Greeks celebrate their community at annual awards ceremony

Photo of Alpha Sigma Tau

The women of Alpha Sigma Tau celebrate earning the President's Cup, RU's most prestigious Greek Life award, among a host of other accolades.

The hundreds of students who volunteer their time, service and brother and sisterhood to Radford University Greek Life honored one another at the 2014 Greek Life Awards Ceremony.

Held Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in Bondurant Auditorium, the ceremony recognized the hard work and extraordinary experiences of each chapter during this school year, said Robert Marias, assistant director for student activities, Greek Life.

The most prestigious award for the RU Greek Community, the President's Cup, was awarded for the first time since 2011 to Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. The cup recognized an incredible standard of excellence in all aspects of campus and Greek life.

In presenting the award, Marias noted the important reason for its awarding when he told the crowd that, "perfection is not the goal. Excellence is the goal."

Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Shanley helped Marias awarded the President's Cup. He also took the stage to honor the Chapters of the Year and the Greek Woman and Man of the Year, but not before offering some thoughts on why Greek Life is vital to RU.

"Greek Life builds a sense of community and identification with RU, it builds current and future leaders and citizens, and it provides more fun and joy than almost any other experience on campus," Shanley said.

Chapter of the Year awards were given to a chapter of each of the three Greek councils on campus, the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Council (PC) and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). These chapters demonstrate exceptional commitment to Greek Life and the Radford University community:

  • Phi Sigma Kappa, IFC
  • Alpha Sigma Tau, PHC
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., NPHC

The Greek Woman and Man of the Year were also honored in the ceremony. These individuals best exemplify the role of the Greek student at Radford:

  • Rebecca Gaunt, Alpha Sigma Tau
  • Dustin Kidd, Phi Kappa Sigma

While the evening was about recognizing the achievements of the Greek community, the program made time for entertainment with performances by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Are You Hype? dance troupe, the Theta Chi air band and jump rope virtuoso Shelby Ruth of Delta Zeta.

In addition to the chapter and individual excellence awards, the following awards were presented at the ceremony:

  • Outstanding Chapter President of the Year - Kelly Williams, Phi Sigma Sigma
  • Officer of the Year - Kayla Smith, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
  • Inspiration Award - Theta Chi
  • Ritual Award - Michael Barbour, Phi Sigma Kappa
  • Community's Choice Award - Phi Kappa Sigma
  • Greek Mania/Recyclemania Award – Fraternal Values Society
  • Edward D. Jervey Award for Panhellenic Unity – Alpha Sigma Tau
  • Bonnie Hurlburt Award – Olivia Hilton, Alpha Sigma Tau
  • Faculty Member of the Year – Robert Marias
  • Greek Alumnus of the Year – Christina Covington '90, National President, Alpha Sigma Tau
  • Faculty Advisor of the Year- Steve Lerch
  • Chapter Advisor of the Year- Laura Turk '87, M.S. '90
  • Highest Individual GPA (Sororities) –  Haley Goins of Alpha Sigma Alpha, Skylar Goodman of Alpha Sigma Alpha, Jacey Cox of       Delta Zeta and Shelby Ruth of Delta Zeta all achieved a 4.0 GPA
  • Highest Individual GPA (Fraternities) – Raymond Boisvert, Kappa Delta Rho, 3.959 GPA
  • Highest Chapter GPA (Sororities) – Alpha Sigma Alpha
  • Highest Chapter GPA (Fraternities) – Theta Chi
  • Most Improved GPA (Sororities) – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
  • Most Improved GPA (Fraternities) – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
  • New Member GPA (Sororities) – Alpha Kappa Alpha
  • New Member GPA (Fraternities) – Theta Chi
  • Excellence in Risk Management – Alpha Sigma Alpha
  • Community Service Award – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
  • Philanthropy Award – Zeta Tau Alpha

Greek Week competition results were announced at the ceremony. The champions were Theta Chi (fraternities) and Sigma Kappa (sororities). The winners of the Greek Intramural Cup were the brothers Phi Sigma Kappa.

In addition to the awards, new initiates were welcomed into the Greek honorary societies Gamma Sigma Alpha, Rho Lambda and the Order of Omega. New members of the Fraternal Values Society were also recognized. Certificates and graduation cords were bestowed upon members.

The Greek community will celebrate the 85th anniversary of the Greek system at RU throughout 2014. The sisters of Sigma Sigma Sigma established the first sorority chapter at Radford (then called the State Teachers College) in 1929 with 25 students. The sorority's arrival heralded the beginning of a new social era of sororities and societies. The strong traditions of excellence in the school's Ingles and Pocahontas Literary Societies were carried over into Greek life.

The RU Greek community is comprised of 22 general fraternities and sororities. The organizations fall under the governance of three different coordinating councils - Interfraternity Council (IFC), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and the Panhellenic Council (PC). Greek students at RU gain leadership experience, forge lifelong friendships, receive academic success support and enjoy many opportunities for community service and philanthropy.

Apr 30, 2014