SU hires director of greek life | Job filled after eight months of interim director

The presidents of four Syracuse University Greek councils sat waiting for Eddie Banks-Crosson to meet them for lunch.

The presidents of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Latino Greek Council sat on one side of the table, and the presidents of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association sat on the other, said Michelle Herrera, the president of the LGC.

Banks-Crosson was officially announced as the director of greek life Tuesday. He was interviewing for the position when he met with the four students.

"He walked in and said, 'So I have my white people to one side and my colored people on the other side,'" Herrera said. "It was kind of a reality check that even sitting down, the leaders of the councils can't sit together."

The search for a new director of greek life began after Roy Baker, former director of fraternity and sorority affairs, announced his resignation in July 2007.

Juanita Williams, the associate dean of students, has served as the interim director since Baker formerly left the position Aug. 17, 2007.

"I think everyone was expecting to have the new director within a month of school starting, especially because we had such huge events at the beginning of the year," said Matt Abdifar, the president of the IFC.

Abdifar said a number of different candidates came to visit the campus, but none seemed to fit the needs of SU's greek community.

"They were good candidates but not for us. They were just not good enough," Abdifar said of the first two candidates SU brought in to interview for the position.

Herrera was at the Minority Greek Leadership Conference in Texas when she first met Banks-Crosson. He was serving in his current position of assistant director of Student Life-Greek Life at Jacksonville State University when the two met.

"I actually kind of scouted him out in a conference," Herrera said. "I saw him there and was wondering if he was looking for anything. He was a great, great speaker."

Abdifar was visiting each fraternity house to check for violations during recruitment when he first met Banks-Crosson.

"I got to tell him what Syracuse was doing," Abdifar said. "I only talked to him for about a half hour, but from what I could tell, he was going to be really great. If I can get along with someone easily, it just makes everything better."

Banks-Crosson will start as director of greek life April 28, before the end of the academic year, "to become acclimated with our system and with our students," Abdifar said.

"My position is based on what the students need," Banks-Crosson said in an e-mail Wednesday. "Some campuses need a recruitment specialist, and some need an advocate. What I bring is really based on what the students require."

Herrera said what the students need is more attention and someone who is willing to spend the time with the greek community.

"Dean (Juanita) Williams is overseeing everything right now, and I feel like we're honestly neglected," she said. "It's a really hectic season with recruitment, and we made it through, thankfully. Greek life is huge; it needs its own person to deal with it."

Emily Thompson, the president of Panhel, said she knew Banks-Crosson could handle the job within five minutes of meeting him.

"He was immediately open to talking with me and sitting down," she said. "And I thought, 'dude, you don't even have the job yet.'"

Thompson said she hopes Banks-Crosson can repeat the success of his previous position at JSU.

"I am really excited to work with him to have greater inter-sorority relationships and greater greek community unity," Thompson said. "The school he comes from has a very connected greek life, and we're sort of struggling with that here."

lrbertol@syr.edu