USM National Pan-Hellenic Council Set to Host Gala on May 4

The National Pan-Hellenic Council at The University of Southern Mississippi will host a special gala celebration at 7 p.m. on May 4 at the Thad Cochran Center ballrooms on the Hattiesburg campus.

Michael E. Cristal, International president of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., is scheduled to deliver the keynote address.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council was established in 1930 at Howard University as a national coordinating body for the nine historically African American fraternities and sororities which had evolved on American college and university campuses. On December 31, 1993, the National Pan-Hellenic Council at the University of Southern Mississippi was chartered. 

Cristal, a native of Grenada, Miss., was elected the 35^th International President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in July, 2017. His election represented the culmination of a 35-year commitment to the fraternity's principles of Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Service.

Cristal earned his Bachelor of Science degree in marketing at Mississippi State University. It was during his collegiate days in Starkville that he became a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

He currently serves as Vice President for Operations for the Kroger Company in Phoenix, Ariz., where he is responsible for leading a team of 22,000 employees within 122 Fry's stories in metro Phoenix and Tucson. Cristal's career with Kroger spans more than 32 years and during that time he has developed a reputation for his knowledge of retails systems, and the ability to establish strong merchandising and operations teams that consistently outperform the competition.

To learn more about the National Pan-Hellenic Council at USM, call 266-4823 or visit: https://www.usm.edu/greek-life/nphc