Tag Archives: University of Illinois

Margaret Sawyer, Kappa Alpha Theta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

Margaret Sawyer grew up in Tuscola, Illinois. She was initiated into Kappa Alpha Theta in 1914 as a student at the University of Illinois and was her chapter’s president. She also served the Women’s League in the same capacity and … Continue reading

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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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Gladys Gilpatrick, Alpha Delta Pi, the Only Woman With a Column in Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois

I’ve written several histories of fraternities and sororoites for the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing. World War I took its toll on the Illinois campus and that came through in each of those histories. After the war’s end … Continue reading

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Josie Batcheller Houchens, Sigma Kappa, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

Josie Batcheller Houchens was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 4, 1882. Her childhood was spent on a sugar plantation in southern Louisiana. At 16, she moved to New Orleans and enrolled in preparatory work at Sophie Newcomb College. … 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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A Phi Delt, Three Phi Gams, and a Kappa Alpha Psi

Burt Reynolds, an initiate of the Florida State University chapter of Phi Delta Theta has passed away at age 82. *** Vice President Mike Pence, a Phi Gamma Delta alumnus from Hanover College, made an unannounced visit to Plymouth Notch, … Continue reading

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