Piazza Center | Penn State Student Affairs

The Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform empowers higher education to make the fraternity and sorority experience safer and more meaningful. The center produces actionable data to give practitioners the evidence needed to enact meaningful change on their campuses.

COVID-19 Fraternity and Sorority Members Readiness to Return to Campus Survey

The Piazza Center, in cooperation with a national team of consultants and academic professionals, has created a survey to gauge fraternity and sorority students feelings about returning to campus. Anonymous student data will be collected to better recognize experiences with COVID-19, housing, council types, and other meaningful aggregate reports. All participating institutions will receive a copy of their data, along with benchmark comparisons to assist with planning for the fall semester. Participation in the survey is free to all universities with active fraternity and sorority chapters.

Access the Survey Now

Advancement through Research

The Piazza Center studies fraternity and sorority life, focusing on research to support positive educational outcomes, student safety, and the reduction of high-risk behaviors. Specifically, the center examines sound professional practice in fraternity and sorority advising and the impact of policy implementation. The center works to:

Publish the National Fraternity and Sorority Scorecard
Administer the Fraternity and Sorority Experience Survey
Improve policies and practices through research
Host national conferences

How Can Your Campus Participate?

Institutions support the critical work of the Piazza Center and ensure the delivery of high-quality independent scholarship by participating in selected research projects. In return, your institution gains access to valuable resources and research outcomes.

Your institution can participate in any of the following research:

Our Dual Funding Model

The Piazza Center’s dual funding model provides for original research as well as actionable data institutions can use to enact meaningful change on their campuses. Funding sources include:

Penn State endowment - Enables interdisciplinary faculty to conduct original research on fraternity and sorority life issues.
Campus participation – Enable campus-level assessment, consultation, and the delivery of actionable data for a fee.

Explore in this Section

Piazza Center