Online life has changed the way in which students interact with one another, the campus-community, and the world, yet being able to express oneself instantly has led to a host of potential legal , academic, and social problems that have also impacted fraternity and sorority chapter reputations and relationships. This virtual seminar will explore the legal, social, and developmental challenges created by instant online expression; examine the very real phenomenon of cyberbullying; and offer student affairs professionals working with fraternities and sororities a few solutions to addressing online interaction among fraternity and sorority members.
Learning outcomes for this Virtual Seminar Series will include, but are not limited to:
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Understand the legal and personal issues related to cyberbullying in general and as it relates to fraternity and sorority life.
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Identify key forms of cyberbullying and potential underlying causes for the behavior.
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Implement policy and educational strategies to reduce the incidents of cyberbullying within their chapters.
Darby Dickerson is in her seventh year as Vice President and Dean at Stetson University College of Law, where she is also a tenured full professor. She joined Stetson in 1995, and has also served as Director of Legal Research and Writing, Associate Dean, and Vice Dean. Dean Dickerson received her B.A. and M.A. from the College of William and Mary, and earned her J.D. in 1988 from Vanderbilt University Law School. Following law school, she clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and then practiced commercial litigation with a large firm in Dallas, Texas. Dean Dickerson teaches or has taught Negotiation and Mediation, Torts, Pretrial Practice, and Legal Writing. She writes in the areas of higher education law and policy, and legal writing.
She speaks on topics including cyberspace issues, mental health, student conduct and discipline, campus risk management, and crisis management. Recent engagements have included national or regional presentations for NACA, NASPA, IACLEA, OJJDP, the Texas College and University Symposium, SAMHSA, URMIA, and the U.S. Department of Education. Dean Dickerson and Professor Peter Lake serve as Conference Co-Chairs for Stetson University’s National Conference on Law and Higher Education, which is held each February.
Thomas Workman, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Houston-Downtown. Tom is an applied communications scholar in the area of Health Communication. His current project is with the Eisenberg Center for Decision and Communication Sciences, a multi-disciplinary team funded by the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research and housed at the Baylor College of Medicine. Tom has also worked in the area of developing communication-based strategies for substance abuse prevention for the past twelve years. He currently serves on the Review Board for the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Other Drug, and Violence Prevention and the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University.
Tom is the National Chair for the Alcohol and Other Drug Knowledge Community for the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and serves on the Editorial Board for Health Communication and Communication Quarterly. Tom also serves as the Community Coach for two grant-funded community coalitions – one in Bloomington, Illinois and another in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he helps these communities develop deliberation-based approaches to changing the health environment. In 2009, Tom won the Facilitator’s Award from the Stetson University Center of Excellence for Higher Education Law and Policy with his longtime colleague, Linda Major for their work reducing high-risk drinking and related problems at the University of Nebraska.
Primary: Advisor |
A fraternity/sorority advisor guides and facilitates the work of individual chapter members, chapter executive committees, and governing councils, affording them experiential learning opportunities that enhance the education they receive inside the classroom. The advisor provides training and resources on risk management awareness. An advisor builds relationships with individual students to assist them with organizational, academic, or other concerns. The advisor enlists the help of counseling professionals when necessary.
Secondary: Administrator | 
A fraternity/sorority advisor maintains accurate and comprehensive records on membership statistics, scholarship rankings, council business, and disciplinary cases. The advisor works with all necessary constituencies to resolve any individual member, chapter, council, or university crisis. An advisor may supervise or oversee full-time professional, paraprofessional, graduate student, and/or undergraduate student staff. A fraternity/sorority advisor may have responsibilities in managing, or supporting students in managing, on- or off-campus chapter houses, chapter suites, and/or offices to ensure they are operating properly and safely. The advisor may also assist students in planning events.
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