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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.
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- #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
The League of Women Voters (and, of course, a Women’s Fraternity is Involved!)
Carrie Lane was born on January 9, 1859, in Ripon, Wisconsin. She enrolled at Iowa State University in the fall of 1876. Carrie was an active member of what is today known as the Iowa Gamma Chapter of Pi Beta Phi which … Continue reading
My Double Sisters and Me – P.E.O. and Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi was founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867 at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. The second chapter of I.C. Sorosis was founded in December of 1868 at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant Iowa, 58 … Continue reading
Abstract of Coeducation and the History of Women’s Fraternities 1867-1902
I’ve promised a few people that I will get the dissertation on this web-site. It’s just taking a little longer than I anticipated (aka the Becque principle), so here is the abstract to whet your appetite. AN ABSTRACT OF THE … Continue reading
So Long SIU Greek Row…….
The above plaque is on the sidewalk in front of where the “Greek Row” sign once greeted visitors to SIUC’s fraternity housing. The sign is gone and, for all intents and purposes, so are the fraternity and sororities members for … Continue reading
Fun Facts to Know and Tell About SIUC’s Fraternity System
Fun Facts to Know and Tell About Southern Illinois University at Carbondale’s Fraternity System The first local women’s fraternity at SIUC was Epsilon Beta in 1923. SIUC’s first national women’s fraternity was Delta Sigma Epsilon, a member of the Association … Continue reading
Grace Goodhue and Calvin Coolidge – Pi Beta Phi and Phi Gamma Delta – The First President and First Lady Initiated into Greek-Letter Societies while in College
When Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President on August 3, 1923, it heralded a fraternity first. The nation had its first couple who had both been initiated as members of Greek letter societies while in college. Grace Goodhue was … Continue reading
Panhellenic House —> Beekman Tower (Panhellenic) —> Beekman Tower Hotel
If you’re ever in New York City, near the United Nations Building, you might notice to the north a small hotel called the Beekman Tower. Its official address is 3 Mitchell Place, but it really is on the corner of … Continue reading
The Fraternity System at SIU Carbondale in 1960
From A HISTORY OF THE FRATERNITY SYSTEM AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FROM 1948 THROUGH 1960 by Frances DeSimone Becque Men’s Fraternities 1953 Phi Kappa Tau (Beta Chi Chapter) An Acacia Colony existed between 1952 and 1954, when it was merged … Continue reading
Epsilon Beta Bench at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
In 1926, three years after it was founded, Epsilon Beta, a local organization at Southern Illinois Normal University, gave this bench to the University. It sits in front of Wheeler Hall. At the time it was given, Wheeler Hall served … Continue reading
Thanks for Visiting My Blog!
Welcome! The history of women’s fraternities has been one of my great passions. I was likely the last person anyone in my high school would have suspected would join a sorority in college. I am sure I would have agreed … Continue reading
