Future Greek Leaders is a cohort of members within their first and second year of membership who attend a one-day and three-day, institute-style event that introduces students to various leadership styles and theories. This retreat works to prepare emerging leaders to take on leadership positions within their chapter, council, and or community. The FGL Retreat is held after Spring Break annually. Nine months later, the cohort is brought back together for the FGL Reunion to discuss how they’ve implemented what they learned!
Select tabs below for chapter expectations, content overview, nominations, applications, and more!
What Do I Need To Know?
- Nominations & Applications open on December 5, 2023
- All Nominations are due by February 2, 2024
- All Applications are due by February 9, 2024
- All accepted Future Greek Leaders will be notified by February 16, 2024
- All accepted Future Greek Leaders will attend a welcome session on Sunday, March 3 from 11 AM – 1 PM in Student Union 169
- Individual make-up sessions will be addressed case-by-case.
- The Future Greek Leaders Retreat will take place at a retreat center in Crossville, TN on Friday-Sunday, March 22-24, 2024.
- Students will meet in the commuter parking lot beside Sorority Village Center to board busses on Friday March 22.
- Questions? Contact Assistant Director for Greek Leadership & Training, Hunter Carlheim.
- Information on Future Greek Leaders 2025 will be available in late Fall 2024!
Terms to Know:
- FGL: Future Greek Leader
- FGL Retreat: The three-day Future Greek Leader Retreat
- FGLs: The 100 Future Greek Leaders in the cohort
- SGF: The 20 Small Group Facilitators who are made up of current and former Greek Leaders on campus. These SGFs are partnered to lead a group of 10 FGLs.
- TL: Team Leads; these students are also current and former Greek leaders who serve as team captains for the SGFs. There are between 3-5 TLs each year who help plan the retreat, mentor the SGFs, and attend the retreat!
- Chapter: one of the 47 sororities or fraternities on UTK’s campus
- Council: one of the four councils on campus (Interfraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and Panhellenic Council).
- Community: The entire group of Greek students on campus involved in one of the 47 chapters! This is a group of 8,000+ students (or 28% of campus).
Apply to be a Future Greek Leader!
Future Greek Leaders collects nominations from the community leaders for members within their first and second year of membership who may be outstanding future leaders in their chapter, council, or community! Once applications open, anyone who meets the criteria may apply to be a part of FGL cohort. All those who have been nominated will be sent a link to apply – you do not need to be nominated to apply!
The application form is closed for the 2024 cohort of Future Greek Leaders! This will close on Friday, February 9, 2024 at 11:59 PM. A nomination is not required to apply! Check back in November 2024 for information on the 2025 cohort of Future Greek Leaders.
Questions? Contact Hunter Carlheim, Assistant Director for Greek Leadership and Training.
Nominate a Future Greek Leader!
Future Greek Leaders collects nominations from the community leaders for members within their first and second year of membership who may be outstanding future leaders in their chapter, council, or community! Once nominations open, anyone can nominate someone in their first or second year of membership in a sorority or fraternity.
Nominations are currently closed for the 2024 cohort of Future Greek Leaders! Nominations are not required to attend – complete the application to be considered for Future Greek Leaders! Check back in November 2024 for information on the 2025 cohort of Future Greek Leaders.
Questions? Contact Hunter Carlheim, Assistant Director for Greek Leadership and Training.
What Do We Talk About?
By participating in this retreat, Future Greek Leaders will discuss:
- Leadership Styles
- Strengths Based Leadership
- Community Building
- Interpersonal Relationships
- Fraternity and Sorority Life Opportunities
- & The leadership journey from aspiring leader to mentor
Future Greek Leaders will be split into groups of ten led by Small Group Facilitators to dive deeper into the topics above and share their leadership journeys. Small Group Facilitators are made up of 20 current and former chapter and council leaders from all four councils!
Who Will Be There?
All chapters will nominate first or second-year members to participate. Those members will then apply to take part in FGL. Nominees must be within their first or second year of membership.
- Chapters 50 and over will nominate at least 4 Future Greek Leaders
- Chapters under 50 will nominate at least 2 Future Greek Leaders
Once a student is nominated, they will be sent an application. Every chapter has at least one reserved spot in the cohort for an accepted FGL. Chapters with multiple applicants will be selected based on their application and remaining spots available.
Future Greek Leaders Past and Present
Since 2022, Future Greek Leaders have gathered to further develop their potential and skills to make an impact in their chapters, our community, the campus, their classes, and life after college. FGLs go on to be influential leaders with and without official titles by utilizing and practicing their Strengths! Below are the cohorts of Future Greek Leaders:
Future Greek Leaders 2024 Reunion
The FGL Reunion is a space for all of the previous year’s cohort members to come together and dive into how they used what they learned from FGL back in March.
The reunion RSVP will be open at a later date, keep an eye out in your email for an update.
Packing List:
- Attire – bring layers/rain jacket just in case
- Day 1 – Tennessee Casual
- Day 2 – Color Day
- Day 3 – Wear Your Letters!
- Bring casual/comfort clothes to sleep in
- Always good to pack an extra outfit just in case!
- Toiletries & towel
- Bedding – you’ll need to bring sheets, blanket(s), pillow, sleeping bag, etc. that you’ll need for sleeping. A bed will be provided!
- Chargers for any electronics
- Medications that you’ll need
- Water bottle – stay hydrated!
- Server allergies – you are allowed to bring prepared food.
- Money for a pitstop at Buc-ee’s – not required, but you may want some beaver nuggets.
- Laptops – while you don’t need laptops, there is time on night 1 to get homework done if needed. We would recommend getting homework done before attending! If you want to be prepared for note taking, you can bring a notebook.
Things To Be Aware Of:
- It can be cold! Please bring layers.
- It may storm, so bring a rain jacket.
- Parking – we will be departing from campus on Friday from the UTK Creamery parking lot (across from Sorority Village). Park in that lot, carpool there, or take ‘The T.’
- This is an alcohol/substance-free event.
- Communication is key! Be on the lookout for emails from greeklife@utk.edu or hunter@utk.edu. You’ll also be added to a group chat based on your color group for the retreat – your Small Group Facilitators will add you!
- Clifton Strengths: If you received an email from Hunter Carlheim about your CliftonStrengths, be sure to complete that assessment. If you did not receive that email, you’ve already completed that task or you recently registered and Hunter will be in touch. You need to take this assessment to attend FGL.
- Transportation is provided via a coach bus. Self-transportation can be approved for schedule conflicts and emergencies, and drivers will need to sign liability waivers. This is limited to due to parking. If you do drive, OSFL staff will provide gate-code for access. Car access is limited to driving to and from the conference only (explorations of Crossville, TN will not be approved).
- Open-mindedness: Come ready to learn more about the community, how you play a part in it, and why we say “47 chapters, 4 councils, 1 community.”
- Positive Attitude: You are a part of a 100-person cohort where we get to dive into your leadership style and your role in your chapter/council/community. You were selected because someone believes that you have the potential to be a great leader!
- Curiosity: This opportunity will allow you to ask questions about much more than just your chapter. Come ready to ask questions about things you may know, but also be ready to ask questions about things you learn while at the retreat. You’ll have the ability to work with your council advisor, current and former community leaders, OSFL staff, and 99 other Future Greek Leaders!