Since the resignation of Arthur Doctor was announced in June 2021, the University of Mississippi’s office of Fraternity and Sorority Life has been in search of a director. The office is also hiring two assistant directors.
The office has experienced a number of changes in leadership over the past year. After the resignation of Doctor, who had served in the director position since 2018, was announced, Brooke Hubbard, who had previously served as an associate director, then assumed the position of interim-director. Hubbard departed from the role after the conclusion of the fall 2021 semester.
Since early January, Brent Marsh, assistant vice chancellor and dean of students, has simultaneously served as interim-director of FSL. Alongside him, Jordan Freeman, associate director, Julia Brechtel, assistant director, and Brian Greene and Taylor Pierce, graduate assistants, make up the Office of Fraternity and Sorority life.
The director and assistant directors of FSL are part of a network of individuals in the university community who provide leadership, guidance and vision to the FSL community at UM. FSL, which operates within Student Affairs, exists to “support the individuals, chapters, and organizations affiliated with our community through a holistic and student focused approach,” according to the FSL website.
Greek life is a core part of the University of Mississippi experience for a large portion of students. Over 39% of undergraduate students at UM are Greek affiliated.
“We have some true rock stars in FSL including Jordan Freeman, Julia Brechtel and our graduate assistants: Brian Greene and Taylor Pierce. I’m thankful for and proud of each of these four individuals for their tremendous work this semester,” Marsh said. “In addition, our three council presidents and their executive teams along with the FSL student workers have been invaluable. I’m proud of how we’re all working together to manage every program, responsibility, and situation to get the job done.”
The office has faced a number of challenges throughout the past three years, navigating multiple instances and allegations of hazing and misconduct within UM fraternities. Last year, two fraternities were suspended within two months — Pi Kappa Alpha in November and Kappa Alpha Psi in December — due to hazing allegations. According to Marsh, candidates will be aware of the challenges like these confronting Greek organizations.
“Qualified candidates will be knowledgeable of the challenges that face Greek-letter organizations across the nation and how college and university leaders seek to address these challenges, so we have honest conversations with our candidates about those issues as they relate to our University community,” he said.
The office is actively recruiting three positions: director, an assistant director to advise the Interfraternity Council and another assistant director to advise the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
Marsh acknowledges that the current job market has made it more difficult to fill these positions, but is confident that the office will be able to find and hire highly qualified individuals.
“The national job market is in a major state of flux as the well-documented phenomenon known as ‘The Great Resignation’ has led millions of Americans to rethink their career paths and what they want to do after two years in the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
The “Great Resignation” is an ongoing economic phenomenon that has been characterized by a wave of resignations nationwide. People are, at an unprecedented rate, voluntarily leaving their jobs in search of more fulfilling lifestyles.
“Higher education is feeling that impact as hiring managers are seeing smaller candidate pools for a wide range of positions,” Marsh said. “At the same time, Ole Miss and Oxford are highly sought after destinations with great opportunities for advancement, so I am confident we will fill these positions with highly qualified individuals.”
The university is consistently pointed to as one of the top schools to attend for those looking to have one of the best Greek and campus life experiences in the country.
“For the fall 2021 semester, our chapters raised over $530,000 in philanthropy, logged nearly 30,000 hours of community service and offered close to 100 educational programs. Collectively, our chapters’ GPAs continue to be higher than the all-University averages for men and women,” he said. “With nearly 6,500 affiliated students from across the country and around the world, we emphasize to potential applicants the broad scope and significant impact that fraternities and sororities have on campus life, and the important role that Fraternity & Sorority Life fills in providing services and comprehensive support for our members, alumni, advisers, organizations and councils.”
Applications for assistant director positions opened on March 24 and first round interviews for the director position are slated to begin soon. Marsh is optimistic that all positions will be filled by the end of this semester with all new staff on board by the summer.
