Categories
-
There are many posts on this blog. Use the search button to find the posts about your organization.
Welcome!
Welcome! Chances are good you found this blog by searching for something about fraternities or sororities.
I was the last person anyone would have suspected of joining a sorority in college. I am sure I would have agreed with them, too.
When I made my way to Syracuse University, I saw the houses with the Greek letters that edged Walnut Park, and wished I could tour them. My roommate suggested I sign up for rush (as it was then called, today it’s known as recruitment) and go through the house tour round and then drop out of rush. It sounded like a plan. I didn’t realize that I would end up feeling at home at one of the chapters. And that I would become a member.
In this blog I will share the history of GLOs and other topics. I wrote a dissertation on “Coeducation and the History of Women’s Fraternities 1867-1902.″ It chronicles the growth of the system and the birth of the National Panhellenic Conference.
My Master’s thesis details the history of the fraternity system at Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 1948-1960. The dates are significant ones and the thesis is available on the top menu.
I have done research at the Student Life Archives and have written several histories of University of Illinois fraternity chapters for the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing.
Thanks for stopping by.
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Pages
- #notablesororitywomen ALL IN ONE PLACE
- BIO AND PUBLICATIONS
- Fraternity and Sorority Members Competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics
- GRACE GOODHUE COOLIDGE – A LOYAL PI BETA PHI
- HERE’S TO THE FRATERNITY HAT BANDS!
- PANHELLENIC HOUSE TO BEEKMAN TOWER HOTEL
- POSTS ABOUT THE P.E.O. SISTERHOOD
- SORORITY WOMEN COMPETING IN MISS USA 2026 AND MISS TEEN USA 2026
- SORORITY WOMEN ON THE ROAD TO MISS AMERICA 2027 (2026 STATE WINNERS)
- SORORITY WOMEN WHO HAVE WON EMMY AWARDS
- SORORITY WOMEN WHO HAVE WON MISS AMERICA AND MISS USA
- STATE GOVERNORS WHO HAVE BEEN SORORITY WOMEN
- THE ILLINOIS STATE CHAPTER OF P.E.O. AND THE LULU CORKHILL WILLIAMS FRIENDSHIP FUND
- The State by State Tour of Graves, Founding Sites, and HQs for NPC GLOs
- U.S. PRESIDENTS AND FRATERNITY MEN – FIRST LADIES AND SORORITY WOMEN
Posts about #NotableSororityWomen
10 + 2 Sorority Women with Pulitzer Prizes
10 Authors Who Are Sorority Women (Hint – Caddie Woodlawn, Kinsey Millhone, Atticus Finch, Too)
10 GLO Authors for Children’s Book Week
10 Sorority Women from the Golden Age of Television
Doctors Who Wore Badges: Fraternity Women in Medicine 1867-1902
Female Senators and Their Sorority Affiliation – 2019 Edition
For International Women’s Day, Another 10 Amazing NPC Women!
Fraternity Women Who Were Lawyers, 1867-1902 (When Women Could Not Vote!)
Hidden Figures on Alpha Kappa Alpha Founders’ Day
Sorority Women Writing Stories Whose Characters Are Sorority Women
NPC
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and http://wp.me/p20I1i-1Mj
Alpha Gamma Delta
Alpha Omicron Pi
Grace Humiston
Alpha Phi
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Sigma Tau
Elsie Katherine Bergegrun, M.D.
Alpha Xi Delta
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Dr. “Mattibelle” Boger Shattuck
Delta Gamma
Carlotta Joaquina Maury, Ph.D.
Delta Phi Epsilon
Delta Zeta
Crown Princess Martha of Norway
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Meghan Markle, HRH The Dutchess of Sussex
Phi Mu
Phi Sigma Sigma
Pi Beta Phi
Mary Elizabeth Lasher Barnette
Marguerite “Peg” Lindsley (Arnold)
Sigma Delta Tau
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Theta Phi Alpha
Mildred “Millie” Lonergan McAuliffe
Zeta Tau Alpha
NPHC
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Delta Sigma Theta
Sigma Gamma Rho
Zeta Phi Beta
Category Archives: Fran Favorite
Happy Founders’ Day, Zeta Phi Beta!
Arizona Cleaver, along with her four friends, Pearl Neal, Myrtle Tyler, Viola Tyler, and Fannie Pettie, are the five pearls of Zeta Phi Beta. They are the organization’s founders. The idea for the organization happened several months earlier when Cleaver … Continue reading
Happy Founders’ Day, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated!
There is an updated post for 2016. See http://wp.me/s20I1i-9537. Alpha Kappa Alpha, 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 … Continue reading
And There She Is – The List of Miss Americas Who Belong to Sororities
The Miss America pageant began in 1921 and a number of sorority women have worn the Miss America crown since then. One winner even crowned a chapter sister as her successor. In 1960, outgoing Miss America Mary Ann Mobley crowned … Continue reading
Happy 100th Birthday Delta Sigma Theta!
January 13, 2013 marks the 100th birthday of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. To commemorate the occasion, the sorority celebrated with a float entered in the New Year’s Day Tournament of Roses Parade. The theme of the float was “Transforming Communities … Continue reading
The Circle of Sisterhood – Sorority Women Helping Women Worldwide!
“Why can’t we have a sisterhood (society/sorority) of our own?” is a theme that can be found in most of the histories of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) women’s fraternities/sororities. It was a similar kind of thought that led to … Continue reading
Maria Leonard, Alpha Lambda Delta Founder and Illini Dean of Women
Maria Leonard was an alumna of Butler University. After studying voice at Butler, she earned a Master’s degree in mathematics from Colorado College. Her intention was to be a mathematics teacher. Educational administration was then a relatively new field and, … Continue reading
Happy Birthday to My Favorite First Lady, Grace Coolidge!
January 3 is the birthday of Grace Goodhue Coolidge. Gracious and humble, she was a dedicated member of Pi Beta Phi, having been a charter member of the chapter at the University of Vermont. She also served as Alpha Province … Continue reading
New Ocean House, Swampscott, MA, the Site of Many Fraternity and Sorority Conventions
From the 1920s until the 1960s, the New Ocean House in Swampscott, Massachusetts, was the site of many conventions, including those of fraternities and sororities. Alpha Chi Omega’s 1924 convention took place at the New Ocean House. Kappa Kappa Gammas … Continue reading
Walt Disney World and Fraternity Connections?
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is a magical place, at least that’s how my family and I regard it. For decades, Greek-letter organizations have had conventions in or near the Disney Parks. Sometimes the organizations spend a “day at the … Continue reading
A Holiday First for the Coolidges and the United States
At 5 p.m. on December 24, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge (Phi Gamma Delta, Amherst College) began a White House tradition. He touched a button and the electric lights on a 48-foot balsam fir sparkled with electricity. First Lady Grace Goodhue … Continue reading
