2008 Woodie Awards
Voting into Escrow
Chris Nickels
Issue date: 4/22/05 Section: News
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Colgate University's plan to gain ownership of fraternity and sorority houses further progressed this past week as three more organizations voted in favor to sell their properties. The acquisition process has required a great deal of negotiation, will bring about a multitude of changes and is, of course, the subject of ardent contention.
This past Saturday, alumni members of Theta Chi, Phi Delta Theta and Kappa Alpha Theta voted to join the University's plan. Their involvement brings the total number of Greek organizations that have agreed to sell to six and means that next year there will be 10 active chapters with houses. Vote tallies indicate strong support for the new residential vision.
Theta Chi was reportedly 94 percent in favor, Delta Upsilon 80.3 percent, Beta Theta Pi 81 percent, and Phi Delta Theta 77.9 percent. University President Rebecca Chopp cautioned that the numbers might not be entirely accurate, however, as they are currently "un-audited."
It was no easy task to convince the members of Colgate's Greek letter organizations to sell their properties, and the process required many months of negotiations. When first approached about selling their houses, many alumni inquired about the possibility of a lease option. Financial Vice President and Treasurer David Hale dealt with those negotiations.
"I think, at first, we received a lot of questions and took them very seriously about a lease option," he said. "We began discussing this with the Greek letter leaders in October of 2003 ... Following that meeting, they asked us formally if we would consider a lease option. The Board took it very seriously, and concluded that no, we wanted acquisition."
Of course, the University had to make concessions of its own.
"We increased our financial offers pretty substantially in some cases, depending on house conditions," Hale said. "We also made very significant concessions around the sale. We've included a buy-back provision for the houses. Should the University terminate the Greek letter system, or if recognition is permanently withdrawn, that would trigger the alumni organization the ability to buy back the house."
This past Saturday, alumni members of Theta Chi, Phi Delta Theta and Kappa Alpha Theta voted to join the University's plan. Their involvement brings the total number of Greek organizations that have agreed to sell to six and means that next year there will be 10 active chapters with houses. Vote tallies indicate strong support for the new residential vision.
Theta Chi was reportedly 94 percent in favor, Delta Upsilon 80.3 percent, Beta Theta Pi 81 percent, and Phi Delta Theta 77.9 percent. University President Rebecca Chopp cautioned that the numbers might not be entirely accurate, however, as they are currently "un-audited."
It was no easy task to convince the members of Colgate's Greek letter organizations to sell their properties, and the process required many months of negotiations. When first approached about selling their houses, many alumni inquired about the possibility of a lease option. Financial Vice President and Treasurer David Hale dealt with those negotiations.
"I think, at first, we received a lot of questions and took them very seriously about a lease option," he said. "We began discussing this with the Greek letter leaders in October of 2003 ... Following that meeting, they asked us formally if we would consider a lease option. The Board took it very seriously, and concluded that no, we wanted acquisition."
Of course, the University had to make concessions of its own.
"We increased our financial offers pretty substantially in some cases, depending on house conditions," Hale said. "We also made very significant concessions around the sale. We've included a buy-back provision for the houses. Should the University terminate the Greek letter system, or if recognition is permanently withdrawn, that would trigger the alumni organization the ability to buy back the house."