In 1907, September the 13th fell on a Friday, too. The 6th National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) meeting started on that day. NPC was then known as the Inter-Sorority Conference; it went though several name changes in its early years, as this letterhead illustrates.
The 1907 meeting was chaired by Chi Omega’s National Vice President Jobelle Holcombe, who was also one of its founders. Chi Omega was founded on April 5, 1895 at the University of Arkansas.
After graduation, Holcombe remained at her alma mater where she became an English professor. On June 9, 1947, the University of Arkansas awarded her a “Doctor of Laws” degree and she was the first woman to receive this honor. The University’s Holcombe Hall is named for her.
Holcombe is not the only founder to have also served as NPC Chairman. She is, however, the only founder of an organization that is still today a member of NPC who has served as Chairman of NPC.
Violet Young Gentry was a founder of Alpha Delta Theta; it was founded in 1919 at Transylvania College. Gentry chaired the 1939 NPC meeting. At the meeting ended, Alpha Delta Theta merged with Phi Mu.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com. 2013. All Rights Reserved.
