Penn State junior Doug Campbell of Alpha Tau Omega recently became the Interfraternity Council’s president for the upcoming academic year. Now in his new role, he’s hoping to strengthen relations between the IFC board and the university at large.

We sat down with Campbell this week to learn more about his aspirations, his role, and him as a person.

Onward State: What duties does the IFC president have?

Doug Campbell: The IFC president has a duty to serve the community by coordinating relationships internally and externally. It’s the executive board’s job to advocate for the members of our community and help lead them to be successful as individuals and as organizations.

As president, I manage the operations of the executive board and the Presidents’ Council. The majority of our external relationships involve the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life (OFSL), the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Compliance (OFSC), and the Office of Student Conduct (OSC).

OS: What are your goals during your term as IFC president?

DC: This period of time for not just the IFC, but for most organizations on campus, is very crucial. We are in a state where organizations are still recovering from the pandemic and what leadership roles do now is really going to set the tone for years to come.

With that, we are really looking to strengthen our community’s relationships internally. We want to provide our members with organized operations and clear communication as best we can. If chapter presidents and executive boards feel like we are always available for assistance, then that is a success.

We have two other big goals for our term, one of which is to make a smoother recruitment process to help our PNM (potential new member) numbers stay high. The other goal is gaining a stronger presence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the community, which we are implementing in recruitment as well. Our vice president of DEI, Moises Hernandez, has done a great job working with the rest of the board to launch our new DEI scholarship, which will gain its first recipients in the fall semester. These are just a few initiatives we have, and we are looking forward to continuing to expand ideas throughout the summer and fall semesters.

OS: In your own words, how would you describe fraternities to someone unfamiliar with the concept?

DC: Fraternities are a group of people who form together based on similar interests and goals and use that to create life-long friendships and support.

OS: What led you to get involved with Greek life at Penn State?

DC: I always knew that I wanted to join a fraternity of some sort coming into college and I think that stemmed from my group of friends at home. I wanted to feel the same sense of friendship and trust that I do at home, at Penn State. Additionally, both of my parents had good experiences with fraternities and sororities in college and I always love getting to hear stories about their experiences with it.

OS: What is your favorite memory of your fraternity?

DC: My favorite memory with my fraternity was THON 2022. We managed to set an organization record of $410,126.59 and getting involved in THON gets more and more special to me by the year. THON really hits home for our chapter, and it is so great to see such great participation by our members and our partnering organization members. I am super excited to see what is to come in THON 2023.

OS: Do you feel there is a common fraternity stereotype? If so, do you feel that this stereotype is accurate?

DC: Yes, I think that a stereotype exists in our community. I feel as though it is impossible to group almost 3,000 students into one personality, so no I would not say it is accurate. However, as an IFC executive board member, it is my job to stay up to date on what members inside and outside of our community are saying and address matters as necessary. Despite any sort of disagreement with a certain stereotype, it is always important to take into consideration why some people might think that way and be attentive to it.

OS: What would you say to someone on the fence about joining a fraternity at Penn State?

DC: I would say that there is no harm at all in giving recruitment a chance. Whether it ends up with you being a part of a chapter or not, you are still able to give it a shot and you will meet great people along the way. We have 36 chapters and about 3,000 members, so there is a wide variety of personalities and initiatives that can serve a large range of people.

Additionally, we have six special interest organizations that revolve around very specific areas of interest. If you are on the fence, do your research and give it a chance because the worst that can happen is that you find out it is not for you. I would give that advice to any PSU student looking for involvement. No matter what the result is, meeting people and expanding your knowledge and network is always a great opportunity.

OS: Ten years from now, where do you see yourself and what are you doing?

DC: In 10 years, I hope to be living in a stable environment with a family of my own. I hope to be happy and healthy and to live close to my parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. I know that I want to run my own company at some point, and I hope to be on that path in 10 years. It would be a great plus if my golf game is a lot better by then, too!

OS: If you could go back 10 years, what would you tell the younger you?

DC: I would tell myself not to worry about what is next because what is meant to be will be. There are countless minor events that occurred over my time at Penn State that would have really altered my path and that have taught me to trust what is thrown your way. Sometimes things are easy and sometimes things get very rough and it is easy to lose sight of this, but trust that no matter what you will always grow and learn. I also would have told myself to never doubt that I would end up at Penn State!

OS: Per Onward State tradition, if you were a dinosaur, which one would you be and why?

Triceratops for sure. The horns are cool and would help me take down the other
dinosaurs.