The Queen of Tufts' Greek Life

By Gregory John "G.J." Vitale on October 20, 2012

Su McGlone would never tell you that she is a symbol for the stabilization of Greek life at Tufts University; but frankly, that is exactly what she is. For the seven years that the position of Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs has been in existence at Tufts, over seven people have held it. If left up to McGlone, that trend will end with her.

“I managed to find a position that combines all of my interests,” said McGlone. “I’ve always wanted to be a Greek advisor from the moment I decided I wanted to be one.”

McGlone was introduced to Greek life after she transferred to Plymouth State University in New Hampshire for her sophomore year. She joined Iota Delta Chi that semester and immediately got involved as her chapter’s recruitment chair.

After attending a leadership conference, her Greek advisor recommended she become the president of her school’s Panhellenic Council.

“I figured out around this time that I want to do this for a living…if I could be a professional sorority woman, that would be awesome,” she said.

At the end of her senior year and after many conversations with her Greek advisor, McGlone was set on attending graduate school to earn the Master’s degree she needed to become a Greek advisor herself.

“I was not an academic person at all,” McGlone confessed. “I just loved all my extracurricular activities and went to school so I could do those things. As a kid I wanted to be a teacher, psychologist, event planner, and I thought, ‘Now I can do all those things at once.’”

When it came to looking for full-time employment, McGlone embarked on a nationwide job search that consisted of 20+ interviews. At the time, the position of Greek director/advisor was still young, having only been in existence for 30 years. She travelled as far as Indiana and had a phone interview with a school in California. During this time she worked at various schools, but McGlone wanted a position that followed her life’s plan and not just her career plan—namely, she was recently married and her husband still lived in Boston.

The Director of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs position at Tufts opened up and McGlone applied. The location, long-term possibilities and aforementioned freeform-esque quality of the position were attractive to McGlone and she was hired.

“Because there hadn’t been a lot of consistency, there was a lot of room for change to be made and that allows for freedom and creativity,” McGlone remembered. “It’s like we were starting at square one and we could change the community however we saw fit.”

Recently, McGlone is spearheading numerous changes including an Inter-Greek judicial board, the revision of the Inter-Greek Council’s constitution, implementation of social justice workshops, retreats, and open house information sessions.

McGlone takes her job seriously, but remembers to enjoy her work. She remains an avid promoter of Greek life and its positive consequences on the lives of those who get involved with it.

“I really believe in fraternities and sororities,” McGlone said. “I really believe that when they’re done well, they are the greatest organizations on a college campus. But I know firsthand that when they’re not done well, they can be the worst organizations on a college campus. That’s what motivates me.”

As the Director, McGlone offers her many skills as recruiter, party educator, event planner, and safety manager, even though they aren’t always received with open arms.

“If you ask the Greek leaders on campus, they’ll say I talk about legal things too much, but that’s only because I know the possibilities,” she said.

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