The new presidents of three Greek governing councils and the outgoing president of the Black Fraternal Council met Friday to discuss their goals for this year's Inter-Greek Committee.
The participation of the new presidents of the Inter-Sorority Council, Inter-Fraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council, and Black Fraternal Council -- Christina Valencia, Ross Kimbel, Julie Chung and Ryan Chatman, respectively -- marks the first year that three of the Greek governing council presidents have previously served on the IGC.
The IGC was founded in the spring of 2003 as a service group and programming entity in charge of Greek Week and Greek Awards, said Kat Shea, a fourth-year College student and IGC facilitator.
The council is made up of the Facilitator and two representatives from each of the four Greek councils.
One of the major goals of the IGC is involvement in community events, Kimbel said.
"It is an avenue by which individual Greek governing councils can come together to reach out to the community of Charlottesville and the University community," Kimbel said.
Shea said one of the biggest goals of the coming year is getting the executive boards of the four Greek councils to interact more often with the IGC.
"One of the things that is lacking is an overall sense of Greek identity and recognizing we are part of such a large system," Shea said.
The IGC is facing a strong year for growth, Valencia said.
"It's huge," Kimbel added. "Being a representative on IGC means I will know how to cater my council towards outreach to others."
Chris McGill, assistant dean for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said the students who lobbied for it felt the Greek organizations needed to be less of a system and more of a community.
"As a young group, we are still creating its tasks," Shea said. "This group wants to focus on education and awareness in general of who we are as a group and that we exist to promote inter-council interaction."
Kimbel said he is enthusiastic about the capabilities of this year's IGC and executive involvement with it.
"There is so much potential in the IGC that hasn't been tapped yet," Kimbel said. "It has been a very effective planning force in the past, providing a great foundation for the new levels we're going to take it to this year."
McGill said she believes the executive councils this year will be helpful to the IGC.
"I think they are all dedicated to working with IGC and supporting them because they know the benefit they can add to all of our communities," McGill said.
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