Panhellenic Council garners national awards for excellence

The National Panhellenic Conference recognized the University's Panhellenic Council last month with an award for "overall excellence for scholarship." The conference identifies university chapters bi-annually for excellence in various categories such as scholarship, publicity, rush and overall excellence. After Penn's Panhel won regional awards for several categories in March, the group submitted packets to the national awards' judges in May. The scholarship packet contained publicity clippings and narratives of particular events. Panhel members also submitted pieces explaining the importance of each event and what they hoped to achieve through their participation. Many of the events Panhel highlighted were programs designed to raise awareness on various women's issues, such as last fall's Breast Health Fair last fall, an eating disorder awareness event held in the spring and Safety Day, in which members distributed the Panhellenic Yellow Pages, a publication offering important phone numbers for women. Panhel Vice President for Publicity Beth Linn said the award highlighted Panhel's successes in supporting Penn's female community. "Panhellenic Council is building on the fact that we are the largest women's organization on campus, and that we work to support women at the University," said the College junior, a sister in Delta Delta Delta. Panhel's grade point average, which exceeds the women's average at the University, also played a factor in the award. "The fact that their GPA was significantly higher than the all-female GPA while most other schools' Panhel organizations are lower says a lot about the importance of academics in their lives," Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Scott Reikofski said. In addition, Penn's Panhel impressed the national board with career planning programs, tutoring, and study breaks for sisters during final examinations, Reikofski said. "The Panhel community supports each other, are aware of the University's resources, and holds academics as a high priority," Reikofski said. Women in the sorority system said the award highlights Panhel's dedication to being more than simply a social organization. "Not only are members very well-educated, but also very motivated and intelligent," said Panhel President Jessica Lennon, also a Tri-Delt sister. Linn agreed, saying the honor "shows that we are strong, confident, well-rounded women." "I've always been impressed by how much emphasis sorority sisters place on academics even while busy with social events, community service and other activities," Alpha Phi sister and College sophomore Cindy Liebman said.