INDIANAPOLIS – The eight National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) member organizations with chapters currently represented at Duke University notified university officials today that the campus’s College Panhellenic Association will formally establish itself as the Durham Panhellenic Association, a student organization that is independent of the university. This decision is effective Dec. 1, 2021.
The decision follows more than a year of conversations between Panhellenic leadership, inter/national member organizations and university officials following a variety of announcements restricting the Panhellenic community’s ability to recruit first-year women as new members and remain sustainable.
“While we remain deeply appreciative of the collegial dialogue and good faith engagement with our community from university officials, our organizations cannot agree to the restrictions on new member recruitment demanded by Duke and were left with little choice but to establish an independent College Panhellenic,” said Dani Weatherford, CEO of the National Panhellenic Conference.
In a letter to Duke administrators, Weatherford added that though “NPC-affiliated chapters will no longer have a formal relationship with the university, our chapters remain committed to providing transformational experiences to our members who are Duke students and advancing initiatives that impact the larger campus culture – particularly regarding access, diversity, equity and inclusion within our community. Our hope is that these efforts, while not formally connected to the university, will be complementary to Duke’s mission and vision for student culture.”
In the coming months, NPC officials and representatives of the inter/national member organizations with chapters serving Duke University students will collaborate to develop a volunteer Panhellenic advisory team to coach and support the student leaders who make up the existing College Panhellenic.
The choice to forego recognition from the university was not made easily but the university’s decision to prohibit first-year women from joining sororities made the choice unavoidable. All 26 NPC member organizations believe fiercely in defending the rights of students, just like all other citizens, to associate when and with whom they choose.
Durham Panhellenic Association will host a spring 2022 recruitment and invite first-year women to participate and receive invitations to membership. More information will be made available at durhampanhellenic.org.
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About the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC)
The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is the trade association for 26 national and international social sororities and one of the largest organizations advocating for women. Through its advocacy, NPC highlights the importance of women’s-only spaces and showcases the transformational power of the sorority experience. For more information, including a complete list of NPC sororities, visit npcwomen.org or find NPC on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
