Category Archives: University of Minnesota

On Gamma Phi Beta’s Founding Day

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

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Gratia Countryman, Delta Gamma, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

Delta Gamma was founded at the Oxford Female Institute, also known as the Lewis School, in Oxford, Mississippi. The school was established before the Civil War and eventually was absorbed by the University of Mississippi. Delta Gamma’s three founders, Eva … Continue reading

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Mary Gray Peck, Gamma Phi Beta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

Mary Gray Peck’s name is familiar to me. A copy of her biography of Carrie Chapman Catt is on display in Pi Beta Phi Headquarters. I am almost certain that she is standing next to Catt in the photo taken … Continue reading

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Blanche Grand-Maitre, Alpha Xi Delta, #notablesororitywomen, #WHM2017

“Blanche B. Grand-Maitre has sailed for France with the third unit of the French-American toll service,” read an entry in the May 6, 1918 Minnesota Alumni Weekly. Grand-Maitre was a 1911 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she was … Continue reading

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Dr. Placida Gardner Chesley, Kappa Alpha Theta, #notablesororitywomen, #WHM2017

As a student at the University of Southern California, Vera Placida Gardner joined a local organization, Alpha Rho. She graduated from USC in 1910 and attended medical school at the University of Michigan. While in Ann Arbor, she became a member of … Continue reading

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#WHM – Dikka Bothne Brown, Mezzo Soprano and Alpha Gamma Delta

Her name at birth was Diderikke Johanne Bothne, but for most of her life she was known as Dikka. A 1917 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where her father was a professor, she was an initiate of the Alpha … Continue reading

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#WHM – Mary Ellen Chase, Ph.D., Author, Professor, and AOPi

The Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi at the University of Maine was installed in 1908. Mary Ellen Chase, who would later served as editor of To DRAGMA of Alpha Omicron Pi, became a member of the chapter along with her older … Continue reading

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#WHM – Edith Schwartz Clements, KAΘ

Edith Gertrude Schwartz was born in 1874. She entered the University of Nebraska and became a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1898. As an undergraduate, she was junior class president, a member of Sigma … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday Phi Beta Kappa, the Granddaddy of All GLOs!

The Phi Beta Kappa Society was founded on December 5, 1776 by five College of William and Mary students. The first meeting of the organization took place in the Old Raleigh Tavern’s Apollo Room. As the first Greek-letter collegiate society, it … Continue reading

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Fraternity Women Who Were Lawyers, 1867-1902 (When Women Could Not Vote!)

During the time frame of this study, 1867-1902, women had few legal rights.  Therefore, it is interesting to note that several of these early fraternity women became lawyers at a time when women were not yet allowed to vote.  In … Continue reading

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