education on topics such as alcohol and drug abuse, sexuality, ethics, and hazing. If the pilot is successful, Creating Chapters of Excellence will expand and become a permanent program, setting a new standard for all fraternities and sororities at Cornell.
Ralph Lambalot '87
CCE Alumni Liaison
Creating Chapters Of Excellence Initiative Gains Momentum
from The New York Alpha News - Spring 2004
The Creating Chapters of Excellence (CCE) initiative was launched last fall with much fanfare. The goals of the initiative are far-reaching, aimed at bringing greater depth, purpose, and value to the Greek experience while better integrating these primarily social organizations into the broader fabric of the Cornell community. As you know, SAE volunteered to be one of nine chapters in the two-year pilot program for CCE.
As weve come to expect from the current crop of brothers, the actives have taken a leadership role in CCE. Participation in CCE events by SAEs consistently outstrips that of the other houses. Trayor Lesnick 04 and Ben Farrer 04 have done an outstanding job representing SAE in the CCE program, driving much of the initial organization of CCE. In November, SAE hosted one of the first CCE events, with CU Professor Paul Carr leading a discussion on leadership and personality types.
SAE alumni are also involved in CCE. Alumni have been actively providing feedback regarding the initiative to the director of CCE. In response to this, CU has increased the level of communication to the alumni of the houses participating in CCE.
As with any new program, CCE experienced some problems in the fall semester. The main cause of these issues was a lack of involvement by the other participating chapters. Prompted by SAE actives and alumni, the initiative director has been successful in increasing the level of commitment and participation of the other chapters in the program.
Several CCE events are planned for the spring semester. Although details have yet to be worked out, SAE will host a chili cook-off, with guest judges from the Hotel School. CCE will host a gala at the Johnson Museum in March and a Taste of the Finger Lakes fair in April.
Finally, the actives are working hard to get a faculty fellow in place this spring. In the context of CCE, the faculty fellow will assist SAE in developing and achieving its annual goals for the intellectual, cultural, and civic growth of the brothers.
All in all, despite some initial mis-cues, the CCE initiative is gathering momentum, in no small part due to the leadership role assumed by the brothers of SAE.
Mike Burns '86
Alumni Board Undergraduate Relations Committee
Jared Herretes '06
The Creating Chapters of Excellence (CCE) pilot program got its launch this semester with the establishment of the CCE Programming Council, comprised of representatives from each of the nine participating fraternities and sororities. The council has now had two monthly meetings, the second of which was hosted at Hillcrest. A council structure has been established with cultural, educational, service, professional and leadership, and public relations committees. SAE own Benjamin Farrer and Trayor Lesnock are co-chairs of the public relations committee. The council is charged with the task of creating, promoting, and allocating funds toward activities and events that support the CCE philosophy, which is to promote professional and leadership opportunities for students; to create events that cultivate diversity and the appreciation of the arts and music; to develop activities to further connect students with faculty and enhance their intellectual engagement; and to encourage civic responsibility both on and off campus.
The CCE programming council budget will serve as a fund for which various chapters will petition. Under this plan, the CCE programming council is not responsible for planning every CCE event, and furthermore existing programs that occur in each of the chapters can be promoted and even elevated with additional funding. As a result, several different kinds of programming options can occur: campus-wide program (the event is open to the entire public); Greek-wide program (the event is open to the entire Greek community); CCE-specific program (the event is limited to all nine participating CCE chapters); paired program (the event is cosponsored or attended by two or three participating CCE chapters); paired-guest program (the event is sponsored by a participating CCE chapter and involves cosponsorship/participation in a non-represented CCE organization); and individual program (the event is chapter-specific and closed to own chapter membership). An initial CCE kickoff event is being planned.
The CCE initiative is a program offered through the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs with Lisa Blockus recently hired as program director. The program is intended to foster a renaissance of Greek-letter organizations in stronger partnership with alumni leadership, while maintaining the integrity of a self-governed system. Each chapter will work with a member of the Cornell faculty and have access to nine other faculty members associated with CCE. The faculty fellow role is to work with the chapter by promoting a culture that helps to integrate students academic and personal experience. Through chapter advisement, outreach, and a commitment to facility improvement, chapter alumni play a critical role in sustaining the program into the future. Funding for the majority of the CCE program originates from alumni. The CCE initiative is one component of a larger campus-wide residential initiative that is intended to transform living options at Cornell. SAE is one of nine Greek organizations invited to participate in the two-year CCE pilot program.
Ralph Lambalot '87
SAE CCE Alumni Advisor