"Leadership is a very personal quality. It doesn't mean you have to lead a large group; it doesn't mean you have to be a man in charge. It means you have to act upon your values and principles."
~Jeff Greene, Wyoming 1975, director of Cornerstone
By providing members with world class leadership programming, Sigma Chi develops young men into character-based leaders who are committed to the betterment of campus and community. Brothers who are seeking leadership development have many opportunities to do so with Sigma Chi and are encouraged to participate in the following programs.
Balfour Leadership Training Workshop
The Balfour Leadership Training Workshop, established in 1947, is a program designed to improve the quality of leadership in the Fraternity. Each August, leaders from Sigma Chi's undergraduate chapters spend four days on a college campus, deeply immersed in presentations, discussions, and problem solving sessions about chapter operations and other issues that affect a chapter's viability.
Horizons
Horizons is a challenging and proven leadership program specifically created for Sigma Chi underclassmen who are eager and willing to improve themselves and their world. At Horizons, undergraduates experience a six-day immersion in whole-brained learning that engages both mind and body.
During the experience, participants explore the inner territories of leadership. Horizons participants learn how leadership is directly linked to your values and character; how to incorporate high-minded values into a lifelong practice of leadership; and how to discover and utilize their talents to their full potential.
Cornerstone
Designed to provide our alumni leaders with the tools they need to efficiently support our undergraduate chapters, Cornerstone represents a monumental change in Sigma Chi. A mentorship program that encourages alumni participation and growth at undergraduate chapters, Cornerstone aims to bring professionally-trained mentors to every Sigma Chi chapter. Mentors assist undergraduates by increasing leadership training and improving academic performance and general operations. Cornerstone mentors have an unequivocal commitment to the ideals of Sigma Chi, willingness to be a role model and accessibility and availability to the chapter and its members.
Mission 365
Mission 365 is Sigma Chi's innovative recruitment program that intends to enhance the Fraternity membership's quality and quantity. Developed in 2001, the Mission 365 program was created to address the recruitment issues found in many of Sigma Chi's undergraduate chapters.
Chapters who participate in the Mission 365 program can expect to learn how to increase both the quality and quantity of their new members by employing a 365 day recruitment process based on Sigma Chi values and ideals. The Mission 365 retreat is not a lecture; rather, it is an experiential learning process that actively engages chapter members in the retreat.
Mission 365 retreats are also valuable for large chapters. A slightly adapted program focused on increasing member quality while holding membership numbers constant was successfully debuted in 2011.
CHOICES
Choices is an innovative alcohol abuse prevention program for college students that was written by Alan Marlatt and George Parks of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington and published by The Change Companies. The program is based upon 20 years of research funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and has been recognized as the most effective approach to alcohol abuse prevention for college students.
Following initial positive implementation of the CHOICES program by the Sigma Chi chapter at the University of Idaho, Sigma Chi Headquarters teamed up with the program authors to tailor the program specifically to Sigma Chi.
The program uses a harm reduction approach to educate students about the risks associated with excessive alcohol use while engaging them in a self reflective and group discussion process to evaluate ways they can socialize while reducing their exposure to harm as a result of high-risk drinking. The program also challenges Sigma Chis to integrate the standards of Sigma Chi into their personal decisions about alcohol use.
