Published on Show Me Mizzou Aug. 27, 2024
Story by Theo Schwinke, BA ’10
Chris Jefferson, BA ’06, has never lost sight of his Tiger past.
“I always maintained my connection to Mizzou because, like so many other alumni, I care about this place,” he says. “I never felt too far from home.”
Jefferson, now the director of MU Fraternity and Sorority Life, came to MU in 2001 and, motivated by the desire to serve, joined Phi Beta Sigma fraternity two years later. He showed an early affinity for the transformational impact of a values-based fraternal experience. “The values of the organization spoke to me,” he says.
A self-described introvert, Jefferson nonetheless became president of his chapter and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) executive board. “I had to let the introvert go, which really helped me grow as a person,” he says. After observing Jefferson as a student leader, his own advisor asked him, “Have you ever thought about doing this as a career?”
Jefferson received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and reenrolled as an MU graduate student to study education leadership and policy analysis. After graduating in 2008, he went on to work with fraternity and sorority communities at Pennsylvania State, Indiana State, North Carolina State, Old Dominion and George Mason.
Jefferson received the 2021 Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) Distinguished Service Award, and in 2022 he was honored by the AFA and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., through the creation of the Shirley-Jefferson AFA Fellow for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access. Fourteen years following his graduation, he returned to Mizzou to serve again — this time as director of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
As director, Jefferson has a vision of an intentional community that builds what he describes as “a fraternity/sorority experience that helps students realize their full potential and grow as leaders.”
He asks alumni to serve as mentors and network with students: “Our alumni are making a significant impact in the community and serving as examples of the bright future ahead for our students!”
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