Mergers? Dissolution?

[kuriousiti]

Hi all. My sorority (which I'll keep private) is rather small in terms of number of chapters, average size of individual chapters, and lifetime initiates. I love this organization and all it has done for me, but in the back of my mind I worry that years down the line, this small size (and its implications) could potentially pose some issues nationally–and cause some changes. I
was reading a Wikipedia article that mentioned that other NPC sororities in similar positions had merged with current NPC members (namely Delta Zeta) as recent as the 1960s, and I’m curious to see what other people think about this. I have a few questions/comments that might give some food for thought

1. The mid-20th century seemed to have the highest rate of change in terms of NPC – addition of ASA, AST, Theta Phi Alpha, Phi Sig, DPhiE, Tri Sigma, SDT, AEPhi, and the loss/merger of a dozen other organizations. The current NPC ’roster’ has remained consistent since 1971.

2. How low is too low when it comes to a number of chapters? (You can either choose to answer with an actual number, or any other metric)

3. Does a merger seem more likely than dissolution, at this point in history? Or, does each organization now have too distinct of an identity and history to merge?

4. Does the consistency of the NPC ‘roster’ give you hope that each of these organizations (regardless of how small they are or may be) will prevail?

5. In the case of dissolution what happens to alumnae?

6. What would be the exact procedure for a merger/dissolution decision? (Does the conversation start with NPC or the organization in question? How do they decide to merge or disband? How do they decide which other organization to merge into? Are there any factors which may not allow for one organization to merge into another–for example, an overlap in chapters on individual campuses?)

7. What other factors besides size might play into these decisions?

Thanks for entertaining my rambling. I’d love to hear what you all have to say, even if you don’t answer the questions; any thoughts on the matter are welcomed!

[Titchou]

My initial organized thoughts are few. I think the number of chapters/active members would be up to the individual group to decide. The threshhold for being able to do business and compete on their campuses is individual to each group. As for alumnae - and current collegiate members, I would imagine that would work like when a local is taken over by an NPC group. Any member can be initiated into the NPC group if they so desire.

[andthen]

Originally Posted by Titchou

My initial organized thoughts are few. I think the number of chapters/active members would be up to the individual group to decide. The threshhold for being able to do business and compete on their campuses is individual to each group. As for alumnae - and current collegiate members, I would imagine that would work like when a local is taken over by an NPC group. Any member can be initiated into the NPC group if they so desire.

+1 to this also adding in I would imagine for any NPC org if they were to potentially pursue this and this is very hypothetical from where I sit, I would imagine the governing council seeking to merge would need to be in agreement with this path and I would imagine there would need to be discussions with another NPC org to see if it is something they would be willing to consider. I would think the group seeking merger would also have to put the issue to vote among its membership.

I know Fran Becque used to post here although that might have been a while back but if you haven't done so I'd recommend googling her webpage, she's got a very robust catalog of info that might give you some insight regarding previous GLO mergers.

[honeychile]

Fran is definitely the person to ask. If she doesn't know where to find the information, no one does!

One sorority that dissolved was Iota Alpha Pi. They went defunct in the 1970s, fairly recently. You may want to read up on that.

Good luck!

[summer_gphib]

This is such an interesting topic! My thoughts go to symbols and rituals, and how that worked when the organizations merged. As a member, I would hate to lose all the beautiful ritual and symbols of my organization.

[kuriousiti]

Originally Posted by summer_gphib

This is such an interesting topic! My thoughts go to symbols and rituals, and how that worked when the organizations merged. As a member, I would hate to lose all the beautiful ritual and symbols of my organization.

Thanks for commenting! I had the same thing in the back of my mind—even the “youngest” NPC members have over a century of history. I think at this point it would be almost impossible to adopt any another organization’s symbols and rituals, regardless of how small, but on the other hand, I also think it would be quite sad and unfair for the group merging to lose their entire identity, especially since it has such a long legacy.

[kuriousiti]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Fran is definitely the person to ask. If she doesn't know where to find the information, no one does!

One sorority that dissolved was Iota Alpha Pi. They went defunct in the 1970s, fairly recently. You may want to read up on that.

Good luck!

Thanks for replying! I will definitely add that to my weekend NPC deep dive reading list!

[naraht]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Fran is definitely the person to ask. If she doesn't know where to find the information, no one does!

One sorority that dissolved was Iota Alpha Pi. They went defunct in the 1970s, fairly recently. You may want to read up on that.

Good luck!

If you find anything else on what happened at the end on Iota Alpha Pi, I'm sure that Fran would love it (and I would love it as well). Everything that I've found indicates that both the NPC and many of the remaining undergraduate sisters were surprised by the decision to pull the plug. I haven't been able to find much more than it appears the decision was made by the Iota Alpha Phi national board over the summer of 1971.

[33girl]

I think that at this point, rather than merge, a group would leave NPC on a national level and compete on a different playing field. This way they would have national backing (so schools wouldn’t freak out about having a local) but they would not be constrained by quota/total/RFM rules. Just my opinion. It also depends if the group has a lot of $$ tied up in real estate/housing corporations.

[kuriousiti]

Originally Posted by naraht

If you find anything else on what happened at the end on Iota Alpha Pi, I'm sure that Fran would love it (and I would love it as well). Everything that I've found indicates that both the NPC and many of the remaining undergraduate sisters were surprised by the decision to pull the plug. I haven't been able to find much more than it appears the decision was made by the Iota Alpha Phi national board over the summer of 1971.

I’m saving my deep dive for this weekend, but if I find anything interesting or noteworthy, I’ll report my findings!
I’ve done some light reading on them, and I was surprised at the courses of action chosen by the individual chapters, and that some merged into DPhiE while others elected for AEPhi. I guess they didn’t have much direction at a national level since they simply disbanded instead of naming a designated organization for them to merge into.

[kuriousiti]

Originally Posted by andthen

+1 to this also adding in I would imagine for any NPC org if they were to potentially pursue this and this is very hypothetical from where I sit, I would imagine the governing council seeking to merge would need to be in agreement with this path and I would imagine there would need to be discussions with another NPC org to see if it is something they would be willing to consider. I would think the group seeking merger would also have to put the issue to vote among its membership.

I know Fran Becque used to post here although that might have been a while back but if you haven't done so I'd recommend googling her webpage, she's got a very robust catalog of info that might give you some insight regarding previous GLO mergers.

Thanks for commenting! I checked out Fran’s page and WOW! She’s got so much history just in one place. Definitely going on a deep dive of her site this weekend

As for the first part of your comment, I agree. I can’t imagine NPC would even consider such a thing without a lot of discussion first, from the group receiving chapters and the group merging into the existing organization. I’m interested to see if this ever happens in my lifetime, although I hope no organization ever struggles to the extent of considering such an action.

[kuriousiti]

Originally Posted by Titchou

My initial organized thoughts are few. I think the number of chapters/active members would be up to the individual group to decide. The threshhold for being able to do business and compete on their campuses is individual to each group. As for alumnae - and current collegiate members, I would imagine that would work like when a local is taken over by an NPC group. Any member can be initiated into the NPC group if they so desire.

This is what I was thinking, too. On a national level, it seems like every organization has unique budgets and programs, all of which require a different number of chapters, members, and alumnae to support. Thanks for your input!

[Cookiez17]

On the Iota Alpha Pi topic, there was a thread where members reminisced on their time in the sorority, which was extremely interesting. I do know that some orgs did get absorbed into others (like Theta Upsilon getting absorbed by Delta Zeta.) I do wonder if information and ritual/symbols/etc. are kept in the national archives?

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php

[kuriousiti]

Originally Posted by Cookiez17

On the Iota Alpha Pi topic, there was a thread where members reminisced on their time in the sorority, which was extremely interesting. I do know that some orgs did get absorbed into others (like Theta Upsilon getting absorbed by Delta Zeta.) I do wonder if information and ritual/symbols/etc. are kept in the national archives?

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php

So from the mini rabbit-hole of Iota Alpha Pi-related threads I just went down, I found this quote from a former member:

"The talk in the early 1970's when dissolution was being considered was that the identity of the sorority would be lost if they merged with another and it was my understanding that the majority wanted to continue with alumni meetings and maintain the [intergity] of what was and had been rather than change. My recall was there was also a lot of dissent regarding the admission of the non-Jewish members and what this might mean to the future, but that my only be my memory and not a significant factor. There was never any problem with diversity in the Nu chapter that I knew of."
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...t=31666&page=2

I think a few of us in this thread have hinted at this attitude; that each NPC member has such a distinct identity at this point, which makes a merger seem extremely daunting. Like I said earlier, I really hope it never gets to this point for my organization, but if this scenario were to arise, I'd personally be all for a merger, rather than throwing in the towel and disbanding.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by kuriousiti

Hi all. My sorority (which I'll keep private) is rather small in terms of number of chapters, average size of individual chapters, and lifetime initiates. I love this organization and all it has done for me, but in the back of my mind I worry that years down the line, this small size (and its implications) could potentially pose some issues nationally–and cause some changes.

I was reading a Wikipedia article that mentioned that other NPC sororities in similar positions had merged with current NPC members (namely Delta Zeta) as recent as the 1960s, and I’m curious to see what other people think about this. I have a few questions/comments that might give some food for thought


1. ...(t)he current NPC ’roster’ has remained consistent since 1971....


4. Does the consistency of the NPC ‘roster’ give you hope that each of these organizations (regardless of how small they are or may be) will prevail?


Thanks for entertaining my rambling. I’d love to hear what you all have to say, even if you don’t answer the questions; any thoughts on the matter are welcomed!

I have always loved the fact that each NPC member group has unique histories and traditions. I wish those facts interested more women in today's halls of higher learning, as students might then be more interested in joining ANY NPC group rather than groups with the perceived smartest/richest/prettiest/most popular women.


Most NPC groups have also evolved beyond their earliest histories to include women their original founders would not have initiated, moving beyond Music Students Only---Teachers Only---This Religious Group Only---etc.


To the OP: Yes, I hope the consistency of each NPC member group remains strong enough that no group has to merge/dissolve.


I am also of the opinion that by neglecting to learn the continuous and evolving backgrounds/histories of some NPC groups, many students with strong anti-greek sentiments have been needlessly ripping apart NPC chapters in recent years.