Next fall there will be a new sorority active in the Panhellenic Council on the University’s campus.

Over this past summer, the Panhellenic Council voted to invite Alpha Phi International Sorority to join the University. A few days later, Alpha Phi accepted the invitation at its convention in Arizona, according to a June 28 news release.

Alpha Phi will have representatives on campus throughout the year to get to know the campus and prepare for colonization next fall. The sorority will participate in the first round of recruitment as a meet-and-greet for potential members. It will host its own recruitment a month after formal recruitment, consisting of interviews and parties just like in formal recruitment, Director of Extension Kara Wilhite said in an email.

She said the Greek community is anticipating Alpha Phi to be able to participate in formal recruitment by 2014.

Wilhite said the University’s Panhellenic Council Executive Board has created an Alpha Phi Extension Team that will consist of two members from each Panhellenic sorority. The team members will be chosen by the end of the month.

Alpha Phi will take as many women as it believes meet its standards. It’s looking for strong leaders and women who will work hard, Wilhite said.

According to the release, Alpha Phi’s goal is to recruit around 263 members. This is an average chapter size.

In the release, Panhellenic President Sara Winkler expressed her excitement about the newest addition to the council.

“Our 11 sororities have been truly engaged in the process and were eager to not only learn more about Alpha Phi but also enthusiastic about what this will do for our Panhellenic and Greek community,” she said in the release.

According to its website, Alpha Phi is present on nearly 160 college campuses and has more than 200,000 members.

“Alpha Phi enhances and promotes each member’s development and learning by focusing on sisterhood, service, scholarship, leadership, loyalty and character development,” the site read.