A milestone for Sigma Chi and a groundbreaking moment for Greek-letter organizations, the Sigma Chi Leadership Institute (SCLI) is formally accepted as a candidate for accreditation by the Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, the Fraternity and SCLI announced Monday.
“This status is one that Greek-letter leadership education has never before achieved, and it instantaneously places an added value and benefit to becoming a Sigma Chi,” said Sigma Chi Leadership Institute Chairman Mike Greenberg, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN 1982. “This added layer of third-party validation highlights that Sigma Chi is the preeminent leadership brotherhood aimed at changing the world for the better.”
SCLI’s candidacy approval marks a new milestone for Greek-letter organizations. All aspects of the organization from its leadership to its faculty and staff to its curriculum and services are on track to meet the MSA-CESS standards for accreditation.
Sigma Chi members will be able to earn SCLI’s certificates, credentials and micro-credentials that display their character, values and ideals to future employers or chapter members — a differentiator undergraduates can use to elevate the Sigma Chi experience across campuses in North America.
Sigma Chi’s leadership certificate offerings will enhance, evolve and demonstrate a mastery of important leadership and social skills identified to be underdeveloped in today’s collegiate experience according to industry research.
“Sigma Chi Fraternity continues in its goal to be the preeminent leadership development fraternity within the fraternal world,” said Grand Consul Steve Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979. “This accreditation candidacy milestone by SCLI comes after several years of a shared vision, investment of time and capital, and just plain hard work. This step is just the first of many as we seek to redefine fraternity membership and create value through the personal and professional development of our existing and future members and select third-party partners. I invite all of you to watch for upcoming and future news on SCLI and our quest.”
The leadership development arm of the Fraternity and a pioneer in Greek-letter education, SCLI was formally unveiled in 2019 following more than two decades of work in groundbreaking educational programming opportunities. This work began with the development and launch of the pioneering Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit in 1999 and continues today following the launch of Sigma Chi Online and the transformative Preparation for Brotherhood new member program in 2016.
In 2020, Sigma Chi became the first Greek-letter organization to offer its own state-authorized education to its members for the development of transformational leadership following SCLI’s approval by the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s Private Business and Vocational Schools Division. It also marks a landmark moment for alumni whose decades of generous funding and support for Fraternity programming through the Sigma Chi Foundation have enabled the SCLI training courses and certifications that allow Sigma Chi members to become Transformational Leaders.
“This is a groundbreaking moment for the Greek-letter world and further builds a case for the ongoing support from our alumni and donors, showing what Sigma Chi can and will become through hard work and support,” said Sigma Chi Foundation Chairman John Forst, GEORGE WASHINGTON 1984. “By no means is our work complete. This accreditation candidacy signifies that our support for this work and our members is as important today than at any moment in our Foundation’s history and we must do everything to ensure its success.”
Additional details on the accreditation candidacy, initial leadership certificate programs and educational partnerships will be unveiled over the coming weeks at sigmachi.org/scli.
Two informational webinars will be available to Sigma Chi alumni and undergraduate members and educational partners on Wednesday, Jan. 20, and Thursday, Jan. 21. Registration information will be released via email over the next week.
“Now is the time to continue our journey forward, transform the future of Sigma Chi and help redefine Greek-letter leadership,” Greenberg said. “We are Transformational Leaders. The world is hungry for men who are inspired to cultivate change for the betterment of their communities. The time is now to begin this quest.”
