STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Mississippi State sorority governing body is being honored for a range of achievements over the past school year.
The university's Panhellenic Council is receiving the National Panhellenic Conference's 2011 Overall Excellence Award. It is among women organizations at 15 U.S. colleges and universities to be recognized formally Oct. 15 at the NPC's annual meeting in Austin, Texas.
On hand to accept the honor will be council president Etta M. Laura of Bentonia; Victoria C. Lorenzo of Madison, director of extension; and Casey B. Arbuckle of Cleveland, vice president of member development and president-elect.
At MSU, the Panhellenic Council is responsible for leadership of Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, and Zeta Tau Alpha sororities, as well as Delta Xi Phi multicultural sorority.
Some 140 submissions of achievements from nearly 50 institutions of higher learning were considered for this year's recognition by the NPC.
Nicki Meneley, executive director of the conference, said the MSU organization is being honored for hosting a number of events, both philanthropic and social. These included workshops on ethical recruiting, judicial rules and interviewing skills, along with roundtable discussions with recruitment and student leaders, she added.
Social programs cited in the award included sessions on stereotypes and misperceptions, as well as fund-raising events for the American Cancer Society, House of Hope Mississippi and Haiti earthquake victims.
MSU is home to 29 nationally recognized fraternity and sorority chapters. In addition to the eight that are Panhellenic Council members, the remaining 21 are members either of the National Pan-Hellenic Council or North American Interfraternity Conference.
