Theta Phi Chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority
The Theta Phi Chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) has successfully achieved living its core values of service, loyalty, friendship, and personal growth and was recognized by its national organization at the sorority’s Regional Leadership Conference in Atlanta this summer.
During the awards ceremony, the chapter received recognition and several awards based on its accomplishments in 2012. Chapter members, Monica Shubert, President, Shayleen Stuto, Executive Vice President, Katie Hill, Vice President of Membership, Corrie Hill, Vice President of Scholarship, Caroline Conner, and Danielle Dubois participated in three day leadership conference. Four local alumni also attended and participated in the weekend of events. Sara L. Jahansouz, Ed.D., associate dean of students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga served as a group facilitator, while Karen Hampton, Jennie Sumrell, and Amy Moore attended as national and chapter advisers.
The Sigma Kappa Foundation honored Theta Phi as part of the Chapter Annual Giving Recognition Club as Platinum Circle Award Recipient for their generous support in funding programs and national philanthropies, such as Alzheimer’s disease research, supported through the Sigma Kappa Foundation. The chapter contributed nearly $7,000 to these efforts in 2012, which qualified them for this top achievement. These funds were primarily raised through the chapter’s Ultra Violet Campaign where members of the UTC community helped raise funds through events such as a softball tournament and a “Dove in Disguise” pageant competition. Theta Phi also received Honorable Mention for “Best Ultra Violet Campaign”. Additionally, three members of Theta Phi were selected to receive academic scholarships through the Sigma Kappa Foundation. Katherine Brewer, Monica Shubert, and alumna Olivia Banner all were chosen to encourage and support their scholastic development of these collegiate and alumnae sisters.
At a national level, Theta Phi was selected out of over 100 chapters to receive the Wava Chambers Brown Award from Sigma Kappa Sorority. This award was established in celebration of the sorority’s 125th anniversary in 2001, and recognizes the collegiate chapter that provides outstanding programming, leadership, and personal growth opportunities through their membership development initiatives. Theta Phi participated in and held over 24 programs for their members to connect their women to the greater values and purpose of Sigma Kappa. Theta Phi also received Honorable Mention for the second year in a row for their tremendous public relations efforts on the University’s campus and within the Chattanooga community.
Theta Phi was proud to be recognized by Sigma Kappa for achieving the sorority’s “Standards of Excellence” and received this prestigious collegiate award for exceeding the Sigma Kappa minimum standards and going above those expectations. These standards include high performance in areas such as membership, financial management, philanthropy, scholarship, public relations, ritual, recruitment, leadership, new member education, alumnae relations, and campus involvement.
Dr. John Delaney, vice president of Student Development at the university said, "I continue to be impressed with the outstanding level of care and commitment that our Sorority and Fraternity members invest in their chapters, our campus, and the Chattanooga community. The students in these organizations, and particularly those men and women in leadership roles within the groups, are wonderful examples of the servant-leaders we encourage all of our students to become during their careers at UTC. Academic excellence, service to others, and a high level of personal and leadership integrity are the hallmarks of the students who invest a great deal of themselves in our Greek communities at UTC. I am very proud of the positive difference these young men and women make on our campus and within the Chattanooga community.”