Following a vote Thursday night by the Panhellenic Council extension committee, a new sorority will join campus as early as next year. This will increase the number of sororities from eight to nine.
Chapter presidents and designees from the eight Panhellenic sororities were invited to vote on the proposal.
Panhel President and College junior Darby Nelson said two sororities voted against the proposal, but did not specify individual chapters’ votes.
After being rejected last fall, the question of extension was brought to the Council’s attention again this spring due to “a high level of interest” in sorority life, according to Nelson.
Sorority chapters witnessed a record recruitment increase this year. Panhel reported an eight-percent increase in registration for rush and an average increase of five women per incoming pledge class.
In March, an extension committee with representatives from each chapter was established to review and research relevant statistics about recruitment.
The next step for Panhel is to establish a timeline for extension and notify the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) extension chairwoman, according to Panhel Advisor Stacy Kraus.
A number of national organizations have expressed an interest in colonizing at Penn, Kraus wrote in an e-mail.
“Panhellenic is ultimately responsible for determining which groups are invited to campus,” she wrote. “We’ll probably have sororities send us their interest packets over the summer for review in the fall when chapter leaders return to campus.”
The NPC — an international umbrella organization for 26 sororities and fraternities for women — recommends that member groups previously chartered on campus be considered for invitations to present on campus, according to its website.
The most recent addition to Panhel was Sigma Kappa, which joined in 2002.
