Faculty fellows are faculty members at a host institution who work with the chapter to play a key role in the member development program.  Faculty fellows work with the chapter in a wide range of areas, from providing individuals with academic support to working with the vice president of member development to oversee the Balanced Man Program.  Successful faculty fellows show a strong desire and enthusiasm for working with students outside of the classroom, and can provide guidance and mentorship to brothers in a variety of areas. Faculty fellows can include professors from any discipline, department chairs or upper administration.

The chapter selects the faculty fellow with the endorsements of the local Alumni and Volunteer Corporation.  There is no limit to the number of faculty fellows a chapter can engage.

Steps to recruiting a faculty fellow

1. Review the faculty fellow role to help define the role within your chapter, based on the needs and wants of the chapter brothers.
2. Ask every member of the chapter to submit at least one name of a professor who would make a good faculty fellow.
3. The chapter could also consider hosting a faculty/staff reception to present a larger group of recommendations with the basic information about Sigma Phi Epsilon, the chapter, the SigEp Learning Community concept, and the chapter’s desire to have highly-engaged faculty members mentoring brothers outside of the classroom.
4. Schedule individual meetings with the top candidates.
   1. Discuss the role.
   2. Present basic information about Sigma Phi Epsilon and the chapter.
   3. Provide and discuss reading materials such as the RLC brochure, Journal, and faculty fellow job description.
   4. Address general concerns such as time constraints or other responsibilities.
   5. Highlight the benefits:
      1. Student/faculty interaction outside of the classroom.
      2. A test group for new academic initiatives.
      3. A faculty fellow office, if the chapter has one.
      4. Chapter facilities offer potential to teach for-credit classes within the facility.
      5. Nationally provided incentives like travel and accommodations reimbursements for national conferences, research grants, etc.
   6. Invite the faculty fellow candidate to dinner or a chapter event.
   7. Send a hand-written thank you note after each interview.
5. If the faculty fellow candidate accepts the position, make sure someone on the AVC updates the AVC's roster in mySigEp to reflect their new role.

Engaging faculty fellows

SigEp faculty fellows can immediately engage with a chapter in a number of ways:

• Hold weekly office hours at the chapter facility.
• Attend chapter and AVC meetings to emphasize the importance of academics.
• Share meals with chapter members.
• Address academic concerns for individual members.
• Serve as a resource for on-campus academic support and university academic policies.
• Present sessions on best practices for academic success to new members of the chapter.
• Post the times they will be available either at the chapter facility or their on-campus office.
• Send weekly chapter-wide emails on academic-related topics.

To further enhance the chapter’s academic environment, faculty fellows can:

• Teach a class or seminar in the chapter facility, and encourage other faculty to do the same.
• Promote student/faculty interaction through cultural and educational programming like debates, “fireside chats,” and guest speakers.
• Meet with chapter officers to review the chapter’s academic progress, standards, and incentives.
• Bring other faculty members and administrators to the chapter house for informal interactions with members.
• Identify students who are academically at risk and suggest proactive measures.
• Spearhead a faculty dinner for brothers to invite their favorite professor to attend.
• Invite them to attend the events of fraternity members involved in other student-organized activities, including intramural competitions, university athletics, service events and fine arts performances.