National Pan-Hellenic Council

Butler and its students have a long history with chapters of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), the 9 historically Black fraternities and sororities.  The Alpha Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded at Butler on Sunday, November 12, 1922. Today, most NPHC undergraduate chapters in Indianapolis are city-wide chapters, meaning that the chapter is composed of students from more than one university. The Alpha Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. is comprised of only Butler students.

NPHC chapters, both fraternities and sororities, recruit through a process known as intake. The intake process for every chapter is defined by its international/national organization. Membership intake consists of attending a meeting, completing an application directly to the fraternity or sorority of interest, gaining approval from the organization, learning the group’s history and traditions and participating in initiation. Each chapter will not begin its actual membership intake process until later in the academic year, as NPHC affiliated fraternities and sororities typically do not accept a student for membership until the student has completed at least 12-24 hours of college credit with a minimum GPA.

In joining an NPHC organization, you become more than a member of one chapter – you also join a self-supporting organization that will guide you throughout the remainder of your years at Butler, and for life. NPHC chapters embrace a lifetime commitment philosophy and aim to assure the continuance of academic achievement, political awareness, and community service. Have fun during intake and keep an open mind, because joining an organization will be one of the best choices you will make at Butler.