National Office
The National Office provides the services that the National Fraternity offers. This section describes the structure of the National Office. The services that they provide are covered in the following section.
The Board of Directors hires the Executive Director. The Executive Director is in charge of hiring the National Office staff. The duties of the Director of Chapter Services, Programming Coordinators, Office Manager and other staff are explained below.
The Director of Chapter Services supervises the Programming Coordinators. In this capacity he coordinates visitations to chapters by himself and the Coordinators. The Director of Chapter Services is also responsible for coordinating most of the programs that the National Office provides for the KDR membership. He coordinates all the Regional Conclaves. Usually, he serves as coordinator of the Williams Leadership Academy and National Convention. He is responsible for The Sentry, chapter update information, and educational programming provided by the leadership consultants and other volunteers. His staff provides chapters with expertise in membership recruitment, risk management, pledge education, chapter financial structure, and leadership development. He is directly responsible for evaluation and management of all chapters. He attends many conferences to get new programming ideas for KDR.
The Programming Coordinators are responsible to the Director of Chapter Services. They are the “hands-on” providers of most of the services that KDR continues to create and develop our United Brotherhood. They work with undergraduate chapters to perform chapter visitations, evaluations, and develop resources. The Programming Coordinators also help to coordinate alumni focused programs that maintain the life-long brotherhood of KDR. They work with the Director of Chapter Services and the Executive Director to develop and execute all new programs for the KDR membership, both undergraduate and alumni.
The Office Manager is responsible for the routine business transactions of the National Fraternity. She or he handles the daily financial accounting and office administration. The office manager handles inquiries for the National Fraternity, manages chapter and alumni account information, and handles sales of merchandise or services by the National Office.
In addition to the staff mentioned above, the Kappa Delta Rho Foundation has staff members that coordinate its activities. They are detailed in the Foundation Staff section under the Kappa Delta Rho Foundation.
The structure of the National Office changes over time. The Executive Director makes these changes to continue providing the highest possible level of service from the National Office to the various constituencies of the National Fraternity. Additional staff members are sometimes hired to handle special programming production like the Williams Leadership Academy and National Convention or to fulfill specific administrative needs. The National Office has internship positions available for undergraduate and graduate students on a regular basis.
Besides the paid staff, there are many alumni volunteers who offer their services and expertise to the National Fraternity. For example, there are numerous individuals that participate in a variety of internal governance committees. One group of selected volunteers serves on the Leadership Academy Awards Committee. This committee chooses the recipients of the awards for Outstanding Senior, Faculty Relations, Public Relations, Community Involvement, Campus Involvement and Leadership, Intramural Sports, Chapter Newsletter, Outstanding Pledge, and other campus awards and honors.
These volunteers serve a vitally important role in the National Fraternity. Without their dedication and devotion, many of the services that the National Office coordinates for KDR and her members would not exist.
Services and Activities of the National Fraternity and the National Office
As we’ve already shown you, the National Fraternity is the collective personality of all members, chapters, alumni corporations and alumni associations coupled with our history. The National Office acts to plan and implement the services and activities of the National Fraternity.
One major role of the National Office is to provide a means of communication. Another role is to provide continuity among the chapters and members through enforcement of policies that the National Fraternity adopts – remember, the National Fraternity is all of us. The National Office provides programs for our undergraduate and alumni members that perpetuate the “Continuation of Brotherhood.” Some of the activities and services are detailed here in the Pathfinder. This is not a complete list. In addition, new programs and services are always becoming available and current programs are improved. These changes are the result of constructive feedback and are regularly communicated to the membership.