The Gamma Chi chapter of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority is the newest Greek life organization to come to campus, and it took less than a semester to colonize.

DPE’s SIU chapter, which consists of 75 members, completed all requirements and officially chartered Sunday.

Andy Morgan, acting associate dean of students, said it usually takes fraternities and sororities three or four semesters to complete the chartering process.

“Delta Phi Epsilon has done so well they have done it in a couple months,” he said.

Morgan said having a full-time employee on campus since September increased the rate of the sorority’s chartering process.

“If other organizations did that, they might be able to be chartered within a semester,” he said.

That employee is Ashlee Allen, a consultant from DPE’s international headquarters. She is a graduate of Central Michigan University and a DPE alumna of the Beta Phi chapter.

Allen, who is a part of DPE’s new Collegiate Development Consultant program, said her job is to aid in the recruitment and chartering processes for new chapters. She said being on campus has influenced the speed of DPE’s chartering as well as the attitude of the group.

“My presence here not only helped with the process, but it kind of helped keep the morale and recruitment and all of those things going,” Allen said.

Paige Liddell, president for SIU’s DPE chapter, said Allen played a huge role in the group’s chartering.

Allen moved from Michigan to Carbondale to assure the sorority is successful, Liddell said during a reception following DPE’s initiation ritual Sunday at the Carbondale Civic Center.

“She has done everything for us and we couldn’t ever begin to thank her,” said Liddell, a junior from Carterville studying elementary education.

Jordan Bartolini, president of the Inter-Greek Council, said it is exciting to have DPE join SIU Greek life.

“They have done really well in these last few months,” said Bartolini, a junior in German studies. “The fact that they are chartering roughly three and a half months since they started their colonization, it’s a really big deal. It’s really exciting.”

Morgan said another reason DPE is successful is because it has a variety of members.

“They have seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen,” Morgan said. “It’s a diverse group of women, from their majors, their involvement, their ethnicities. They have done a good job.”

He said other Greek life organizations have had trouble because of a lack of diversity.

“I’ve seen difficulty when you have a new fraternity or sorority start and most of the people joining are freshmen and sophomores,” he said. “They sometimes just don’t have those established leadership skills all settled or fully established.”

Allen said the organization aims to achieve its main principles: justice, sisterhood and love.

“We really focus on personal and professional development and we stick to empowering women to be something, rather than to just do something,” Allen said.

Josh Murray can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JDMurray_DE.