For Campus-Based Professionals
There are more director-level leadership roles within fraternity/sorority life on campus than there have ever been, and the complexities involved in the job are only increasing. This calls for more advanced training on strategy, operations management, and departmental leadership for those taking on the position. RISE created The EXCEL Summit to meet that need with insights from dozens of external reviews and strategic planning projects, the best research and thinking on organizational leadership as it relates to fraternity/sorority life, and the extensive professional expertise of our team members.
Designed specifically for current and aspiring fraternity/sorority campus-based department leaders, this month-long intensive online training experience helps you develop your executive leadership abilities and learn how to better organize a department.
Working with peers in a community of practice, participants will learn a framework for analyzing their department, gain technical knowledge about each component of a department, develop their abilities to organize the team, and learn how to prioritize and align their work to improve results.
“The Excel Summit provided a solid jolt to my professional mindset and had me confront the question, “What am I doing intentionally, and what am I doing on auto-pilot.” I recommend this program to anybody looking to have their status-quo challenged by a thoughtfully planned curriculum and a stellar faculty.”
Offered in Partnership with AFA
The 2024 EXCEL Summit for Campus-based Professionals is offered in partnership with AFA, which emerged from a mutual commitment to supporting fraternity/sorority department leaders. These professionals are key to the success and vitality of the fraternity/sorority experience and AFA and RISE are committed to helping them be more effective in their roles.
As part of the partnership, Certified Student Affairs Educators (CSAEd) may also attain continuing education credits toward their Fraternity/Sorority Life specialty (FSL) certification by participating in the EXCEL Summit.
Scholarship Available
Thanks to the generosity of Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority, we are offering a scholarship for this year's EXCEL Summit for Campus-Based Professionals. We appreciate their investment in our fraternity/sorority campus professionals and are grateful for our shared commitment to improving the fraternity/sorority experience. Complete the Scholarship Application by April 28, 2024.
EXCEL prepares you to:
Identify and map the core components of a university fraternity/sorority department
Gain technical knowledge in:
Identifying and tracking department objectives,
Generating and allocating resources,
Developing operational systems, and
Organizing and developing personnel
Use a strategic management framework to align each component of the department with institutional characteristics and objectives
Develop executive leadership skills for directing a department
The Experience
Think of this as an applied short course.
We will meet two times per week for 90 minutes to introduce concepts, then convene in weekly one-hour small group coaching sessions to process with peers from similar institutions and positions. We will provide work assignments between sessions to apply the material in your job immediately, and offer optional Q&A sessions to process the material with the faculty and participants.
The content is interconnected and builds on itself, and many insights emerge not just from the content, but from the group dialogue. Leave with a clearer direction about how to lead and align your department during the coming academic year.
“EXCEL allowed me to move out of the “Advisor” role and focus on the “Director” role so much more than I had before.”
2024 Event Details
Online event hosted on Zoom
Event Dates
June 4 - 28, 2024
Presentation Sessions
Tuesdays and Thursdays
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Eastern
Small group coaching sessions
Fridays from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Eastern
Who should attend
The EXCEL Summit is open to current and aspiring fraternity/sorority department leaders. Department leaders are the ranking or primary fraternity/sorority professional at the institution, including those who are the only fraternity/sorority professional for their institution.
Aspiring department leaders may attend, provided they have relevant experience and support from their supervisors. The program involves working with budgets, objectives, programs and services, and staffing. Those who do not have access to data and or context in these areas may find it difficult to learn and apply program content.
While program content will be informative to any fraternity/sorority professional, it may not be relevant or appropriate for those who do not work on campus, those who are not a lead decision-maker for the office, or those who have fewer than 5 years of post-graduate experience.
Attendance is capped at 24 participants to ensure we are able to provide a personalized experience.
“This is a very unique opportunity to build a strategic plan that provides a blueprint for the work that needs to be implemented in order to offer a beneficial and rewarding experience for fraternity and sorority life. I am not sure any other organization or association offers such an opportunity for fraternity and sorority professionals.”
What to expect
Work in community with peers in similar positions facing similar challenges
Combine operational information from your institution and others to help create a body of knowledge about executive leadership in fraternity/sorority life
Gain advanced training on executive leadership in higher education
Complete work assignments between sessions to help you apply lessons learned
Get a comprehensive workbook with program content and materials to help you implement lessons learned after the event
Develop a final work product to guide your department and prepare for the year
Access to ongoing personalized coaching and support from presenters throughout and after the event
What We Expect
Attend and participate fully in every session
We designed an interactive and experiential curriculum around live attendance. Sessions are not recorded and there is no makeup option, so block your calendar to participate in all sessions. If you are unavailable for any of the sessions, please plan to attend a future event.
Schedule time to complete work assignments between sessions
We will provide work assignments to help you immediately integrate lessons learned into your work, including a continuous cycle of drafting, revising, and refining your work plan for the coming year. While we have some exceptional content planned, most learning will happen when you’re applying these lessons, so block your calendar now to give yourself time to work throughout the program.
Share relevant institutional information
EXCEL incorporates all the resources and information available about how to run a fraternity/sorority department and provides a community of practice to guide you in applying it. Plan on sharing some of your department’s operational information to add to the body of knowledge about executive leadership in fraternity/sorority life.
“EXCEL helped me realize how unfocused some of my efforts were, gave me tangible tools to use day to day and provided with me training as a professional that will allow me to be more strategic and intentional with what I do.”
REGISTRATION
The cost to attend is $675 per participant, which includes program attendance, guided work assignments between sessions, coaching sessions with faculty, all program materials, and supplemental resources before and after the program. Note, attendance is capped at 24 participants to provide a personalized atmosphere.
Registration by the end of the day on May 3 for the 2024 EXCEL Summit.
Before you register, make sure you are prepared to:
Attend and participate fully in every session
Schedule time to complete work assignments between sessions
Share relevant institutional information
Collect the following information:
Name
Institution
Title
Email Address
Mailing Address for EXCEL Summit Materials (to be mailed in late May)
Payment information
Current Role (director or aspiring director)
Faculty
Christopher Jefferson serves as director for the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life at the University of Missouri-Columbia as well as a member of RISE Partnerships, LLC. He has more than 15 years of professional experience working with various fraternity/sorority communities including: Pennsylvania State University, Indiana State University, North Carolina State University, Old Dominion University, and George Mason University.
Chris is an active member of the fraternity and sorority community serving on the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors Foundation (AFAF) Board of Directors. Chris was awarded the Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award by the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) and shares the namesake of the Association of Fraternity & Sorority Advisors Shirley-Jefferson Fellow for diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
Chris’s service to the fraternity/sorority community also includes contributing to the development of the Association of Fraternity\Sorority Advisors (AFA) Core Competencies for professional practice.
Chris is committed to helping students discover their passions, enhance their community, live their values, and realize their leadership potential through the fraternal experience!
Dr. Kim Monteaux De Freitas (She/Her/Hers) is the Director of Sorority and Fraternity Life at The Ohio State University where she provides strategic leadership to the Sorority and Fraternity Community and overall direction with the nine-member team.
Over the past fifteen years Kim has served in various volunteer roles with NASPA, Association or Fraternity/Sorority Advisors and sororities and fraternities, including her own fraternity, Phi Sigma Sigma.
Kim additionally volunteers outside sorority and fraternity life as an Alumni Advisory Board member for Northern Michigan University and Central Ohio Girls Hockey.
Kim has been the recipient of various honors including AFA’s Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award.
Dan Wrona is the CEO & Project Leader of RISE Partnerships, where he has worked with more than 300 campuses and 30 organizations over the past 24 years.
He has also served as a university administrator, a national fraternity staff member, and as a consultant on NIC staff.
Dan combines lessons from his MBA and his obsession with systems theory, organizational leadership, and productivity hacks to guide professionals in how to produce better results from their work in fraternity/sorority life.
Questions?
Contact Dan Wrona for more details about the event.