Man enjoys job as Panhellenic adviser
By Stacy Ashley
Special to the Kansan
After weeks of long and stressful meetings, the Panhellenic Executive Board needed to relax. A Mary Kay make-up consultant was invited in for a surprise treat, facials and makeovers.
The six members of the board, sporting headbands and holding facial centers, including pink trays and mirrors, sat ready for a lesson in facial cleansing and make-up application.
John Gamble/KANSAN
Randy Degner, Panhellenic adviser, discusses sorority issues with Traci Brown, Papillion, Neb., senior, left; and Anne Wehmeyer, Independence junior.
The KU Panhellenic Association adviser, with a headband and facial center of his own, also sat with the group.
Randy Degner, 25 and a Temple, Texas graduate student, advises the largest women's organization on campus. Although he passed on the make-up application, he showed the women of the board his sense of humor and willingness to see what women go through.
The only thing Degner had to say about the facial was, "I was embarrassed, but my pores were clean."
Degner came to the University of Kansas with a communications degree from Southwest Texas State University. He was working on a counseling degree when he transferred to Kansas for a master's in higher education administration.
Degner said he had gone through a big transition last year, starting in December, when he decided to transfer and look for a new school and job within three months.
"It all happened very fast," he said.
He applied for the position because of his experiences at Southwest Texas as a fraternity member and an adviser to the Interfraternity Council, he said. Bill Nelson, coordinator of Greek Programs, said he had been interviewing for advisers for both IFC and Panhellenic when he approached Degner about the job.
He said that although not a usual occurrence,the choice of a male adviser for Panhellenic or a female adviser for the council always had been an option.
Degner said, "I thought it was a great idea. I had already dealt with some women's issues as IFC adviser in Texas."
Nelson said Degner's work in greek affairs and as a counselor made him the best candidate for the yearlong appointment.
Degner, who began his job June 1, said he found working with women a rewarding experience. The Panhellenic system is well-organized, and the women do not avoid difficult issues, he said.
Degner's responsibilities include assisting with Panhellenic committees and advising the executive and judiciary boards. He also directs Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol and Greeks Responsible for Educating Cultural Sensitivity, which include IFC and Panhellenic members.
Degner's said he hoped to help women make good decisions.
"My job is to advise," he said. "If they are steering in the wrong direction, I try to get them back on track."
Angela Wennihan, Topeka senior and Panhellenic vice president for public relations, said that in her experiences with organizations, Degner was the most effective adviser she knew.
"He guides us without ever saying, 'This is
what I think you should do," Wennihan said.
She does not see a male adviser as a barrier for Panhellenic, she said.
"Any stereotypical traits men supposedly have about communicating, Randy does not possess," Wennihan said.
Leah Davis, Hutchinson senior and vice president for campus affairs, said that she thought a male adviser was a blessing for Panhellenic.
"Because he is a man, he is unbiased and removed from the issues we are dealing with," she said. "It's helpful for us to have him there."
Degner said he felt at a disadvantage only when counseling women during emotional times.
"My instinct is to put my arms around someone when they are upset," he said. "I feel like that could be interpreted as inappropriate by some people."
Degner, who plans to graduate in May 1995, said he wanted to get a director's position, possibly in greek affairs, at a university in the future.
Nelson said, "He's seen both sides of the coin now. He would be an appealing candidate anywhere when he comes with this much experience."
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LIFESTYLE • K-you • October 11, 1993