Shout out to those Recruitment Committees!

Vermont, Nu Gamma, at this year's Greek awards

As the National Council will be meeting in a few days, our executive director, Tom, has been working to compile statistics on this last academic year.

Guess what. Recruitment was good. 

For the first time since Tom can remember, every chapter/colony has either had positive growth or no growth.

Out of 17 chapters, only two remained the same, others grew as much as 46%!!!

Even the lowest growth margin occurred at 10%, a healthy growth!

What were some big picture reasons for this growth on our campuses? Comment below.

Here's one of my favorite recruitment videos.

P.S. Thanks for being patient about the new website, each day more content is added, feel free to email me or call Tom if you all have questions.

derrick.dubois@phimudelta.org

Regional Leadership Consultants

Evening all!

As you may, or may not, know I will not be returning as your Director after this year. It has been an honor to serve you all and to help give back to the organization that has given me so much. I have made countless connections, been able to travel to all of our chapters, learned amazing bits of history, restarted a chapter, and been given the opportunity to leave my mark on a great organization...And somehow I was paid to do all of it!

Video credit: Jake Dubois, Nu Gamma

Next year this position will split into two, one man will cover the Nu district and the other will cover the Mu/Sigma districts. These men will spend less time on the road and more time helping our chapters. They will also have the opportunity to run expansion efforts!

I have full faith that the men I met on the road will be able to lead this fraternity on a national level in the near future. If not you, who?  

Email questions, comments or concerns to me at derrick.dubois@phimudelta.org

Frostburg State University -- Mu Omicron

Courtesy of FSU Alumni Association, Facebook

FSU is located in the pan handle of Maryland. Its student body and alumni have heavy connections with Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Frostburg State University Greek Life has a long history of local organizations. In fact, there are more local groups than national fraternities currently. This provides an interesting challenge for our men. No, we do not want the men that join these local organizations, as they have a tumultuous reputation. We may want their friends or roommates. Mu Omicron, like many of our chapters, consistently battles the poor reputation that is shed on the Greek Life community.

Courtesy Andy Krehbiel, Facebook

I had the privelege of speaking with Father Ed, Doug B., and Dr. Bowling (all of which are members who joined as professionals). Each of them spoke of the community's remarkable change and growth but that there is a long way to go. They all recognized that Phi Mu Delta was central to that growth.

Prior to the end of winter break, Mu Omicron ran into some grade troubles with several officers. Our men were quick to fix the issue and move forward. Two gentlemen stepped forward to fill those roles and put in place a concrete plan which included chair binders, effective meeting agendas and the reworking of the organization's work-flow.

Problem solving and efficient meetings are definitely a strong suit in Maryland, along with a laundry list of others.

Founder's Day -- A reminder that we are still relevant?

What are we doing? What is this thing we are a part of? There are academics, national headquarters staff, writers, television hosts and professional speakers who are all paid for their professional opinion on the matter.

And you know what? They all have different answers. Many change their definition of fraternity and some of them even have trouble defining what fraternity is. (If you are going to recruit, you better shape up your answer...and don't just say: brotherhood. People benefit much more from your experiences than some generic answer.)

For 96 years, this fraternity has operated, succeeded, failed and, most importantly, continued on. This year alone we will take more new members than we had active just 8 short years ago! Our ideals are present in each chapter and we are growing. This semester we are working on chartering three colonies.

The question of relevancy is answered. Fraternity is relevant. People are joining us and there is an interest from campuses nationwide. But why? What is it that we offer and, as always, how can we improve with the times?

Happy Founder's Day, please take time to reflect and celebrate the ideals of this fraternity (and the men who brought this gift to you).

Here's brother Marpheen, Nu Xi, speaking about his why.
(Edit 3/4, I realized I had used the above video in an earlier post)

So here's another..

Dan J. of Nu Xi, speaking about his why.

Derrick Dubois

Director of Chapter Services

derrick.dubois@phimudelta.org

Shawnee State, Go Bears!

I had the pleasure of working with our colony at Shawnee State Univeristy in southern Ohio this week.

Portsmouth, OH borders Kentucky and is separated by the Ohio River. This institution has a history of helping those achieve an education on a limited budget and our chapter embodies that. They have only 6 alumni and have already created scholarships for prospective members through those alumni and the chapter.

"I believe in that broad conception of democracy which seeks freedom of opportunity and recognizes no color, race, creed, or position."

Seen above, Don teaches a class of 11 new brothers.

These men impressed me with their grasp of service, the knowledge of what it means to be a good fraternity man and the differences between leadership/management. They will have a chapter advisory board up and running very shortly, headed by Jonathan F. James, Residence Coordinator. This colony is an up-and-comer, I would not be surprised if they were presenting for national chapter of the year in only a few short years. 

Ohio Northern University-- Completed

I'm done at ONU and we have a total of 19 new brothers with more accepting each day.

The last two weeks of the process were the hardest and the most fruitful.

Getting through the names list and meeting with all the men while keeping track of where each man was in the process was difficult but as long as I kept the names list updated I was able to balance all efforts.

This chapter will surely flourish with advisers like Dr. Tom Kier, interim Dean of the Pharmacy College and noted Mu Beta alumnus, and Dave Smittle, noted Mu Beta alumnus and national council Member-At-Large.

In addition, the membership consists of an eclectic compilation of student leaders, ranging from student senate to residential life. This project has no doubt been a success on the National Office's position and we all will be looking forward to Mu Beta's hard work this year.

I am a recruiting machine.. and here's why

I just got over 100 names within an hour.

I'll tell you what, it was easier than you think. How many of you men want to have a better relationship with the organizations on your campus? I bet it's a pretty high number of you.

You, as a leader or student or fraternity man, have the ability to do what I just did.

I contacted the sororities, fraternities and several other student organizations on campus and asked to present. Today, I met with Zeta Tau Alpha, FIJI, Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha Xi Delta.

ZTA and Theta were within an hour and I spent less than ten minutes presenting.

I walked out of each of those chapters with more than 100 names each.

First, I brought some type of gift..candy, coffee or flowers.

Second, I researched them a little bit. I knew I needed to know philanthropy, flower and other general information.

Third, I'm offering the organization which refers the most men(who actually join) 500 bucks to their philanthropy. What if this is what you used your recruitment budget for?

Fourth, show up. Dress up! Say hi to the people you know. And if you don't know anyone, chat with a person who may be able to give you some information, then add it into your talk. I met a woman who was excited to be taking over alumni networking just before the presentation. I used her name and gave her a positive plug in front of 70 women. In other words, find ways to get the people interactive with your presentation. You don't need a PowerPoint.

Fifth, talk excitedly about what your organization is planning and doing. They want to know what kind of group you are. Practice this beforehand because you must buy into what you're saying.

Sixth, initiate the name harvest! "Do you all remember when you received your bid? Aw, man. That was a great feeling. I felt so honored and happy. I want to bring that feeling to more people on this campus. I want all of Greek Life to grow. Help me do that. The number one reason why people do not join us is because they were never asked. Can you give me the names of men that should be asked to join? Men who are academically excellent, high caliber,  and service minded." Hand out 3x5 cards and let them at it.

I have advantages as a full time recruiter. But this can be adapted for you. I promise. I'm up to 350 names in a single week. That's nearly 10 percent of this campus and I've just begun.

What is stopping you? What excuses are you making?

Updated travel schedule and news you need to know about

Hello Gentlemen and Happy New Year,

I sincerely hope your days have been restful and you're ready for a jam packed semester of service. 

As you may have guessed, I've been busy. Starting in October with a National Council meeting, a presentation for expansion at The College of New Jersey, chapter visits and then the Annual Meeting of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisers. 

Tom and I have been looking into connections we've made in order to expand at certain campuses, such as U Maine. 

In addition, Tom has been looking into office space in the Cherry Hill region. We think this will make work much more efficient and growth possible at the national office level. Which brings me to a big, exciting announcement! WE ARE LOOKING FOR A SECOND DIRECTOR OF CHAPTER SERVICES!! More information will come but please contact Tom or myself if you have questions. This is a great opportunity for all who want to learn and engage on the national level as well as enter student affairs.

Tom is reworking not only the Oracle, which is nearly printed, but new recognition standards. We have also been planning the 2016 Conclave and beginning strategic conversations about the 2018 Conclave, our 100th!!! 

As you all should know, this is a Conclave year. During conclave years, we hold elections for the National Council. Anyone hoping to apply, this is mainly geared toward alumni or men who will become alumni this summer, should consult the website (http://www.phimudelta.org/?page=NCApplication). Again, Tom and I can answer any questions you may have. This is a major opportunity to plan long term goals for our great fraternity. It is a volunteer position and will require some travelling. Currently, the national council is made mostly of Mu district men, I would hope to see the Nu and Sigma district represented!!

Currently, I'm looking on preparing for Ohio Northern and compiling resources for you all to find on the blog. Things like educational programs or materials that you can use to streamline what you've already got going on. 

I'll leave you with my travel schedule and, as always, stay classy... and warm..

Jan 11 – Feb 9:  Ohio Northern University Expansion
Feb 10 – Feb 14: Mu Rho (Shawnee State)
Feb 15 – 19: Mu Omicron (Frostburg)
Feb 20 – 23: Mu Theta (IUP)
Feb 24 – 26: Mu Epsilon (Penn State)
Feb 27 – March 2 (NGLA)
March 3 – 10: Time at Home in NH
March 11 – 15: Mu Zeta (Lock Haven)
March 15 – 19: Mu Xi (Penn College)
March 20 – 24: Mu Alpha (Susquehanna)
March 25 – 29: Sigma Alpha (Longwood)



Derrick

Director of Chapter Services

derrick.dubois@phimudelta.org