University President Pat Long will finally get an opportunity she was not able to experience in college.
That opportunity is greek life.
Long attended Southwest Baptist University, which does not have a greek system.
But, her chance to better understand the greek system has finally come, as she will be initiated as an honorary member of Delta Delta Delta sorority Sunday.
“I think what this will do is allow me to see what it is like to go through an initiation and the ceremony … and so that will be a great opportunity to see what all of our sororities are like and what all of our fraternities are like,” Long said.
Long had joked that anyone who would like her to become an honorary member of a Baker sorority would only need to ask, and Susanne Teel, former chair to the Baker University Board of Trustees and Delta Delta Delta alumna, extended the invitation to be an honorary member of Delta Delta Delta last spring.
The process to make Long an honorary member went through the national house corporation of Delta Delta Delta and had to be voted on by the sorority’s executive board.
The announcement was made at STAG last May.
“She was very instrumental in helping the greeks in different areas where they wanted to advance and … she realized the bond that each house had and then she realized what we have as a group together and how we came together to just make sure that the greek system is strong at Baker University,” Teel said.
Long said although she will be an honorary member of one the Baker sororities, she will support every sorority equally and considers herself a part of Baker’s greek community as a whole.
“In my position, I want to be very careful that I’m seen as someone who supports all of our sororities and fraternities, and so that there won’t be any favoritism,” Long said. “I’m just so honored that one of them has asked me and I think a great deal of the (Delta Delta Delta’s) and I also think a great deal of all of (Baker’s chapters).”
While the rest of the new members to Delta Delta Delta will be initiated Friday, Long will go through the same process, just at a different ceremony Sunday.
“I think it shows that she’s just really committed to the students and it’s a great way for her to be able to relate to us and understand, like, how important different things are to the greeks,” Delta Delta Delta president Alex Hess said. “And, so I think it will be a great thing for greek life as a whole having Dr. Pat understand and be a part of greek life.”