Rockhurst Announces Newest Addition to Campus Greek Community

After a process of reviewing and evaluating a number of different organizations, Beta Theta Pi has been chosen to become the newest member of the Rockhurst University Greek community.

Founded in 1839, Beta Theta Pi has more than 130 chapters in the U.S. and Canada, with more than 7,000 collegiate members and 300,000 alumni and lifetime members.

According to Rockhurst Assistant Director of Student Life Riley O’Dell, Beta Theta Pi stood out during the selection process for its organizational commitment to excellence and to its core values.

"After an extensive selection process involving students, faculty and staff, Rockhurst University chose to invite Beta Theta Pi to establish a chapter on campus," he said. “Beta has an outstanding national reputation, a large Kansas City alumni base, amazing leadership opportunities for members and, most importantly, its mission and values align with those of our University.”

Far from replacing any existing organization, Beta Theta Pi will join an already strong Greek community on the Rockhurst University campus. Roughly 45 percent of the University’s undergraduate student population is part of one of the fraternities or sororities on campus. Members of Greek organizations on campus post consistently higher than average cumulative GPAs; give thousands of dollars in philanthropic contributions and hours of community service time to area organizations; and serve as leaders on a number of campus groups and boards, including Student Senate, SAB, ambassadors and residence life.