Best Practices Library
Brother Development
Brotherhood Ideas
BD1 - The chapter hosts an event entitled Bad Movie Night. Weekly, the Chaplain hosts the viewing of a subpar movie at the chapter house that members are free to come to and have a casual laugh.
BD2 - The chapter hosts a brotherhood event called Old Guy, New Guy Night. This brotherhood event is designed specifically for the Candidates and Seniors. Once a semester, the Chaplain facilitates a formal event in which the Candidates have an opportunity to interact and get to know the Seniors and vice versa. A typical event would be attending a sporting event. A dinner is usually part of the event.
BD3 - The chapter utilizes its Committee on Brotherhood as its honor board. Once or twice a quarter, the committee meets and opens the meetings to members-at-large. Once in session, all members present voice their opinions/concerns regarding the performance of officers as well as bringing forth any issues members have between one another.
BD4 - When the chapter eats as a group, they follow a code of etiquette. For every violation of the code a member donates ten cents to the chapter. This is a long-standing tradition of the chapter and helps to teach new members etiquette and to keep the members acting like gentlemen.
BD5 - In every chapter meeting the chapter votes for a Knight of the Week. This person can be nominated by any member of the chapter. The person who nominates the candidate for the award will give a brief explanation as to why he is being nominated. The topic is not open for discussion. After all nominees have been named the chapter will put their heads down and raise their hand when the name of the person they feel is most deserving of the award is read off.
BD7 - The chapter utilizes a brotherhood points system. At the end of the semester, the points each brother accumulates is put into a raffle with a chance to win Sigma Nu gear and apparel.
BD8 - The chapter goes camping each semester. There, around a fire, the chapter reviews the Ritual and teaches it to the newly initiated members.
BD9 - Chapter has a program called Peer Coaching. Each chapter member is paired with another member and works through a developed program for members to coach each other on personal goals and to challenge each other on a personal level. Overall the chapter has seen great success from this program in that officers are willing to be open to the suggestions from members, and members trust their officers.
BD10 - Chapter implements a "Brother Book", where a member recognizes another member in the chapter for an honorable deed and then hands the book to that member. That member then holds the book until he is ready to recognize another member for being honorable by writing it in the book and then handing the book down to that member. This process continues until the book is filled.
BD11 - The chapter has a brotherhood point system that will have brothers have their names placed on a "Brothership". This practice results in or leads to excellence for brother development. The chapter has many different brother events throughout the year that brothers would be able to attend and earn brothership points.
BD12 - The chapter currently does a brother challenge every single week to help more members participate in chapter activities. For example, on Super Bowl Sunday, the chapter will challenge members to create the best chicken wings and sauces and will have some members judge the competition.
BD13 - The chapter designates certain events (LEAD sessions, chapter meetings, campus educational programming, etc.) throughout each semester as "Snake Events." Brothers are required to attend a minimum of 75% of Snake Events to have the privilege of attending formal.
BD14 - The chapter holds one small brotherhood event each week. In order to have new, innovative and creative ideas for brotherhood events, the chapter families are each responsible for planning a set number of weekly brotherhood events per semester.
BD15 - Sample Brotherhood Retreat Agenda 1
BD16 - Sample Brotherhood Retreat Agenda 2
BD17 - Sample Brotherhood Retreat Agenda 3
BD18 - Sample Brotherhood Retreat Agenda 4
BD19 - Sample Brotherhood Retreat Agenda 5
LEAD and Educational Programming
BD20 - To be considered as a nominee for Executive Board, the chapter has in place a bylaw that requires members to complete Phases I and II of the LEAD Program.
BD21 - The chapter has a position of Career Development Chairman who helps with LEAD Phase IV implementation as well as directing information on career fairs, career resources, jobs, and internships to the chapter.
BD22 - Chapter hosts a campus-wide leadership symposium in which the president of the university and prominent faculty speak regarding leadership on campus. It serves as a more intimate opportunity for campus officials to speak directly to student leaders.
BD23 - The chapter holds LEAD sessions during their lunch hour and calls them "LEAD Lunches." This allows time for all members to attend and sometimes the members pitch in for a pizza to be delivered.
BD24 - The chapter utilizes Blackboard (a common, online tool students use on campus for classes) to post LEAD discussion questions, quizzes, and documents. The chapter has started to integrate the use of this tool into other areas of operations as members check Blackboard daily and it tends to be more convenient.
BD25 - Chapter uses guest facilitators from campus who develop unique educational material for the chapter to make sessions different and never repetitive.
BD26 - Chapter is starting an alumni mentorship program to help with scholarship and the implementation of LEAD Phase III.
BD27 - The chapter has two elected LEAD Chairman. One is elected on the calendar year and the other is elected on the academic year so that there is always an experienced LEAD Chairman organizing events.
BD28 - The chapter conducts a LEAD programming conference, called LEAD Day. During this event, the chapter coordinates with alumni and volunteer facilitators to lead sessions in each phase of the LEAD program. By the end of the conference members will have attended at least 3 individual LEAD sessions and 2 All Chapter LEAD programming sessions. Chapters in the surrounding area are also invited to participate.
BD29 - Sample Program Evaluation and Attendance Roster
BD30 - Sample Program Checklist and Resources Document
BD31 - Sample Facilitator Thank You Letter
BD32 - Sample All Chapter LEAD - Alumni Speaker Series
Personal Development
BD33 - The chapter regularly invites representatives from the career development office to teach members about how to develop their resumes. These presentations are helpful for brothers as they begin preparing for interviews and job fairs.
BD34 - Chapter reserves a section of their business meeting to extend "gentlemens." Brothers bestow a “gentlemen” on themselves or other brothers in recognition of achievements such as landing a job, getting into a graduate program, or earn a high grade in a class or on a test.
BD35 - The chapter pairs up younger members with older members from either the same major or the same academic department. The older members then go over resources with the younger members and provide insight on internships, jobs, resume building, etc.
BD36 - The chapter hosts a senior banquet dinner. For the banquet, invitations are extended to parents, local alumni, and faculty members. This serves as an opportunity to connect with those groups as well as celebrate the successes of the graduating brothers.
BD37 - The chapter requires all members to attend at least one campus programming event every quarter (semester).
BD38 - Chapter holds an optional weekly Bible session/discussion that is open to both brothers and candidates alike. Each week is centered around a different topic or theme and the lesson plan for each week is provided to the Chaplain via campus ministries.
BD39 - The chapter hosts "Faculty Lectures" where professors speak at the chapter's home on an intellectually engaging topic of the professor's choosing.
Transitions and Membership Development Plans
BD40 - The chapter uses a shadow program for officer transitions. Once new officers are elected, the incoming officers will participate with the outgoing officers in chapter meetings. The incoming officers are also a part of all decisions that happen between election and the end of the outgoing officer's term. This has created capable officers that are able to begin their term with training and experience.
BD41 - Sample Officer Transition Retreat Agenda
BD42 - Sample Treasurer Transition
BD43 - Sample Membership Development Plan 1
BD44 - Sample Membership Development Plan 2
General Fraternity Resources
GFBD1 - Teambuilding Activities List
GFBD2 - Secret Thoughts of a Ritual - by Edward M. King
GFBD3 - LEAD Attendance Tracking Sheet
GFBD4 - LEAD Certificate Order Form
GFBD5 - LEAD Myths and Misconceptions
GFBD7 - Steps for Implementing LEAD Phase I
GFBD8 - Steps for Implementing LEAD Phase II
GFBD9 - Steps for Implementing LEAD Phase III
GFBD10 - Steps for Implementing LEAD Phase IV
GFBD11 - Steps for Implementing All Chapter LEAD Programming
GFBD12 - Sample Brotherhood Calendar
GFBD13 - LEAD Master Facilitator List
GFBD14 - Building a Successful Chapter Retreat
Call for Practices
If you have a great example or resource that you think should be included in the Best Practices Library, we want to know about it. Send your examples and resources to Austin Lloyd, Director of Chapter Services, at austin.lloyd@sigmanu.org.
Additional Officer Resources
The perfect complement to the Best Practices Library is the specific chapter officer resources page. Here you can access additional resources and the chapter officer manual for each officer. Also be sure to check out the following pages on the Fraternity's service and philanthropy related resources: