Shawn Hoke, interim director of Campus Life at Clarion University, is a man of his word. He will prove it when members of Clarion University's Interfraternity Council shave his head, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Gemmell Student Complex Rotunda, in celebration of an academic achievement.
"For the fall 2008 semester the fraternities had a 2.985 grade point average," recalled Hoke. "I told them if they got it up to 3.0 for the Spring 2009 semester I would let them shave my head."
Hoke announced the challenge publicly at the Diane L. Reinhard Award Ceremony and the fraternities responded. When the spring 2009 grades were compiled the 88 fraternity members had won the challenge pushing their grade point average to 3.039.
"I have 16 grade reports in the files between the fall of 1992 and the fall of 2004 and during that time period, the all fraternity grade point average only exceeded the all men's average three times" said Hoke. "However, since the spring of 2004 the grade point average for all fraternities has been above the grade point average for all men at Clarion University every semester."
"I threw this challenge out there to help motivate them to do better. Since I came to work at Clarion in 2001, things have not always been positive for the fraternities. In fall of 2005, the Greek plan that President Joseph Gruenwald called for went into effect, and it has been instrument in bringing about behavioral and cultural changes within the Greek community. I am very proud of the progress that the fraternities and sororities have made over the past several years and this 3.0 plus grade point average is a real milestone in that progression. I can think of worse reasons to have a bald head and I'm glad to do it if it has motivated any of them to study just a little bit harder."
Andrew Bostjancic, president of Clarion University's Interfraternity Council, was on the other side of the challenge. He said the fraternities did not make any planned or combined effort to increase their grades.
"I think it was in the back of our minds as we worked on our classes," said Bostjancic. "We all wanted to see it happen. Shawn is like a big brother/father/advisor to us and we wanted to show him we could do this. We kept bringing it up as an incentive."
Bostjancic wants the academic improvement to be ongoing, not just motivated by a challenge.
"Our goal is for this not to be a one time thing. This is about our image. We stressed grades and we hit this mark. We want to go forward and push it higher. If Greek life can help us obtain better grades that is all we can hope for. That is something that is important for everyone."
Bostjancic, a junior communication major with a concentration in public relations and a minor in political science, is a son of Steven and Lisa Bostjancic of Bridgeville and is a graduate of Chartiers Valley High School.
Clarion University is the high-achieving, nationally recognized, comprehensive university that delivers a personal and challenging academic experience.
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