MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS
OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
HELD ON JANUARY 9, 1970
A special meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia
Commonwealth University was held on the 9th day of January, 1970
at 10:30 o'clock in the forenoon in the President's Dining Room,
Hibbs Building, Academic Center, Richmond, Virginia.
Present were all members of the Board of Visitors
except Messrs. Temple and Wilson and Dr. Mullen. Present by
invitation were Drs. Brandt, Brooke, Wilson, Smith; Messrs.
Edwards, Heil, Holmes, Imirie, and Miss Wilkinson.
Mr. Hunton served as Chairman of the meeting and Mr.
Brent as Secretary thereof.
Dr. Brandt then proceeded to explain to the Board that
the primary purpose for which the meeting had been called was to
consider and act upon a proposal that fraternities and sororities
be permitted in the Academic Division of the University. He
continued and observed that the proposed plan had been distributed
in advance of the meeting and that Messrs. Randy Eley and Bill
Oliver were available to answer any questions which might be
raised by the members of the Board, whereupon, Messrs. Eley and
Oliver were invited to join the meeting.
Proceeding with the matter, Dr. Brandt pointed out that
there were various social clubs now in existence at the Academic
Center which were not recognized by the University because of
action taken by the Board of Visitors of the Richmond Professional
Institute in 1963 banning fraternities and sororities on campus.
Interested students, he said, began working several years ago to
have the ban lifted and since that time a great deal of effort and
thought had been devoted by the interested students. He pointed
out that in May 1969 written guidelines were presented to him
following which an Ad-Hoc Committee was organized to study and re-
work the proposal. He stated that the results of the Committee
were presented to and approved by the University Assembly on
December 18.
Dr. Brandt then reviewed the advantages and disadvantages
of the proposed system and Mr. Eley, with the assistance of Mr.
Oliver, spoke in support of the proposal.
Thereupon, Bill DeRusha, Epsilon Pi Sigma; Arnold
Strulson and Jay Woodman, Beta Tau; Wanetta Mack, Chi Delta
Sigma; Suzanne Barvic, Sigma Chi. Omega; Edward Kerr, Kappa Epsilon
Omega; and Thomas Robinson, Sigma Mu Sigma, were invited to
join the meeting and express their views, which each of them under-
took to do.
After further discussion, Dr. Brandt read a letter
which he had received from Mr. Temple in opposition to the proposal
following which, on motion duly made, seconded and carried, the
following resolution was adopted:
BE IT RESOLVED, That the Board of Visitors
of Virginia Commonwealth University hereby
approves and gives its consent to the establish-
ment of social fraternities and sororities,
nationally oriented or locally established, and
to be resident on campus, all pursuant to such
rules and regulations as may from time to time
be approved by the Administration.
The Secretary was then directed to attach a copy
of the proposed plan to the minutes of the meeting.
The Report of the Committee on Naming was then pre-
sented to the meeting and briefly reviewed, after which on
motion duly made, seconded and unanimously carried, the Report
was accepted and approved with a copy thereof to be attached to
the minutes of the meeting.
Whereupon, Dr. Brandt presented the Committee on
Naming's recommendation that the building on Harrison Street
which will house a portion of the School of The Arts be named
The Theresa Pollak Building", which recommendation on motion
duly made, seconded and unanimously carried, was approved. The
members of the Board were requested not to reveal the designation
of the building until Miss Pollak had been advised thereof and
appropriate release arrangements had been made.
On motion duly made, seconded and unanimously carried,
the following resolution was adopted:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Virginia Commonwealth
University Board of Visitors, that for itself and
its duly constituted and elected successors, it
hereby constitutes and appoints William C. Haneke,
Comptroller-Treasurer; John F. Ririe, Jr., Vice
President for University Hospitals, and Emmet K.
Reid, Assistant Director of University Hospitals,
jointly and severally, the true and lawful
attorneys of this corporation, for and in the name
of the corporation to execute all applications,
notices, bonds, and other instruments, claims,
offers in compromise, letters, writings, and papers,
and to do all acts for the corporation in dealings
with the Internal Revenue Service in connection with
matters relating to the laws and regulations issued
pursuant thereto, administered by the Alcohol and
Tobacco Tax Division of the Internal Revenue Service;
and that this Board authorizes hereby the said
attorneys to receive on behalf of the corporation
any and all notices, papers and letters from said
Service in connection with all such matters, hereby
giving and granting to said attorneys full power
and authority to do and perform all and every act
and thing whatsoever requisite and necessary to be
done in and about the premises, including the sub-
delegation of those powers in whole or in part, with
full power of substitution and revocation, hereby
ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys
shall lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue
hereof; and that in execution of any document herein-
above referred to said attorneys shall affix the
seal of the corporation thereto.
There being no further business to come before the
meeting, the same on motion duly made, seconded and unanimously
carried, adjourned.
PROPOSED REGULATIONS GOVERNING SOCIAL FRATERNITIES
AND SORORITIES ON THE ACADEMIC CAMPUS
ARTICLE I - Establishment and Recognition
1. Subject to the approval of the President and the Board of Visitors of
Virginia Commonwealth University, the several active fraternities and
sororities recognized as social organizations by the Student Government
Association of the Academic Center during the academic year 1968-69,
shall be recognized officially by the administration as fraternities and
sororities. This will provide a nucleus for the creation of a stable and
organized fraternity and sorority system, whereby additional organizations
recognized during 1969-70 and thereafter can be inducted into the Uni-
versity Community in an orderly process.
2. Each of the several fraternities and sororities shall elect a delegate
interfraternal convention at a time and place deemed suitable by the
office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs.
to accompany the president of the certain organizations* to attend an
3. The delegates of the several fraternities and sororities shall elect an
Executive Committee to be composed of a President, Vice-President,
Secretary, and Treasurer. The Vice-President shall serve as Parlia-
mentarian and conduct procedure according to Robert's Rules of Order,
Revised.
*The 11 social organizations recognized during the 1968-69 school year shall
constitute the charter members of the IFC.
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Fraternities and Sororities
4. The Executive Committee shall not have voting rights. None of the
several fraternities shall have more than one member of their certain
organization elected to an executive office.
5. Upon selection to the Executive Committee, the individual's member organ-
ization shall elect a new representative to the interfraternal delegation.
6. The interfraternal delegation as assembled shall be called the Inter-
fraternal Council of Virginia Commonwealth University, Academic Center.
7. The president of a member organization will not be allowed to hold an
executive office.
8. The purpose of the interfraternal convention shall be to construct an
interfraternal constitution. The completed constitution must be ratified
by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the total assembly, and upon approval shall
submit the document to the Student Government Association, Academic Center,
for approval of the House and Senate, in order that it may be determined
that the document meets the minimum requirements of all other organizations
approved by the SGA and, further, that the document be presented to the
office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs, so that it can be deter-
mined whether or not it conforms to the intent of the Board of Visitors.
9. The completed constitution must adhere to all the several statements
proposed by the Fraternities and Sororities Committee and as approved
by the President of the University and the Board of Visitors.
ARTICLE II - Discrimination and One Bid System
1. Every individual who rushes must receive at least one written bid from
member
an IFC/organization to pledge the said organization.
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Fraternities and Sororities
2. All member organizations of the IFC must maintain a clause in their
constitutions which states they shall not discriminate against any
student as a prospective member because of the said student's race,
creed, religion or national origin.
3. (See footnote below.) The terms "rush" and "pledge" are ones which
might vary on different campuses. At VCU "rush" signifies the act of
recruiting students who might be interested in becoming members of an
organization; the word "pledge" denotes the actual period during which
students are reviewed for membership and initiated. A co-ordinated
rush would be sponsored and supervised by the IFC. The individual
organizations could conduct their own specific methods of rushing in
accordance with the stipulations of the IFC Constitution, but the IFC
would control the starting and finishing times. Any person who signs
up for rush would be entitled to at least one bid from an IFC organ-
ization to pledge an organization. For example, if eighty (80) students
signed up for rush and sixty (60) students were initially selected for
issuance of bids from the organization, then names of the twenty (20)
remaining students would be placed in a lottery and drawn by the member
organizations. All invitations to pledge are sent out at the same time
so that the individual candidate would be unaware of whether or not he
was selected by lottery. The organizations would he bound to pledge these
students. The balloting on selections should be confidential in older to
avoid unnecessary embarrassment to individuals. The IFC will require a
list of all persons
All. recognized social organizations have accepted the provisions of the Fraternity
and Sorority Proposal and the aspects of the lottery formula outlined herein.
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Fraternities and Sororities
signing up for rush, and then all persons selected by the organizations
as prospective pledges. It shall be the responsibility of the IFC to
conduct the lottery and supervise the bids issued from the lottery.
If a candidate or pledge feels that he has been discriminated
against (with respect to Article II, Item 2) by any particular fraternity
in either pledging or full membership, he should submit his complaint
initially to the President of the Student Government Association, Academic
Center. The President of the SGA will select four members of the IFC
(none of whom are members of the particular fraternity involved) and
four members of the Student Life Committee of the House of Representatives
to serve as a hearing committee to investigate this complaint. The
President of the SGA will serve as chairman of this Hearing Committee,
hereafter referred to as the IFC Review Committee. Each member of the
committee will have one vote and the chairman will vote only in case
of a tie. Various penalties may be imposed by this committee up to and
including withdrawal of recognition of the offending fraternity.
Any appeal from the decision of the IFC Review Committee should be
referred in writing to the Vice-President of Student Affairs within
thirty days after the judgment of the said committee. Appeals should
state in writing the complaint and the redress desired. The Vice-
President for Student Affairs may give a hearing to each person involved
and may appoint an advisory fact-finding committee. This fact-finding
committee shall review all facts and circumstances connected with the
case, may take oral testimony, and then report to the Vice-President.
After considering the fact-finding committee's report, the Vice-President
shall make the final decision until such time as another appeals system
is adopted by the University.
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Fraternities and Sororities
4. The individual organization must provide each student who is not
selected to membership a written explanation for the denial of member-
ship. A copy of this aforementioned explanation shall be submitted to
the IFC Secretary forty-eight (48) hours after the decision has been
made not to accept the individual as a member.
ARTICLE III - Rushing and Pledging Rules
1. First semester freshmen and first semester undergraduate transfer stu-
dents will be allowed to attend "rush" parties and "smokers" presented
by the IFC organizations during the academic year. The aforementioned
will NOT be allowed to enter into any "pledge" activities until one full
semester of school has been completed at VCU, AC.
attempted at this University and must maintain this average to be
2. All pledges must have at least a cumulative 2.0 (C) average on all work
accepted to membership. This average will also stand as the minimum
requirement for sustaining membership.
3. Initiation must become complete in the semester in which the bid is
offered.
4. Hazing will not be permitted as it is a criminal offence as defined by
the laws of Virginia.
ARTICLE IV - IFC Membership Requirements
working toward national affiliation by either of two processes known
as membership or colonization.
1. All social fraternities and sororities will be allowed to begin
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Fraternities and Sororities
2. All social fraternities and sororities must be members of the IFC in
order to advance the enforcement of regulations. When the sorority
groups are able to function independently, they will create a Panhellenic
Council to govern sororities, if approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of
the IFC.
3. The IFC will require each member organization to submit an audit of all
finances each year. The IFC in turn will forward these audits of its
financial status to the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
4. The IFC shall be financially independent. The IFC is supported by its
member organizations and will not be funded by Student Government
Association or University funds. The member organizations will also be
financially independent and will not be funded by the SGA or the University.
5. Any group of students who are interested in becoming recognized as a.
social fraternity or sorority on the VCU Campus must make their appli-
cation with the IFC. On approval of their application by the IFC, a
copy of the constitution must then be deposited with the SGA and the
Vice President for Student Affairs. Any group that is refused recognition by the IFC may appeal to the Office of the Vice-President for
Student Affairs for review of the case through the normal University ap-
peals procedures.
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Fraternities and Sororities
ARTICLE V
The Committee on Fraternities and Sororities recommends that the University
provide facilities on campus for fraternities and sororities, as feasible,
and a committee should be established to study the nature of these facilities.
Fraternities and sororities are prohibited from purchasing, renting, or
otherwise acquiring off-campus facilities without specific approval of the
office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs.
ARTICLE VI - Jurisdiction of the IFC
1. .The Interfraternal Council as established by the several fraternity and
sorority groups shall be independent of the Student Government Association,
except that the constitution of the member organizations of the IFC shall
be approved by the IFC with copies deposited with the SGA prior to formal
approval. All other rules of the SCA pertaining to student organizations
must be observed by the IFC and its member organizations.
2. The IFC shall have jurisdiction over its several member organizations.
(See IV, 2)
3. The IFC shall have jurisdiction over all individual members of its
several member organizations. The rules governing the areas of jurisdiction shall be defined by the several member organizations upon
creation of the IFC constitution.
Penalties for violations of University regulations...may be imposed
University Discipline Committee, or both.
by the person designated by the Vice-President of Student Affairs, the
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Fraternities and Sororities
4. The IFC will establish a judiciary consisting of all member presidents
and presided over by the IFC president. The judiciary will be entitled
to hear any appeals from its several member organizations and individual
members when their actions come under the jurisdiction of the IFC as
specified by the constitution. Each president will have one vote; the IFC
President will vote only in case of a tie. The rules governing jurisdiction shall be defined by the several member organizations upon creation
shall be defined by the several member organizations upon creation
of the IFC constitution which must be submitted to the SGA and the office
of the Vice-President for Student Affairs.
5. A decision of the IFC Judiciary may be appealed to the IFC Review
Committee and in turn to the office of the Vice-President for Student
Affairs. After considering the report of the IFC Review Committee, the
office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs shall make the final
decision until such time as another appeals procedure may be adopted.
ARTICLE VII 1. The above regulations are minimum standards established by the University
ARTICLE VII 1. The above regulations are minimum standards established by the University
1. The above regulations are minimum standards established by the University
in cooperation with the SGA and those students interested in recognition
of fraternities and sororities on the campus of the Academic Center.
Amendments and interpretations of these proposed regulations will be
the responsibility of the office of the Vice-President for Student
Affairs.
PROPOSED POLICIES FOR NAMING ELEMENTS OF VCU
The authority for naming buildings, segments of buildings, schools,
departments, chairs, and scholarships rests with the Board of Visitors.
.
Suggestions for names will be presented to the Board by a Committee
on Naming chaired by the President. The following policies will
govern their selection procedures:
1. An individual whose name is suggested will not be
actively associated with the University.
2. An individual whose name is suggested will have
made a major contribution to the University, the
State, or the Nation.
3. Names suggested may be other than names of individuals.
4. The Committee on Naming will allow at least several
months to elapse between the presentation of the
name to the Committee and the final decision by the
Committee.
5. The above policies may be waived under unusual
circumstances in order to meet the wishes of major
donors.
January 9, 1970
