Category Archives: Colleges and Universities

Ring, Ching, Ching, Ho, Hippi, Hi, Ra, Ro, Arrow, Pi Beta Phi!

When I pledged the Pi Beta Phi chapter at Syracuse University, I learned that the organization was founded in Monmouth, Illinois. As a native Long Islander, with a New Yorker’s view of the world, I likely would not have been … Continue reading

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Cheers and Tears in Bloomington for the World’s Greatest College Weekend

Bloomington, Indiana, is a college town, with a large, old state university. Herman B Wells, a Sigma Nu, was the 11th President of Indiana University leading the University from 1938-62. David Starr Jordan, Delta Upsilon, served as IU’s President from 1885, … Continue reading

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Alpha Kappa Lambda and Its Connection to Trader Joe’s

Yesterday was Alpha Kappa Lambda’s 101st anniversary. It was founded at the University of California, Berkeley on April 22, 1914. It was the first fraternity to be founded west of the Rockies (there were chapters of other fraternities on California campuses including … Continue reading

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April 20 – Tri Sigma, Longwood, and Delta Xi Phi, UIUC, 1898 and 1994, Respectively

Today, April 20, two sororities, Tri Sigma and Delta Xi Phi, celebrate anniversaries. Happy Founders’ Day to you both! On April 20, 1898, at Virginia’s State Female Normal School in Farmville, eight women – Lucy Wright,  Margaret Batten, Elizabeth Watkins, Louise Davis, … Continue reading

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Founded on April 17 in “I” States – Alpha Xi Delta, Beta Sigma Psi, and Gamma Phi Omega

Three GLOs celebrate Founders’ Day today. All were founded in “I’ states (Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, or Idaho). Two of the organizations Alpha Xi Delta and Beta Sigma Psi were founded in Illinois, in 1893 and 1925, respectively. Gamma Phi Omega … Continue reading

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1 in 5 Does Not Equal 6.1 in 1000, Prayers for Hokies, and a Jeopardy! Question

Recently, I was speaking with a sorority woman who was ready to graduate from a large midwestern state university. We began chatting about that 1 in 5 women statistic which has been bandied about in Congress and throughout all sorts … Continue reading

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Was Lincoln in a Fraternity? and More

Today is Tax Day. It’s also the day on which Abraham Lincoln died in 1865, after having been shot the night before at Ford’s Theatre. Was Lincoln in a fraternity? The answer is no. Lincoln did not attend college. One … Continue reading

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2:15 p.m., April 9, 2015 – Bells Across the Land

On April 9, 1865, at 2:08 p.m. General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant met at the Appomattox Court House. The two agreed to end the hostilities which had gripped the nation for four years. Today, 150 years … Continue reading

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A ΦΓΔ and an AΦ Meet at Syracuse – Ruth and Norman Vincent Peale

From the “Did I know about this?” file. One of the readers of this blog sent me an e-mail: I was watching Turner Class Movies last night and stumbled onto “One Man’s Way”, a biopic about Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. … Continue reading

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Who Was Thomas Arkle Clark, Dean of Men?

I just spent two days of research in my very favorite place to research, the Student Life and Culture Archives at the University of Illinois. I was on a specific quest, so I didn’t have time to just open books … Continue reading

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