Category Archives: University of Illinois

Happy Founders’ Day, Gamma Phi Beta!

A church oyster supper was the first social event Frances Haven (Moss) attended after enrolling in Syracuse University in 1874. Her father, Dr. Erastus Otis Haven, had been recently elected Chancellor of the university. At that supper, she met the … Continue reading

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May Allinson, Ph.D., Alpha Chi Omega #NotableSororityWomen #WHM2021

In 1880, May Allinson was born in Macon, Illinois. She graduated from Decatur High School and went on to the University of Illinois. There she earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She was a member of the Iota Chapter of Alpha … Continue reading

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Helen Sher Shopmaker, Phi Sigma Sigma, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2021

Helen Beryl Sher (Shopmaker) enrolled at the University of Illinois after graduating from University City High School in St. Louis, Missouri. At Illinois, she became a member of Phi Sigma Sigma as well as the French and Spanish honoraries, Pi … Continue reading

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Frances Best Watkins, Theta Phi Alpha, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2021

While it’s the founders of an organization who are usually honored and revered, there are a whole host of others who helped in its building. Frances Best (Watkins) is one of those builders. In the fall of 1918, she moved … Continue reading

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Maudelle Brown Bousfield, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first Greek-letter organization for African-American women, was founded on January 15, 1908 by nine young female Howard University students. They were led by the vision of Ethel Hedgeman (Lyle); she had spent several months … Continue reading

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125 Years of Illini Sorority Life

Sorority life at the University of Illinois began 125 years ago this fall. It was a race between Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta to install the first chapter.

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Fraternity and Sorority Housing, Miss USA, and Giving Feedback

I have an affinity for the fraternity and sorority houses at the University of Illinois. The campus has enamored me from the first time I saw it in the early 1990s as a Province President for the Pi Beta Phi … Continue reading

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Triangle and FarmHouse Share April 15

There are three fraternities in the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) that do not use Greek-letters. They are Acacia, FarmHouse and Triangle. Interestingly, the latter two celebrate Founders’ Day on the same day, April 15th. Both organizations began for students in … Continue reading

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Lois Miles Zucker, Alpha Delta Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

Lois Miles (Zucker) was born in Colorado in 1889 and grew up in Bushnell, Illinois. She enrolled at the University of Illinois where she became a member of Alpha Delta Pi. At Illinois, she earned a Bachelor’s in 1910 and … Continue reading

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Beulah Armstrong, Ph.D., Zeta Tau Alpha, #NotableSororityWomen #WHM2019

In 1913, Beulah Armstrong entered Baker University in Kansas. There she joined the Sigma chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha in a pledge class of eight women. According to a report inThemis of Zeta Tau Alpha: While in school, Beulah took … Continue reading

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