The University of Alabama has the largest Greek life community in the nation, consisting of around 13,000 students, according to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. There are 48 Greek chapter houses on campus, totaling a whopping 1.5 million square feet. While each Greek house has a unique operating system, all have a house director.
Pennie Houle is the house director for the Delta Omicron chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. She started as house director in the fall after being a stay-at-home mom for 25 years.
Houle first heard about the position from her sister-in-law, who is a current employee at the University. Houle said she could not have found a position that better suited her skill set and experience.
“When I found out about the position and what it entailed, it was pretty much what I’d done at home,” she said. “It was a perfect fit for me.”
While some house directors live off campus, Houle is among those who live directly in the Greek house they work at. Having an apartment inside the Theta house, Houle has the opportunity to meet the 400+ active sisters, though she interacts with the women who live in the house the most.
Houle has many roles, but she spends much of her time making sure the house’s facilities are in good order. She is in charge of choosing maintenance crews and scheduling their visits, making sure changes to the house’s exterior are University-approved and acting as a liaison between Theta’s women and the kitchen staff.
“I used to think it was a house, but it’s not. This is a commercial building with a beautiful house wrapped around it,” Houle said.
Houle’s mornings consist of administrative tasks, responding to emails and accompanying maintenance crews while they work on the house. However, some of Houle’s responsibilities are not part of her daily agenda. Each season, Houle picks what flowers to plant outside Theta’s main entrance.
“I could be outside with my hands in the dirt all day. I love it. I love gardening. So it just so happened that that one area fell right in my lap. That’s one of my favorite things when it’s time to switch the flowers out,” she said.
While these tasks are a main portion of the job for house directors, getting to know the members inside and forming relationships is important for making sure the women feel they have someone to lean on, especially the freshmen who may be leaving home for the first time.
“I want them to know that they’ve got somebody they can talk to in confidence. To me, that is really important,” Houle said.
Her relationship with the members, especially the women who live in the house, has become one of the most rewarding experiences of being a house director. Like others in the position, she has adopted the title of “house mom” from members.
“It’s an old school term, but I like it. I like house mom. I think it describes better what I try to be for the girls than the facility director,” she said. “I feel like it’s a huge part of this job to let the girls know that my heart is in it, not just my feet running around doing stuff.”
While Houle is not required to help with chapter-related events, she enjoys supporting the women. Houle said some sororities ask a lot of their house mom, but she is proud of her women for being largely independent.
As a mom herself, Houle knows that it can be a hard transition for parents when their kids move away for college. However, in her household, this change looked a little different.
“Normally when the kids get older, they move away, and in our home, it was the opposite. The mom moved away and they’re still home,” Houle said about her two college-aged boys.
While this transition was overwhelming at first, Houle says she now feels comfortable in her role at Theta. Houle said she does not typically draw much attention to herself and would not jump at the opportunity to be featured. However, she said, “for Theta, I’ll do it — for my girls.”
“I think it’s great to shine a light on what the house moms do because we do a lot,” Houle said. “It’s our job to keep the house flowing seamlessly, and I think if you remove the house moms, things could go awry really quick.”
