Greek Village
Title
Greek Village
Description
Greek Village is located on South Campus, between North Campus and Centennial Campus. It is approximately 50 acres of land owned by the University for use by Greek Life organizations on campus. Construction on Greek Village began in 2011, a massive rebuilding project of what was formerly Greek Court. The development of Greek Village is divided into five phases and each phase includes a certain number of houses being demolished and rebuilt. According to NC State’s Fraternity and Sorority webpage, as of 2021, there are 19 of a total 21 planned sorority and fraternity houses built. The land is owned by the University and leased to the organizations, while all new houses which are built are owned by the Greek organizations themselves. The University continues to own and operate several houses in Greek Village.
The project was first discussed in 2005, by a small ad hoc group of Greek Life staff and alumni, as indicated by the 2005-2006 Department of Greek Life Report. In March 2006, Chancellor James L. Oblinger appointed sixteen members to an official task force to redevelop Greek court. To these sixteen appointees Oblinger explained the commitment of the University to the project in a March 16, 2006 letter, writing, “Greek letter organizations have been an integral part of student life at NC State University for more than 100 years... The University is committed to our fraternities and sororities, and wants to continue to provide strong support to those groups.” The group was tasked with investigating a land-lease system which would allow chapters to build their own houses on university property as well as urging them to “utilize the principles from the University Physical Master Plan.”
The “Final Report & Recommendations” made by the Greek Court Redevelopment Task Force stated that one of the reasons the school was supporting the redevelopment of Greek Court into Greek Village includes that “Alumni/ae of these organizations are active supporters of the University providing significant financial support to our institution.” Other reasons included Greek organizations leading to greater retention and graduation rates for students.
NC State’s Fraternity and Sorority Life webpage states on their “Fast Facts” page that in 1895, Sigma Nu became the first Fraternity at NC State. “A Brief History of Fraternity Housing at State College,” located in the Interfraternity Council Records, explains that NC State and Greek life housing were connected as early as the 1900’s, and says some fraternities lived in dormitory suites. Alice Regan’s North Carolina State University: A Narrative History states that between 1904 and 1922 all fraternities lived on campus. Additionally, she writes that NC State did not formally acknowledge fraternal organizations until 1904, and did so only on the condition they adhere to school rules and NC State’s “military discipline.”
Architectural historian Carla Yanni explained in Living on Campus: An Architectural History of the American Dormitory, that while the very first fraternities were simply social organizations, by the 1920s fraternities across the country were housing organizations as well. This is true of fraternities at NC State as well. “A Brief History of Fraternity Housing at State,” reports that by 1923 fraternities were all encouraged to provide their own housing, as dormitory space became sparse. By 1939, reports were being made that fraternity houses were unsafe living conditions. These complaints continued in the 1940s, citing poor plumbing, fire hazards, and inadequate kitchens.
In 1963 the University began construction on Greek Court, what is today Greek Village. According to a 1963 Raleigh Times article, the plan to build University run Greek housing began in 1954. A 1960 Raleigh Times article explained that the school secured a $1,800,000 loan from the Communities Facilities Organization, a government agency. The school made sure to point out however, that taxpayers would not be footing the bill for these houses. The fraternities themselves would gradually pay off the loans by collecting rent. In addition to health and safety concerns, the University wanted to move fraternities to a central location which would better connect them to campus.
The first Sorority house was added to Greek court in 1976. While African American Greek life began on campus in 1971, and the Multicultural Greek Council in the late 1990s) only historically white Greek organizations had houses on Greek Court. According to the Department of Student Development Records, by 1965, NC State ensured no Greek life organizations had discriminatory policies. However, according to Professor of Communications Alan D. DeSantis, even into the 2020s Greek life across the country remains largely de facto segregated. In The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education DeSantis writes, “[A] great number of [Greek organizations], especially the older, more conservative ones, and many chapters on campuses in the Deep South, have remained de facto segregated clubs, attracting and blandishing White, Christian, heterosexual, wealthy students into their fold.”
Between 2000 and 2005 major renovations began on the Greek Court properties, attempting to bring them up to new fire-codes and improve the deteriorating facilities. There were constant complaints from students about the lack of proper housing. A major issue was the cost of living in the dilapidated houses. Despite the state of the buildings, most residents were paying more than students would pay elsewhere for on campus housing, due to the fact that many chapters had an increasing number of vacancies in the house.
Vacancies were not, however, the only issues facing Greek Court on the eve of Greek Village renovations, as a Technician article from July, 2005, titled “Greek budget suffers,” opened by explaining, “Hazings, suspensions, vacancies and renovations cast a shadow over the Greek Life budget for the 2005-2006.” There are many examples of incidents of hazing, racism, and sexual assault connected to Greek organizations, predominatly to historically white fraternities, at NC State, which includes many who have houses in Greek Village. Major cases include the 2015 suspension of the fraternity Pi Kappa Phi, which a Technician article from March 2015, explains was due to a pledge book which contained violent language, such as rape and lynching. Pi Kappa Phi was reinstated in fall 2018. According to the “Timeline” webpage on NC State's Fraternity and Sorority Life website, Pi Kappa Phi had a house on Greek Court which was demolished in 2014, and there are plans to build their new house in phase four of Greek Village redevelopment, between 2021 and 2024.
The final court, which will be finished in 2028, will also include two townhomes and an apartment building. The “Final Report & Recommendations” specifically lists that townhouses will provide housing for “small chapters and groups who cannot afford to construct their own facility.” The report states this will be an option for African American fraternities and sororities and multicultural fraternities and sororities, which tend to be smaller and younger than the historically white Greek organizations. As of 2021, all the houses built in Greek Village have been built by historically white Greek organizations.
Original Source References
Oblinger, James L. James L. Oblinger to Greek Court Redevelopment Task Force March 28, 2006. Letter.
https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/05/appointment.pdf
North Carolina State University, Division of Student Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Records, UA 016.001, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Division of Student Affairs Annual Reports, UA 016.002, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Division of Student Affairs, Department of Student Development Records, UA 016.034, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Student and Other Organizations, Interfraternity Council Records, UA 021.468, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
Technician (Raleigh, N.C.) (LH1.N6 T4), Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries.
Secondary Source References
DeSantis, Alan D. “This Is Not Your Parents’ Greek Life: Trends in the Ongoing Evolution of Fraternities and Sororities.” The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education. United Kingdom: Wiley, 2020.
Gillon, K.E., Beatty, C.C. and Salinas, C., Jr. (2019), Race and Racism in Fraternity and Sorority Life: A Historical Overview. Student Services, 2019: 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20289
Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Campus Life: Undergraduate Cultures from the End of the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Luckadoo, Timothy R, John Mountz, Shelly Brown Dobek. “Final Report & Recommendations: Greek Court Redevelopment Task Force.” NC State University. October 2006.
https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/05/taskforcereport.pdf
NC State University. “Fast Facts.” NC State Fraternity and Sorority Life. Accessed April 22, 2020. https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/about-our-community/https-fsl-dasa-ncsu-edu-fastfacts/
NC State University. “Greek Village Project.” NC State Fraternity and Sorority Life. Accessed April 22, 2020.
https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/greek-village-project/
NC State University. “Greek Village Timeline.” NC State Fraternity and Sorority Life. Accessed April 22, 2020. https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/greek-village-project/timeline/
NC State Phi Kappa Phi. “NC State Phi Kappa Phi.” Accessed April 22, 2020.
https://www.ncstatepikapp.org/
“NC State, Pi Kappa Phi decry 'unacceptable and offensive' book.” WRAL. Updated July 13, 2018. https://www.wral.com/nc-state-fraternity-placed-on-interim-suspension-after-embarrassing-scary-book-found/14528066/
“Pi Kappa Phi fraternity disbanded at NC State.” ABC11. March 26, 2015.
https://abc11.com/pi-kappa-phi-fraternity-pledge-book-nc-state/572764/
Reagan, Alice E. North Carolina State University, a Narrative History. Raleigh: North Carolina State University Foundation and North Carolina State University Alumni Association, 1987.
Yanni, Carla. Living on Campus: An Architectural History of the American Dormitory. 2019. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=2083457.
The project was first discussed in 2005, by a small ad hoc group of Greek Life staff and alumni, as indicated by the 2005-2006 Department of Greek Life Report. In March 2006, Chancellor James L. Oblinger appointed sixteen members to an official task force to redevelop Greek court. To these sixteen appointees Oblinger explained the commitment of the University to the project in a March 16, 2006 letter, writing, “Greek letter organizations have been an integral part of student life at NC State University for more than 100 years... The University is committed to our fraternities and sororities, and wants to continue to provide strong support to those groups.” The group was tasked with investigating a land-lease system which would allow chapters to build their own houses on university property as well as urging them to “utilize the principles from the University Physical Master Plan.”
The “Final Report & Recommendations” made by the Greek Court Redevelopment Task Force stated that one of the reasons the school was supporting the redevelopment of Greek Court into Greek Village includes that “Alumni/ae of these organizations are active supporters of the University providing significant financial support to our institution.” Other reasons included Greek organizations leading to greater retention and graduation rates for students.
NC State’s Fraternity and Sorority Life webpage states on their “Fast Facts” page that in 1895, Sigma Nu became the first Fraternity at NC State. “A Brief History of Fraternity Housing at State College,” located in the Interfraternity Council Records, explains that NC State and Greek life housing were connected as early as the 1900’s, and says some fraternities lived in dormitory suites. Alice Regan’s North Carolina State University: A Narrative History states that between 1904 and 1922 all fraternities lived on campus. Additionally, she writes that NC State did not formally acknowledge fraternal organizations until 1904, and did so only on the condition they adhere to school rules and NC State’s “military discipline.”
Architectural historian Carla Yanni explained in Living on Campus: An Architectural History of the American Dormitory, that while the very first fraternities were simply social organizations, by the 1920s fraternities across the country were housing organizations as well. This is true of fraternities at NC State as well. “A Brief History of Fraternity Housing at State,” reports that by 1923 fraternities were all encouraged to provide their own housing, as dormitory space became sparse. By 1939, reports were being made that fraternity houses were unsafe living conditions. These complaints continued in the 1940s, citing poor plumbing, fire hazards, and inadequate kitchens.
In 1963 the University began construction on Greek Court, what is today Greek Village. According to a 1963 Raleigh Times article, the plan to build University run Greek housing began in 1954. A 1960 Raleigh Times article explained that the school secured a $1,800,000 loan from the Communities Facilities Organization, a government agency. The school made sure to point out however, that taxpayers would not be footing the bill for these houses. The fraternities themselves would gradually pay off the loans by collecting rent. In addition to health and safety concerns, the University wanted to move fraternities to a central location which would better connect them to campus.
The first Sorority house was added to Greek court in 1976. While African American Greek life began on campus in 1971, and the Multicultural Greek Council in the late 1990s) only historically white Greek organizations had houses on Greek Court. According to the Department of Student Development Records, by 1965, NC State ensured no Greek life organizations had discriminatory policies. However, according to Professor of Communications Alan D. DeSantis, even into the 2020s Greek life across the country remains largely de facto segregated. In The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education DeSantis writes, “[A] great number of [Greek organizations], especially the older, more conservative ones, and many chapters on campuses in the Deep South, have remained de facto segregated clubs, attracting and blandishing White, Christian, heterosexual, wealthy students into their fold.”
Between 2000 and 2005 major renovations began on the Greek Court properties, attempting to bring them up to new fire-codes and improve the deteriorating facilities. There were constant complaints from students about the lack of proper housing. A major issue was the cost of living in the dilapidated houses. Despite the state of the buildings, most residents were paying more than students would pay elsewhere for on campus housing, due to the fact that many chapters had an increasing number of vacancies in the house.
Vacancies were not, however, the only issues facing Greek Court on the eve of Greek Village renovations, as a Technician article from July, 2005, titled “Greek budget suffers,” opened by explaining, “Hazings, suspensions, vacancies and renovations cast a shadow over the Greek Life budget for the 2005-2006.” There are many examples of incidents of hazing, racism, and sexual assault connected to Greek organizations, predominatly to historically white fraternities, at NC State, which includes many who have houses in Greek Village. Major cases include the 2015 suspension of the fraternity Pi Kappa Phi, which a Technician article from March 2015, explains was due to a pledge book which contained violent language, such as rape and lynching. Pi Kappa Phi was reinstated in fall 2018. According to the “Timeline” webpage on NC State's Fraternity and Sorority Life website, Pi Kappa Phi had a house on Greek Court which was demolished in 2014, and there are plans to build their new house in phase four of Greek Village redevelopment, between 2021 and 2024.
The final court, which will be finished in 2028, will also include two townhomes and an apartment building. The “Final Report & Recommendations” specifically lists that townhouses will provide housing for “small chapters and groups who cannot afford to construct their own facility.” The report states this will be an option for African American fraternities and sororities and multicultural fraternities and sororities, which tend to be smaller and younger than the historically white Greek organizations. As of 2021, all the houses built in Greek Village have been built by historically white Greek organizations.
Original Source References
Oblinger, James L. James L. Oblinger to Greek Court Redevelopment Task Force March 28, 2006. Letter.
https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/05/appointment.pdf
North Carolina State University, Division of Student Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Records, UA 016.001, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Division of Student Affairs Annual Reports, UA 016.002, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Division of Student Affairs, Department of Student Development Records, UA 016.034, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Student and Other Organizations, Interfraternity Council Records, UA 021.468, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
Technician (Raleigh, N.C.) (LH1.N6 T4), Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries.
Secondary Source References
DeSantis, Alan D. “This Is Not Your Parents’ Greek Life: Trends in the Ongoing Evolution of Fraternities and Sororities.” The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education. United Kingdom: Wiley, 2020.
Gillon, K.E., Beatty, C.C. and Salinas, C., Jr. (2019), Race and Racism in Fraternity and Sorority Life: A Historical Overview. Student Services, 2019: 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20289
Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Campus Life: Undergraduate Cultures from the End of the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Luckadoo, Timothy R, John Mountz, Shelly Brown Dobek. “Final Report & Recommendations: Greek Court Redevelopment Task Force.” NC State University. October 2006.
https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/05/taskforcereport.pdf
NC State University. “Fast Facts.” NC State Fraternity and Sorority Life. Accessed April 22, 2020. https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/about-our-community/https-fsl-dasa-ncsu-edu-fastfacts/
NC State University. “Greek Village Project.” NC State Fraternity and Sorority Life. Accessed April 22, 2020.
https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/greek-village-project/
NC State University. “Greek Village Timeline.” NC State Fraternity and Sorority Life. Accessed April 22, 2020. https://fsl.dasa.ncsu.edu/greek-village-project/timeline/
NC State Phi Kappa Phi. “NC State Phi Kappa Phi.” Accessed April 22, 2020.
https://www.ncstatepikapp.org/
“NC State, Pi Kappa Phi decry 'unacceptable and offensive' book.” WRAL. Updated July 13, 2018. https://www.wral.com/nc-state-fraternity-placed-on-interim-suspension-after-embarrassing-scary-book-found/14528066/
“Pi Kappa Phi fraternity disbanded at NC State.” ABC11. March 26, 2015.
https://abc11.com/pi-kappa-phi-fraternity-pledge-book-nc-state/572764/
Reagan, Alice E. North Carolina State University, a Narrative History. Raleigh: North Carolina State University Foundation and North Carolina State University Alumni Association, 1987.
Yanni, Carla. Living on Campus: An Architectural History of the American Dormitory. 2019. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=2083457.
Creator
Emma Stout
Date
2021/05/14
Tags
Citation
Emma Stout, “Greek Village,” Brick Layers: An Atlas of New Perspectives on NC State’s Campus History, accessed January 28, 2025, https://bricklayers.history.ncsu.edu/items/show/41.