Member Development + PIKE University

As you begin to learn more about the role that member development plays in your chapter, it is important to touch on the Fraternity’s umbrella entity for all of its leadership and education programs, PIKE University. PIKE University is the combined banner for all of the Fraternity’s leadership programs and is the foundation of Pi Kappa Alpha’s educational curriculum. PIKE University helps further the Fraternity’s mission and vision and is administered by the Fraternity’s professional staff and works in tandem with the True PIKE Experience which is the Fraternity’s member development curriculum being executed at the chapter level. Both PIKE University and the True PIKE Experience curriculum are synonymous and are meant to build on one another in order to provide the Fraternity’s members with the highest quality development experience throughout their undergraduate years.

PIKE University curriculum revolves around the same eight core competencies that the True PIKE Experience curriculum is built upon.

• Purpose & Ritual – Giving our members a better understanding of the values of Pi Kappa Alpha, personal values, why of our organization does what we do and promoting a better sense of “company culture” within the chapter.
• Recruitment – Training our members to effectively build their organization through quality growth and generate revenue for their chapter, while teaching them the sales tactics that go far beyond just recruitment.
• Management Skills – Giving the members a better understanding of how to manage and operate the business aspect of their chapter.
• Organizational Marketing – Giving our members the necessary tactics and strategies to tell their chapter’s PIKE story.
• Health & Safety – Understanding that health & safety is a hot button issues across all college campuses, we want to equip our men to be effective event monitors and intervene when necessary and not just be bystanders. The tools and knowledge to do the right thing.
• Leadership Development – Engaging our members in thought provoking conversation to increase their leadership IQ.
• Life Skills – Improving a member’s competence revolving around necessary life practices.
• Professional Development – Allowing members to develop vocational and interpersonal skills to set them apart from their peers.

The different events that fall underneath the PIKE University umbrella are:

• Regional Leadership Summits – The regional leadership summits are held in various cities across the United States that are intended for any member (both new members & initiates) of the Fraternity including alumni volunteers, with tiered tracks so that attendees can see different content throughout different years that they might attend a leadership summit.
• Chapter Executives Conference – The Chapter Executives Conference (CEC) is held every January in Memphis, TN and is meant for chapter presidents, treasurers and recruitment chairman in order to proficiently onboard them into their new roles after recently being elected.
• The Academy– A summer event that occurs in odd years, the Academy is a four-day event that is similar to the CEC in the fact that it has a series of benchmark tracks revolving around member development, emerging leaders, recruitment and strategic planning, along with a series of trending topic sessions. Additionally, international awards are distributed to chapters.
• International Convention – A summer event that occurs in even years, the International Convention is the business meeting of the Fraternity where chapter delegates get to vote on fraternity legislation that ultimately drives the future of Pi Kappa Alpha. Additionally, there are trending topic sessions in addition to the distribution of international awards.

In your role with member development you should encourage and push your members to be highly engaged with PIKE University as it builds on what members are learning at the local level with the True PIKE Experience. Not only that, but it is also a great way to continue building a member’s individualized fraternity transcript and network with Pikes from across North America. To ensure that your chapter is adequately taking advantage of PIKE University throughout the year, be sure to work with your chapter’s treasurer to budget for PIKE University. On average it is best that chapters budget $10,000 annually for PIKE University.

To learn more about PIKE University and to find more information about registering members, be sure to visit www.pikes.org/pike-u.