The University’s Panhellenic Council has selected a new sorority to join the University of Minnesota’s greek community this fall.
Chi Omega accepted its invitation to join the University on Tuesday after presenting its case to students, alumni and administrators last weekend. Chi Omega had to compete with two other sororities, Phi Mu and Tri Delta, to win the invitation for this fall.
“I’m incredibly pleased,” said Matt Levine, program director for the Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life. “This was a hard decision to make.”
Chi Omega was chosen based on a number of factors, including its strong retention rates and the fact the chapter has 1,100 alumni within 25 miles of the campus, Levine said.
Chi Omega is the largest women’s fraternal organization in the world, according to its website, and was founded in 1895 at the University of Arkansas.
But Chi Omega wasn’t the only sorority to receive an invitation. The PHC decided to use a “stacking” process and invited Phi Mu to join the campus sometime between 2015 and 2017.
The PHC hadn’t planned on “stacking,” but decided it was doable after reviewing several factors, Levine said. The PHC will review recruitment numbers and hold another vote before finalizing Phi Mu’s arrival.