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Pepperdine Student Group Receives Highest Honor

MALIBU, Calif. – August 7, 2014 – The California Mu Chapter of Pi Beta Phi® Fraternity for Women at Pepperdine University recently received the Fraternity’s highest and most prestigious honor, the Balfour Cup, for the 2013–2014 academic year. Of Pi Beta Phi’s more than 135 international collegiate chapters, California Mu was one of 17 chapters ranked as Chapters of Excellence, a pool from which the Balfour Cup recipient is selected.

The Balfour Cup was introduced in 1921 and, today, is based on an evaluation of the chapter’s success and its quality of the Pi Beta Phi membership experience. This includes accomplishments in academics, philanthropy, finances, housing and Panhellenic and campus involvement. In addition to chapter operations, the Balfour Cup honors how well chapters develop members through Pi Beta Phi’s Leading with Values® program, which sets the stage for members to live the Fraternity’s core values, fulfilling leadership potential, serving others and achieving academic excellence.

The California Mu Chapter celebrated a 100 percent member retention rate and also achieved the highest GPA of any sorority on campus. In addition to academics, the chapter cares about personal development and averaged 75 service hours per chapter member. The chapter maintains an outstanding social media presence, which aids in recruiting new members and keeping members connected while they study abroad.

In addition to the Balfour Cup, the chapter received a Scholarship Award for ranking among the top 10 Pi Beta Phi chapters for GPA. The California Mu Chapter was chartered at Pepperdine University in 1996.

“The Balfour Cup is not an award you can win alone and I am proud to have a strong chapter of leaders,” said California Mu Chapter President Caroline Kempe. “Pi Beta Phi is about friendship and encouragement, and our chapter seeks to be an uplifting community of women that creates space for our members to become the best versions of themselves. In everything we do, we endeavor to become better students, better servants, better leaders and better women.”

About Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women: Founded in 1867 at Monmouth College in Illinois, Pi Beta Phi has installed 200 collegiate chapters and more than 300 alumnae organizations worldwide. Pi Beta Phi promotes friendship, develops women of intellect and integrity, cultivates leadership potential and enriches the lives of members and their communities. The Fraternity believes in the power of reading and through its philanthropy, Read > Lead > Achieve®, promotes a lifelong love of reading that can unlock true potential. For more information, visit www.pibetaphi.org or follow Pi Phi on Twitter and Facebook.

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