SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Following a week of exciting major announcements, Wofford College has announced plans for a new Greek Village for fraternities and sororities to be built on campus.
President Nayef H. Samhat, in an email over the weekend to the campus community as well as parents, alumni and friends, announced plans for the Greek Village to accommodate fraternities and sororities in facilities to be located across Evins Street from the main portion of campus. “This Greek Village will provide better chapter facilities that will encourage fellowship and community,” Samhat says.
The announcement came following a week in which the Wofford Board of Trustees approved the college’s strategic vision – focused on efforts to “recruit, retain and teach superior students to become leaders and citizens of the 21st century” – and announced a gift from alumnus and trustee Jerry Richardson (Class of 1959) to build the Rosalind S. Richardson Center for the Arts, which will house academic programs in theatre arts, visual arts and art history.
The Rosalind S. Richardson Center for the Arts will be built on the site of the current Fraternity Row.
Samhat points out that Greek life has been an integral part of Wofford’s community for 145 years – since the first fraternity was founded on campus in 1869. “The houses at Fraternity Row are filled with fond memories for students and alumni alike. Now, those houses have more than served their purpose, and it is time to replace them with new houses that current and future Wofford students and alumni can be proud of and enjoy. And the time has come to include sororities in the physical spaces for our Greek life community as well,” he says.
“Wofford’s Board of Trustees and the college administration strongly support Greek life and understand its importance to the vitality and traditions of campus life at the college,” he continues. “As we move toward implementing our strategic vision, we want to acknowledge the historic centrality of Greek life to the student experience at Wofford and the importance of a continued, robust presence of Greek life on campus.”
Dr. David S. Wood, senior vice president for development, points out that more than half of Wofford’s students are actively involved in the college’s Greek life program. “These Greek-letter organizations contribute to the campus and the Spartanburg community through their local philanthropy projects and their leadership and education programs,” he says. “For several years now, a majority of the students who are recognized at Wofford’s Honors Convocation are members of sororities and fraternities as well.”
The precise timing of building the new Greek Village will be dependent on a number of variables, including fundraising efforts, which will begin immediately.