Category Archives: Sorority History

On Thanksgiving Eve Tri Delta Celebrates

If I had a top ten list of the fraternity greats, living or dead, with whom I could have dinner, Sarah Ida Shaw Martin would be on that list. Tri Deltas know her as Sarah Ida Shaw; the rest of … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Sigma Alpha, Boston University, Delta Delta Delta, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Ida Shaw Martin, Knox College, Simpson College, Sorority History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on On Thanksgiving Eve Tri Delta Celebrates

A White Rose for Kappa Delta’s Founding Day as NPC Friends Gather in Dallas

Kappa Delta was founded on October 23, 1897 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its founders are Lenora Ashmore Blackiston, Sara Turner White, Mary Sommerville Sparks Hendrick., and Julia Gardiner Tyler Wilson, the granddaughter of … Continue reading

Posted in Chi Omega, Farmville Four, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Longwood University, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A White Rose for Kappa Delta’s Founding Day as NPC Friends Gather in Dallas

Convention Bound, Choo Choo! #reachingnewheights

As I pack for the Pi Beta Phi Convention in Chicago, I can’t help but think back on a convention which took place 100 years ago. In 1915, Berkeley, California was the site of Pi Phi’s first west coast convention. … 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

Posted in Fran Favorite, Longwood University, Mabel Lee Walton, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Sorority History, University of Illinois, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on April 20 – Tri Sigma, Longwood, and Delta Xi Phi, UIUC, 1898 and 1994, Respectively

NPC Organizations That No Longer Exist; A Reflection on International Badge Day

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) celebrates International Badge Day on the first Monday in March. NPC asks its members to “Wear Your Letters on Your Heart.” Men’s fraternities and other Greek-letter organizations have joined in on the fun. The more the merrier, … Continue reading

Posted in Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iota Alpha Pi, National Panhellenic Conference, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on NPC Organizations That No Longer Exist; A Reflection on International Badge Day

Sorority Women Who Have Won Pulitzer Prizes

In sorting books for the upcoming Friends of Carbondale Public Library Book Sale, I came across a vintage copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. It has a “Pulitzer Prize Novel” prominently displayed on it. That got me to thinking about sorority women … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Colby College, Delta Delta Delta, Fran Favorite, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Northwestern University, Phi Mu, Sorority History, Syracuse University, University of California at Berkeley, Women's Fraternities, Women's Fraternity History, Zeta Tau Alpha | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The ABCs of NPC History

A – Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Theta Phi Alpha was founded. B – Boston University, where Delta Delta Delta was founded. C – Colby College, where Sigma Kappa was founded. D – DePauw University, where Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha … Continue reading

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Among Kindred Spirits – Recharging the Archivist’s Batteries

This past weekend, the University of Illinois Archives’ Student Life and Culture Archival Program hosted the third National Archives Conference for Fraternities and Sororities. The conference is designed to provide archival training and support to headquarters staff and volunteers who oversee their organization’s archives. … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Phi Gamma Delta, Sorority History, Student Life and Culture Archival Program, University of Illinois | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Happy 110th Birthday, Alpha Gamma Delta!

Alpha Gamma Delta was founded at Syracuse University on May 30, 1904 at the home of Dr. Wellesley Perry Coddington, a Syracuse University professor.  It is the youngest of the Syracuse Triad, Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Gamma … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly, Emily Butterfield, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, National Panhellenic Conference, Sorority History, Syracuse University, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Happy 110th Birthday, Alpha Gamma Delta!

An Adelphean Fountain on Alpha Delta Pi’s Founders’ Day

On May 15, 1851, Alpha Delta Pi was founded as the Adelphean Society at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia by six young women. The founders are Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald, Ella Pierce Turner, Octavia Andrew Rush, Mary Evans Glass, Sophronia Woodruff … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Delta Phi, Alpha Delta Pi, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Sorority History, Wesleyan College | Tagged , | Comments Off on An Adelphean Fountain on Alpha Delta Pi’s Founders’ Day