Long before the sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha arrive on the University of Georgia campus, June Johnson is already at work.
Months in advance, she studies a stack of over 50 headshots — photos of soon-to-be residents holding a notecard with their name — arranging them beside her desk, which is cluttered with stacks of paperwork and her laptop bearing a blue crown sticker.
It’s one of the many systems she’s developed over the past four years to learn the names of the young women she’ll soon see every day.
ZTA members call her Ms. June, although her title, house director, is more akin to a business manager. She runs the 58-bed sorority house like a fine-tuned business because at the end of the day that’s what it is: a business. Johnson is the facilities manager, menu curator and sometimes motherly figure to the women living there.
She is the one keeping it all running.
“I do everything pertaining to the management of the house,” she said.
At UGA, she’s one of 18 sorority house directors who serve as the logistical and operational backbone of sorority life.
Why It’s Newsworthy: A lot is unknown about the day-to-day responsibilities of sorority house directors and how they handle the business and facility operations allowing sorority houses to run not only as a residence but also as a business.Overseeing Daily Operations
Johnson oversees kitchen operations, coordinates maintenance and manages vendors — and occasionally offers a dose of maternal guidance when asked. But her job extends far beyond the warm image of “house mom.”
One of Johnson’s everyday responsibilities is to oversee the chef. Suggestions for menus are made and the final product is approved by Johnson, two weeks in advance.
However, not all sororities have a chef. Some rely on food services, overseen by house directors. Cheryl Simpson, house director for Kappa Kappa Gamma at UGA, says budgeting for the food service is a challenge.
Simpson is serving her 11th year as a house director and worked at other chapters, including Sigma Kappa at UGA. She says she prefers having a food service to curating a menu every week.
“I get to dip my toe in every once a while. Just make suggestions on and tell them when something was really, really good,” said Simpson.
Coordinating Outside Vendors
Vendor management is also a major responsibility of house directors. From plumbing to pressure washing the house, it’s the house director who schedules the work, oversees it and makes sure it is done right.
“I stay with anyone who comes in the house to work on an air conditioner or a plumber,” said Johnson.
Kaylie Willis, former house manager for Sigma Kappa, worked closely with Simpson last year when she was Sigma Kappa’s house director. Willis said she served as a liaison between chapter members and Simpson allowing her to understand how instrumental Simpson was in keeping things running.
“Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to function,” said Willis. “She coordinated everything.”
Reliable vendors may be hard to find, so many house directors turn to one another for recommendations.
“They show up on time, they take care of the problem, and you don’t have to worry about it,” said Simpson.
Providing A Support System
Job That Doesn’t Stop in Summer
Though the pace slows slightly during the summer, house directors still live on-site year-round. Johnson uses that time to deep-clean, oversee repairs and prepare for August move-in.
“Everything has to be clean for the girls come back in the first of August, and then you’d be surprised and cleaning, cleaning the upholstery and the floors and stuff, it takes a long time,” said Johnson.
Sorority house directors’ like Johnson and Simpson are often misunderstood as chaperones for the young women living in sorority houses. But in reality, they are the operational backbone of everyday sorority life — the invisible force keeping the houses running smoothly.
They handle logistics and anticipate emergencies, while maintaining a positive environment for chapter members. They manage an ever-growing variable list of daily tasks with minimal recognition.
“I do everything pertaining to the management of the house and the management of the girls and their well-being and safety,” Johnson said, nonchalantly.
And she does. The glue that holds things together, she, like the other house directors, is instrumental to the success of the chapters they serve.
Emily P. Adams is a third-year student majoring in journalism.
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