Category Archives: Fran Favorite

My Favorite Sicilian (the Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree)

For all intents and purposes, I am a first-generation American. My mother’s family was newly arrived in New York City when she was born in the 1930s. My father would not arrive in America until the 1950s. Of my four … Continue reading

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“He Who Enters Selfishly Here – Endangers” Dean Maria Leonard on Fraternity Life, 1938

“He who enters selfishly here – endangers” is the quote from University of Illinois Dean of Women Maria Leonard which appears on a small card titled “A Code.” It was found in a 1938 scrapbook put together by a young … Continue reading

Posted in Butler University, Conventions, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Student Life and Culture Archival Program, University of Illinois, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on “He Who Enters Selfishly Here – Endangers” Dean Maria Leonard on Fraternity Life, 1938

(And a One, and a Two) Happy Birthday, Sigma Alpha Iota!

Sigma Alpha Iota, a social organization for women with a special interest in music, was founded on June 12, 1903, at the University of Michigan’s School of Music.  It was incorporated in the State of Michigan on December 1, 1904. … Continue reading

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Mrs. M. Daniel Becque Reflects Upon Social Usage and NPC Editors

In 1957, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) met in French Lick, Indiana. The Editors met, too, and the picture below was taken of the Editors’ group. It caught my eye recently as I was searching for something else in an … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , | Comments Off on Mrs. M. Daniel Becque Reflects Upon Social Usage and NPC Editors

The Tony Awards and the Sorority Women Who Have Won One

Sorority women who have won Tony Awards include: Agnes DeMille, Kappa Alpha Theta, 1947 Choreographer, Brigadoon, and 1993 special Tony Award for OKLAHOMA! Patricia Neal, Pi Beta Phi, 1947 Actress, Supporting or Featured (Dramatic), Another Part of the Forrest Sada Thompson, … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Gamma, Delta Sigma Theta, Fran Favorite, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Notable Fraternity Women, Pi Beta Phi, Zeta Tau Alpha | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

And Then There Were Three – The Nearly Extinct Men’s Colleges

American higher education began as an all-male bastion in 1636 when Harvard College was founded primarily to provide the colonies with an educated clergy.  It was not until 200 years later in 1837 that Oberlin College in Ohio enrolled four … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Phi Alpha, Beta Theta Pi, Chi Phi, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Hampden-Sydney College, Iota Phi Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Morehouse College, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Kappa Psi, Wabash College | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on And Then There Were Three – The Nearly Extinct Men’s Colleges

Why Did NPC Meet at the Columbus Safe Deposit Vaults in Chicago?

  The National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization for 26 women’s fraternities/sororities, was founded 111 years ago on May 24, 1902. Alpha Phi’s delegate, Minnie Ruth Terry, made the arrangements for the meeting. She “found a most appropriate place for … Continue reading

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Happy Founders’ Day 2013, 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.  The Alpha Gamma Delta Founders are Marguerite Shepard, Jennie Titus Smith, Georgia Otis Chipman, Ethel Evelyn … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly, Conventions, Emily Butterfield, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Sorority History, Syracuse University, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Happy Founders’ Day 2013, Alpha Gamma Delta!

On Memorial Day – WAVES, Smith College, Grace Coolidge, and a ΠΦ Connection

Seventy years ago, America was in the midst of World War II. Women had limited opportunities to be of service in the war effort. Some women became WAVES. Established by Public Law 689 on July 30, 1942, the official name … Continue reading

Posted in First Ladies, Fran Favorite, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Pi Beta Phi, Smith College, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on On Memorial Day – WAVES, Smith College, Grace Coolidge, and a ΠΦ Connection

5/25/1928 – The Rebirth of the Monmouth Duo Begins

Monmouth College, the birthplace of the women’s fraternity movement, is in Monmouth, Illinois, a small town about 15 miles from the Mississippi River in Warren County. The two organizations founded there – Pi Beta Phi in 1867 and Kappa Kappa … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 5/25/1928 – The Rebirth of the Monmouth Duo Begins