It took two Inter-Fraternity Council presidents and almost an entire year, but the IFC now is officially a corporation.
Since Aug. 16, the IFC legally has been considered a single entity, rather than 46 individuals on the Presidents Council and 30 individual fraternities, IFC President David Bowman said.
The members of the non-stock corporation are the individual fraternities and the members of the Presidents Council, which is the IFC's governing board of directors, consisting of at least one member from each fraternity.
On Aug. 30, the initial meeting of the directors, or members of the Presidents Council, held their first meeting.
Bowman explained that former IFC President Ryan Ewalt first began to research the incorporation process after taking a commercial law class.
Ewalt immediately contacted Madelyn Wessel, assistant to the vice president for student affairs, who recommended local lawyer David L. Dallas, Jr. of the Williams Mullen law firm.
Wessel said the University would financially assist the IFC with any application fees, as well as the necessary legal fees required to become incorporated.
The process of incorporation significantly reduces the individual liability of IFC members, Bowman explained.
"Members of Party Patrol who were going out and doing their jobs in good faith -- without being protected -- were running a risk," Bowman said.
He added that the incorporation will make it easier for members of Party Patrol to take their job seriously, without the fear of being sued on an individual basis -- if something were to go wrong. Bowman said the IFC now will be seen legally as a single unit in the case that it is sued.
"Now our treasury will be tapped rather than the personal wallets of our members," Bowman added.
"To be incorporated means to be seen as a separate, distinct entity by the state of Virginia, so that persons involved can act on behalf of the corporation," Dallas said.
Dallas explained that the incorporation will not have an effect on the IFC's daily duties, but acts as extra insurance while carrying out their responsibilities.
"We simply resolved ambiguities in the previous constitution," Dallas said.
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