The records of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) measure 3 linear feet and date from 1912 to 1994, with the bulk of records falling between 1960 and 1994. The records consist of meeting minutes, officer's reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, and printed materials. Despite the range of years covered by the collection as a whole, no one time period is completely documented. For additional information on the IFC, the researcher should consult the record groups under "University of Michigan Fraternity Office" and "University of Michigan Housing Division" and the "University of Michigan Vice President for Student Affairs" at the Bentley Historical Library.
The records of the IFC are divided into five series: President's Notebooks, Fraternity Membership Selection Files, Topical Files, Photographs, and Printed Materials.
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is the administrative and organizing body for the undergraduate social fraternities at the University of Michigan. The IFC was developed out of a need to provide a governing body for the fraternity system.
Beta Theta Pi and Chi Psi are credited with being the first fraternities on campus, both established at the University of Michigan in 1846. Over the next sixty some years, several unsuccessful attempts were made by the university administration to govern the growing fraternity system, all of which were met with student resistance. However, the need for some sort of governing body was recognized, due to decreasing ideals of scholarship in the fraternities, members being pledged long before they were ready for college, and questionable methods used in "rushing" prospective members (The University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey, p. 1804). Although a group had been meeting informally since 1912, the Interfraternity Conference was organized in 1914, following a recommendation contained in a report by the Committee on Student Affairs presented in 1913.
The first IFC constitution (1914) included the following provisions: all pledging must be done in Ann Arbor; no pledging permitted before the tenth day prior to the starting of class; no freshmen allowed to live in the fraternity house; no initiate should have less than 11 credit hours of at least a C grade; and no student on probation or warning should be initiated.
The IFC developed and enforced regulations for the conduct of fraternity affairs such as rushing, pledging, and dances. At one time the judiciary committee of the IFC was the governing body for fraternity students. In 1924, the name of the Interfraternity Conference was changed to the Interfraternity Council.
The IFC's initial organization consisted of two delegates from each fraternity, and an executive committee composed of elected officers and the Dean of Students. The number of delegates per house gradually decreased from two to one, and the role of the Dean of Students diminished with the creation of the IFC Coordinator position in the 1970s.
Currently, the IFC meets biweekly to discuss matters of importance to all fraternities, including Rush, Greek Week, social activities, academic requirements, and community relations. From the 1940s to the 1960s, the IFC was heavily involved in the issues surrounding membership selection and was instrumental in requiring mandatory non-discrimination clauses in all fraternity house rushing rules.
