Are you ready to change fraternity/sorority life?
Introduction
Welcome to the Cultural Greek Leadership Conference!
Born out of a need for a more accessible conference experience providing support and education for the undergraduate members of cultural-interest fraternities and sororities, the Cultural Greek Leadership Conference (CGLC) seeks to be a resource for undergraduate students, campus-based advisors, and alumni volunteers. CGLC operates under the assumption that when attendees feel heard, seen, and supported, they are more likely to accept the challenge to truly live their organization’s creed and values. CGLC aims to provide members of NALFO, NMGC, NAPA, and NPHC organizations with personal and professional development and to assist campus staff and advisors in understanding how to best support the needs of culturally-based fraternities and sororities.
By participating in the conference, attendees will:
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Learn how to work with campus administration and inter/national organization leadership to address current issues.
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Build community with other students from NALFO/NAPA/NMGC/NPHC organizations.
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Assess issues of inequity and exclusion in the fraternity/sorority system and develop goals to create more inclusive environments.
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Find relevance in current campus environments and learn new marketing strategies to enhance the recruitment of new members.
The conference has two tracks:
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Undergraduate Students
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Advisors (i.e., campus-based professionals, graduate students, volunteers, inter/national and regional leaders)
Our History
In the summer of 2013 at a meeting of New Jersey based fraternity/sorority advisors, Stephanie M. Wright led a discussion about support and resources for cultural-interest fraternities and sororities (CIFS). Of particular concern to Wright was the gap in educational opportunities geared toward the experiences of undergraduate members of CIFS. This concern was affirmed by other advisors who shared the frustration their students expressed about not feeling well-represented at other conferences geared toward fraternity/sorority students.
Following this discussion and some intentional brainstorming about how to fill this gap and meet the needs of CBFSs, Wright proposed the creation of the Cultural Greek Leadership Conference (CGLC). The idea was for the conference to focus solely on the experiences of members in CBFSs.
The plan was to host the conference at Montclair State University in the spring of 2014. A call for volunteers to help plan the conference was launched and some of the first to volunteer were Rafael Matos, Joseph Thompson, Naima K. Ricks, and Crystel Maldonado.
This initiative came to fruition and the inaugural conference was held on Saturday, April 12, 2014.
The keynote speaker for the first CGLC was Dr. Thomasa Gonzalez, a Founding Mother of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin, Sorority, Inc. Fifty students attended that year, representing institutions in New York and New Jersey. The conference has grown significantly since 2014. More states and institutions are being represented than ever before, and CGLC has been hosted on multiple campuses in the state of New Jersey, including:
o 2014—Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ)
o 2015—William Paterson University (Wayne, NJ)
o 2016—Stockton University (Galloway, NJ)
o 2017—Rutgers University, New Brunswick (New Brunswick, NJ)
o 2018—Rutgers University, New Brunswick (New Brunswick, NJ)
o 2019—Rutgers University, New Brunswick (New Brunswick, NJ)
o 2020—Virtual
o 2021 —Virtual
o 2022—Villanova University (Villanova, PA)
o 2023—University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
o 2024—Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
