Category Archives: Women’s Fraternities

Happy Founders’ Day, My Dear Pi Beta Phi!

When Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois opened in September 1856, 26 of the 99 students were women. Ten years later, when the 1866-67 academic year began, the cost of the first term was $12 in tuition and $9 for each … Continue reading

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The Early History of the Women’s Fraternity System at the University of Kansas

By 1870, eight state universities accepted women; these institutions were the Universities of Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, and California (Newcomer, 1959).  Women’s fraternities provided the female students with a support system in an educational environment that was … Continue reading

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Happy Founders’ Day Tri Sigma – Its Robbie Page Memorial Fund Honors a National President’s Son

Sigma Sigma Sigma was founded on April 20, 1898, at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia (now Longwood University). The founders are Lucy Wright, Margaret Batten, Elizabeth Watkins, Louise Davis, Martha Trent Featherston, Lelia Scott, Isabella Merrick, and Sallie … Continue reading

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Happy Founders’ Day, Alpha Xi Delta (and a Connection to Carl Sandburg)

Alpha Xi Delta was founded at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois on April 17, 1893. Its founders are Cora Bollinger Block, Alice Bartlett Bruner, Bertha Cook Evans, Harriett Luella McCollum, Lucy W. Gilmer, Lewie Strong Taylor, Almira Lowry Cheney, Frances Elisabeth … Continue reading

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Musings on a Western Union Telegram from Chi O to Pi Phi

This gem was found in a 1957 scrapbook. Evidently the Syracuse University Greek Week skit competition was fairly intense that year. The gracious ladies of the Chi Omega chapter sent a telegram to congratulate the winners, the sisters of the … Continue reading

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Fraternity Women Who Were Lawyers, 1867-1902 (When Women Could Not Vote!)

During the time frame of this study, 1867-1902, women had few legal rights.  Therefore, it is interesting to note that several of these early fraternity women became lawyers at a time when women were not yet allowed to vote.  In … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, DePauw University, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Fraternity Women, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, University of Minnesota, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Fraternity Women Who Were Lawyers, 1867-1902 (When Women Could Not Vote!)

Goucher College – Home of a Once Thriving Women’s Fraternity System

  The Women’s College of Baltimore, today known as Goucher College, was founded in 1885 and graduated its first class in 1892.  It was one of the few women’s colleges hosting chapters of national women’s fraternities.  There is evidence of … Continue reading

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The Syracuse – Michigan Match-Up, the Non-Athletic Version

Syracuse and Michigan play a basketball game tonight. It’s part of the coveted Final Four of NCAA basketball. The Final Four usually not a big deal in the Becque household (well, at least not in my life – my sons … Continue reading

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The ΧΩ Connection – Founders’ Day and a Greek Theater at the University of Arkansas

Happy Founders’ Day to Chi Omega!  With the help of a Fayetteville dentist, Kappa Sigma Dr. Charles Richardson, Chi Omega was founded by Ina Mae Boles, Jean Vincenheller, Jobelle Holcombe, and Alice Simonds on April 5, 1895 at the University of … Continue reading

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A Bittersweet Day in the Archives

Upon my arrival at the Pi Beta Phi Archives yesterday, I was met with about 30 boxes of various sizes and shapes. They were the remains of my own chapter, the New York Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi. Its … Continue reading

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