Suzy M. Nelson has been named to lead Cornell University's active Greek life system, John L. Ford, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students, has announced.

Nelson, formerly director of the Office of Greek Life at Syracuse University, replaces Randy Stevens, who left Cornell in July. Nelson, the new Robert G. Engel Associate Dean of Students for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, has 13 years of related experience in higher education and is enthusiastic about her new role at Cornell.

"I am delighted to be at Cornell," Nelson said. "My initial impression is that the fraternity and sorority system is strong and that it is supported by the campus and alumni communities. Those are the key ingredients to making real progress on our goals. In addition, the students are outstanding. I am impressed with the student leadership and their skill level. They seem very organized and eager to do their best."

Susan H. Murphy, vice president for student and academic services, said she is pleased Nelson has chosen Cornell. "Her experience and perspective will be invaluable as we continue to develop the strong partnership among the undergraduates and alumni in our fraternities and sororities and the university, through its faculty, staff and trustees. I look forward to her leadership in this vitally important area."

Nelson said she chose to come to Cornell because the position offered her an opportunity for professional growth and development. "Cornell has one of the largest fraternity and sorority systems in the country, and I am excited by the challenge of helping Cornell's system become a leader nationwide. We have great potential here, and I want to capitalize on that."

Ford said Nelson brings both excellent skills and experience to the job.

"Suzy has many valuable skills and a great deal of experience in creating and developing excellent fraternity and sorority programs, which will support the educational mission of the university," Ford said. "I am very impressed with Suzy's wisdom and insight as a student affairs professional."

He also outlined a busy agenda for Nelson. Ford said her priorities include goal setting for implementation of the fraternity and sorority strategic plan; new member education, which will emphasize alcohol abuse prevention and anti-hazing expectations; and the new "Mosaic Program," which will examine students' personal identity formation as it relates to issues of race and racism.

Nelson expanded on her three major initiatives:

• Goal setting and end-of-year evaluation: Chapters will set goals in the fall semester, according to the strategic plan, and meet as a group of five chapters with a member of the Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (FSA) staff to review their goals. In the middle of the year, when chapters elect new officers, Nelson will review each chapter's progress on its goals. Finally, each chapter will be evaluated and ranked at the end of the year to determine how well the organization is doing in its implementation of the strategic plan. The FSA office will notify each chapter president, adviser and national office of the evaluation results. The purpose is to give each chapter feedback on its strengths and areas where improvement is needed.
• Promote positive new-member experiences: There will be extensive training with officers and new members to help chapters develop positive new-member programs that assist students in learning and professional growth. These will include a new member overnight retreat, new member educator training, Alcohol 101 program, anti-hazing seminar for new members and educators, and anti-hazing contracts signed by each new member. These initiatives are the basic foundation for proactively addressing issues associated with joining a Greek-letter organization, Nelson said.
• Piloting the Mosaic Program: This pilot program, which Nelson developed and facilitated with staff from the Cornell Peer Educators in Human Relations (PEHR) Program, was well received at Syracuse, she said. The program aims to explore students' racial and ethnic identity development, examine how racism has influenced one's personal development and society, and aid in combating racism while supporting pluralism within the community.

"I have had some opportunity to work with Suzy, and though we have yet to work together on any major projects she seems very professional," said Zachary Ablon, Interfraternity Council president. "I am confident that she will bring to the position some good new insight and vision for the Greek community at Cornell. Though the Greek system is in a very transitional stage right now, we have experienced increased recruitment numbers, and our events and programming have been very well received by administrators, Greeks and non-Greeks. I believe that the addition of Suzy Nelson will help us continue our recent successes."