Category Archives: Men’s Fraternities

A Vermont Graduation Brings Thoughts of Grace and Calvin Coolidge

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Being in Rutland, Vermont, mere miles away from the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth Notch, brings thoughts of the President and First Lady who were native Vermonters. Calvin Coolidge, a Phi Gamma Delta, and Grace Goodhue Coolidge, a Pi Beta Phi, … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvin Coolidge, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Presidents | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Graduation Edition – Alumna / Alumnae /Alumnus / Alumni

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

I love the pomp and circumstance of graduation ceremonies. After all, I earned a degree based mainly on the color of the hood (two of my favorite colors wine and silver blue, which just happen to be Pi Beta Phi’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, GLO, Goucher College, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Knox College, Syracuse University | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

May 1 – Phi Gamma Delta’s Founders’ Day and FIJI Sires and Sons Anniversary

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

May 1, 1848 is the date of Phi Gamma Delta’s founding. John Templeton McCarty, Samuel Beatty Wilson, James Elliott, Daniel Webster Crofts, Ellis Bailey Gregg and Naaman Fletcher – the Immortal Six – were students at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Happy Founders’ Day, My Dear Pi Beta Phi!

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

When Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois opened in September 1856, 26 of the 99 students were women. Ten years later, when the 1866-67 academic year began, the cost of the first term was $12 in tuition and $9 for each … Continue reading →

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, Delta Tau Delta, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Monmouth College, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , | Comments Off

David Starr Jordan, Lombard College, and a Forget Me Not Book

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The book from the 1870s was titled  “Forget Me Not.” It was filled with pages and pages of poems and signatures, many in ornate script, some faded by time, and others hard to decipher without a magnifying glass. The former … Continue reading →

Posted in Cornell University, Delta Upsilon, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Lombard College, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Stanford University, University of Indiana | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Fraternity and Sorority Members Lobby on Capitol Hill – April 24, 2013

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

On April 24, 2013, 200 fraternity and sorority members, collegiate and alumni (of the men’s groups)/alumnae (of the women’s groups), will be Washington D.C. to lobby on Capitol Hill. The Fraternal Government Relations Coalition (FGRC), is a group bringing together … Continue reading →

Posted in GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Men's Fraternities, National Panhellenic Conference, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Happy Founders’ Day to FarmHouse and Triangle Fraternities, 2 of the 3 NIC Organizations Without Greek Letters

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Acacia, FarmHouse and Triangle Fraternities are the only members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) that do not use Greek-letters. The latter two celebrate Founders’ Day on the same day. What’s also interesting to note is that both were formed … Continue reading →

Posted in FarmHouse, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Triangle, University of Illinois, University of Missouri | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Champaign’s Virginia Theater – Home of Ebertfest

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

(This blog was posted a week or so before Roger Ebert’s death. I am so sorry to hear of his passing. I also discovered that a P.E.O. friend and Knox College alumna was Ebert’s childhood friend and neighbor. What a … Continue reading →

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Sigma, National Panhellenic Conference, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Delta Theta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, University of Illinois | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

From the Saltine Warrior to Otto the Orange – Happy Birthday Syracuse University!

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Syracuse University celebrates its anniversary on Sunday, March 24, the day the Board of Trustees signed the University charter and certificate of incorporation. Syracuse is the only university whose mascot started as a goat, became an Indian, had a quick … Continue reading →

Posted in Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Lambda Chi Alpha, Syracuse University | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Happy Birthday Stephen Sondheim, Musical Theater Genius and a ΒΘΠ

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Happy Birthday Stephen Sondheim! He is one of my favorite composers and I have wonderful memories of attending Sondheim shows on Broadway with my daughter while she was at Mount Holyoke (who says college family weekends need to be spent … Continue reading →

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Williams College | Tagged , , , | Comments Off