Culture and Society in Higher Education – serie

Supporting Fraternities and Sororities in the Contemporary Era is inspired by sustained and reoccurring professional conversations and scholarship that have suggested that not just change is necessary, but that there ought to be a fundamental shift towards reconceptualizing the construct of fraternities and sororities. The co-editors curate work from scholars and noteworthy practitioners from across higher education to provide an imperative text that reflects the complexity and expansiveness by addressing diversity, programming, and support approaches. This text commences with the understanding that issues will continuously exist, requiring a greater nuanced depth of appreciation to reduce their negative impact. It also summarizes national organizations from authentic, represented voices. Chapters then focus on solutions to support the fraternity and sorority experience, providing strategies and emerging explanations for the issues described in this text. Supporting Fraternities and Sororities seeks to do exactly as the title implies: to inform all stakeholders so that they can make better decisions about the future of these institutions.

Since the founding of the nation, higher education has helped female faculty and students to assert themselves to establish equality between men and women across the country (Morris, 1984). During the nineteenth century, women had limited access to many sectors of American society because of their inferior status to men. Such differences were visible in both political and academic arenas. This discrimination reflected general societal norms of the time, relegating women to the roles of mothers and homemakers. Theoretically, there are several models that address the development of women in higher education. Women and Gender in Higher Education provides a comprehensive review of the various concepts that illustrate how women understand the world around them, make meaning for themselves and their environment, and acknowledge the intersectionality of their identity. In addition, it breaks new ground in the conversation about the roles of women and gender in higher education.