Category Archives: Iowa Wesleyan College

Happy Founders’ Day, Alpha Xi Delta (and a Connection to Carl Sandburg)

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Xi Delta was founded at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois on April 17, 1893. Its founders are Cora Bollinger Block, Alice Bartlett Bruner, Bertha Cook Evans, Harriett Luella McCollum, Lucy W. Gilmer, Lewie Strong Taylor, Almira Lowry Cheney, Frances Elisabeth … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, National Panhellenic Conference, P.E.O., Sorority History | Tagged Alpha Xi Delta, Carl Sandburg, Galesburg IL, Lombard College, P.E.O. | Comments Off

Ella Boston Leib, Alpha Xi Delta’s First NPC Chairman and a P.E.O. State President

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

I spotted the name Ella B. Leib as I was studying Illinois P.E.O. history in preparation for a session at the Illinois State P.E.O. Convention this summer. Ella Boston Leib played an important role in the early history of Alpha … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, National Panhellenic Conference, P.E.O., Women's Fraternity History | Tagged Alpha Xi Delta, Ella Boston Leib, NPC P.E.O. | Comments Off

Happy Birthday, P.E.O. Sisterhood! P.E.O.s Help Women Reach for the Stars

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

P.E.O., a “philanthropic organization where women celebrate the advancement of women; educate women though scholarships, grants, awards, loans and stewardship of Cottey College; and motivate women to achieve their highest aspirations” was founded as a collegiate organization on January 21, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Founders' Day, Iowa Wesleyan College, P.E.O. | Tagged Alpha Xi Delta, Iowa Wesleyan College, P.E.O., P.E.O. Loan Fund, P.E.O. sisterhood | Comments Off

P.E.O. Bling – Supporting the Education of Women

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

“If someone doesn’t outbid her, you know it’ll soon be the subject of a blog post!” said my favorite Presbyterian pastor at our P.E.O. chapter’s annual fundraiser. And here the post is! The collection of P.E.O. themed items that our chapter president … Continue reading →

Posted in Cottey College, Iowa Wesleyan College, P.E.O., Pi Beta Phi, Uncategorized | Tagged Cottey College, Iowa Wesleyan College, P.E.O., P.E.O. Loan Fund | Comments Off

Doctors Who Wore Badges: Fraternity Women in Medicine 1867-1902

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

In 1870, there were 525 female doctors in the United States (Newcomer, 1959). Among the fraternity women who became physicians were founders of two NPC groups, Rachel Jane “Jennie” Nicol, a founder of Pi Beta Phi, and Eleanor Dorcas Pond … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Phi, Boston University, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, DePauw University, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Goucher College, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Alpha Theta (magazine), Kappa Kappa Gamma, Knox College, Lombard College, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, Northwestern University, Notable Fraternity Women, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Syracuse University, The Anchora of Delta Gamma, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma, The Trident of Delta Delta Delta, University of California at Berkeley, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, University of Vermont, Women's Fraternities, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Famous fraternity women, Female doctors, female physicians, Gamma Phi Beta, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, Pi Beta Phi, sorority history, Syracuse University, University of Michigan, Women's fraternities, women's fraternity history | Comments Off

How the P.E.O.s at Iowa Wesleyan Became Alpha Xi Deltas

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

How exactly did those P.E.O.s at Iowa Wesleyan College become the Beta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta? How was that connection made? It was such a defining moment in the history of both organizations. P.E.O. was founded as a collegiate … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, P.E.O., Uncategorized | Tagged Alpha Xi Delta, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, Mount Pleasant IA, P.E.O. | Comments Off

We Wave Thy Colors Brave on High – Happy Founders’ Day Pi Beta Phi!

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

On April 28, 1867, a college society of women modeled after men’s Greek-letter fraternities was founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its name was I. C. Sorosis and its grip, the handshake of its members, was accompanied by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Founders' Day, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, Monmouth College, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged Monmouth College, Pi Beta Phi | Comments Off

Lombard College – Where Alpha Xi Delta was Founded

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois is where Alpha Xi Delta was founded in 1893. It’s also one of those colleges that no longer exist, but its legacy is intertwined with Knox College, also located in Galesburg. Coeducational from its beginning, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Tau Delta, Iowa Wesleyan College, Knox College, Lombard College, Men's Fraternities, National Panhellenic Conference, P.E.O., Phi Delta Theta, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Nu, Uncategorized | Tagged Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Tau Delta, Delta Zeta, Knox College, Lombard College, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, P.E.O., Phi Delta Theta, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Nu, sororities, Theta Upsilon | Comments Off