With Thoughts of Mary Matthews on the Purdue Pi Phi Centennial

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

I love attending chapter anniversaries. There is nothing better than to see conversations start where they left off decades ago as if no time had transpired.  When I was asked if I would speak at the 100th anniversary of the Purdue chapter of Pi Beta Phi, I respectfully declined. It happened to be the weekend after our wedding anniversary and the question was asked about the time I realized I would be away from home for my husband’s birthday. Then a dear friend, an alumna of the chapter, asked if I’d reconsider and said “why not bring Dan along.” I replied that if I could stay at a dog friendly hotel, it might actually happen. Dan just had to agree to the deal. And I am so glad she convinced me to attend. 

That’s how my husband, our two dogs and I ended up at Purdue this past weekend. And we never realized that our dogs are Purdue colors. As we walked them around campus, someone said that we’d taken the colors to new heights and we silently looked at each other with “and we’re not even alums” grins.

Mary L. Matthews was an important person in the life of the chapter. She was hired in 1912 when there were 40 women attending Purdue. There’s a fascinating interview with her on a Purdue website. She taped the interview in 1956 after she retired – the mandatory retirement age was 70 – and she told the story of the school of home economics. She said that in 1905, no one wanted women at Purdue, the intention was to have it be a men’s school. Women weren’t very welcomed. Eight years after Matthews was  hired, there were 200 women enrolled.

Twenty men’s fraternities were affiliated with national organizations before the first national women’s fraternity was chartered. Delta Rho, a local sorority, was organized on December 14, 1915, and because there were three faculty members who were Tri Deltas and two of the early members of Delta Rho were Tri Deltas at Franklin College, the group thought they’d try for a Tri Delta charter. But Agnes Tilson, a Home Ec instructor who was a Butler Pi Phi and Verna Weaver, a student who was a University of Washington Pi Phi, likely had influence over the women. Matthews was the Delta Rho’s faculty advisor.

In the summer of 1920 the Delta Rhos put a petition together and that fall they entertained members from the chapters in the Pi Beta Phi province. Word was received in late November that the petition was approved and the chapter would be installed after Christmas.

Anna Lytle Tannahill, Grand President, installed the chapter on January 1, 1921. The preinitiation events took place on December 31st. Can you imagine installing a chapter at that time of year! Tannahill had become a widow in 1917 when her husband of four years was killed in a car accident. After his death she took a job at Beloit College and was serving as Pi Phi’s Grand President. The holiday break was a time she could take off from work. It all came together quickly.

Members from five Pi Phi active chapters and alumnae from many chapters attended. “With the exception of the banquet and the two luncheons, given by alumnae and patronesses, all events took place at the chapter house at 217 Waldron, which had been the home of Delta Rho since its founding.”

Mary Mathews and Anna Tannahill, the Grand President, must have hit it off quite nicely. On January 2, at the first chapter meeting, the Grand President gave the chapter the privilege of asking Matthews to be a member of Pi Beta Phi and she accepted. She was initiated by the Grand President at the convention in Carlevoix, Michigan in the summer of 1921. The Arrow reported, “Those who were privileged to meet Miss Matthews at Charlevoix with her poise, her charming manner, and her eyes and face alight with happiness, felt that she would bring great honor to Pi Beta Phi.”

And great honor she did indeed bring to the chapter and the fraternity Matthews was also one of its most tireless workers. The recipe file was one of the ways the chapter raised funds for the purchase. The recipes include one from the First Lady, a Pi Phi. Matthews was a force behind this project.

Matthews loved the chapter. One of the letters sent to Dean Matthews on the 25th anniversary by Helen Rogers Frankenberry summed up Mathew’s devotion to the chapter:

It means so much to us – the charter members of Delta Rho, to celebrate our Silver Anniversary Reunion at Purdue in May. In looking back to the time in 1916, of our renting and furnishing the house at 217 Waldron Street, then following the progress made in being granted the Pi Beta Phi charter in 1921, the moving into the house on Littleton Street, and finally the building of the beautiful Chapter House on State Street, we should all feel very proud. Your wise counsel and guidance have made all of this possible and we all thank you for your loving kindness through the years.

The property purchased and house constructed on State Street, still the chapter’s home today, are testament to Mary Matthews’ dedication and loyalty. Her name still lives on in the library in the chapter house and on Matthews Hall on campus.

Dean Mary L. Matthews

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Alpha Epsilon Phi and Delta Zeta Share a Founding Day

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Two National Panhellenic Conference groups, Delta Zeta and Alpha Epsilon Phi, were founded on October 24. In 1902, Delta Zeta made its debut at Miami University in Ohio; Alpha Epsilon Phi was founded in 1909 at Barnard College in New York City.

Delta Zeta’s founders are Alfa Lloyd, Mary Collins, Anna Keen, Julia Bishop, Mabelle Minton, and Ann Simmons. I find it so very interesting that Delta Zeta’s history includes the heritage of several other NPC organizations, for it has absorbed or merged with several other former NPC groups. Between 1941 and 1962, the members of four other NPC groups became members of Delta Zeta. The organizations with which Delta Zeta has absorbed or merged include Beta Phi Alpha, Theta Upsilon, Phi Omega Pi, and Delta Sigma Epsilon. Prior to these groups becoming a part of Delta Zeta, many had themselves merged with other groups.

The first group to become a part of Delta Zeta was Beta Phi Alpha; it was founded as Bide-a-wee on May 8, 1909 at the University of California-Berkeley. A few months later, the name changed to Aldebaran, In 1919, it became Kappa Phi Alpha. It then changed its name to Beta Phi Alpha. In 1923, Beta Phi Alpha joined NPC. On June 22, 1941, Beta Phi Alpha was absorbed by Delta Zeta. At that point, 30 chapters had been installed and there were 3,000 members. Beta Phi Alpha’s “Convention Lights” is still sung at the close of Delta Zeta conventions.

Phi Omega Pi was founded at the University of Nebraska on March 5, 1910. In its early years, membership was limited to those belonging to the Order of the Eastern Star. In 1931, this restriction was eliminated. It was granted associate NPC membership in 1930 and full membership in 1933. On October 1 of that year, Sigma Phi Beta, founded at New York University on November 1, 1920 under the name of Sigma Sigma Omicron, was absorbed by Phi Omega Pi. On August 10, 1946, Delta Zeta absorbed Phi Omega Pi.

Delta Sigma Epsilon was founded on September 23, 1914 at Miami University. In the fall of 1941, Pi Delta Theta merged with Delta Sigma Epsilon. In 1956, Delta Sigma Epsilon was absorbed by Delta Zeta. At the time of the merger more than 13,000 women had been initiated as Delta Sigma Epsilons members in its 52 chapters. 

Theta Upsilon was founded at the University of California-Berkeley in 1914. Its roots can be traced to 1909 when a group of women rented a house on Walnut Street that they called “Walnut Shell.” On January 1, 1914, they organized as the Mekatina (“Among the Hills”) Club. Theta Upsilon was granted associate NPC membership in 1923 and full membership in 1928. In September 1933, Lambda Omega, which was founded on May 5, 1923 at the University of California-Berkeley, became a part of Theta Upsilon. On May 6, 1962, Theta Upsilon became a part of Delta Zeta.

Crown Princess Martha of Norway, Delta Zeta

Crown Princess Martha of Norway, Delta Zeta

To read more about Princess Martha of Norway, a Delta Zeta, see http://wp.me/p20I1i-qA

Alpha Epsilon Phi

Alpha Epsilon Phi was founded in Helen Phillips’ room. She had the inspiration for the group as a way to stay in closer contact with her friends. The other founders are Ida Beck, Rose Gerstein, Augustina “Tina” Hess, Lee Reiss, Stella Strauss and Rose Salmowitz.

The seven shared their Jewish heritage. A second chapter was quickly founded two months later at nearby Hunter College. The founding chapter at Barnard was closed when the college banned Greek-letter organizations in 1913.

Today, Alpha Epsilon Phi notes that the organization is a Jewish sorority, “but not a religious organization, with membership open to all college women, regardless of religion, who honor, respect and appreciate our Jewish identity and are comfortable in a culturally Jewish environment.”

Some of Alpha Epsilon Phi’s early philanthropic efforts include providing aid to the Jewish victims of World War I. The March 21, 1919 New York Times includes a headline “A Dance for Jewish War Relief.” The dance took place on March 22, 1919 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The patronesses were listed and they included Mrs. Henry Morganthau, Mrs. Michael Friedman, Mrs. Israel Unterberg, Mrs. Albert Stern, Mrs. Fred Stern, and Mrs. Irving Lehman. 

During World War II, Alpha Epsilon Phi adopted another project to benefit the war effort. They raised $1,500 and donated a fully equipped ambulance and canteen unit. The Nu Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh held a bridge party at the Schenley Hotel on December 20, 1942. The two co-chairmen from the active chapter were Harriet Harris and Shirley Sheffler. Sarah Pitler served as the alumnae club representative. There were to be door prizes and a $25 war bond was raffled.

On April 13, 1942, an ambulance was turned over to U.S. Army at a ceremony held at the Hotel New Yorker in New York City. The ambulance had a silver plaque on it acknowledging it as a gift from Alpha Epsilon Phi. 

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Olga Achtenhagen, Kappa Delta, #NotableSororityWomen

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Kappa Delta was founded on October 23, 1897 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its founders are Lenora Ashmore Blackiston, Julia Gardiner Tyler Wilson, Sara Turner White and Mary Sommerville Sparks Hendrick.

Among the charter members of Kappa Delta’s Psi Chapter at Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin was Olga Achtenhagen.  The year was 1918. After graduating from Lawrence, Achtenhagen earned additional degrees from Columbia University and Oxford University. Her trip to England for study may well have been her first trip abroad, but it was far from her last.

Achtenhagen taught at Appleton High School and was on the Lawrence College faculty until the late 1930s. She was nicknamed the “hiking professor” and it was estimated that on three trips abroad during the 1930s, she walked 3,000 miles.

Her travels were highlighted in convocation talks to the  Lawrence College students. In a 1931 talk about her travels to England and Germany, Achtenhagen told the Lawrence students “my mem­ories of these days of travel are mem­ories of people rather than places. The places we saw were made mem­orable by the people who once lived there.”

She also spoke to civic groups about her travels. On January 5, 1936, she spoke to the County Nurses’ Association  in Neenah (WI). Her subject was “Summer in Capri,” the Italian island where she spent several weeks during the summer of 1935.

She served Kappa Delta as National President (1931-35) and she spent six years as Angelos Editor. Her 1931 Founders’ Day message was a heartfelt one,  “Our founders’ faith in each other made it possible for them to work together; their hope in a living God made their vision seem attainable; and their gift of love converted a dream to reality.”

In a 1934 talk about her travels she said,  “I like to remember lest I for­get . . . . What I see and what I hear on these occasions usually becomes a symbol of remembrance, and it is  the remembering that matters.”

In 1937, she moved to Plainfield, New Jersey, where she taught English at Plainfield High School.  There she served as Chairman of the English Department and Coordinator of Language Arts. She retired in 1958.

The travel bug never left her and she spent 35 years as a freelance travel writer. Her articles appeared in many publications including the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly and the Christian Science Monitor. She authored novels, poems, and three textbooks. Achtenhagen was a member of the journalism honorary Theta Sigma Phi and Mortar Board.

In 1959, she and two other charter members of the Psi Chapter attended Kappa Delta’s Wisconsin State Day. She spoke about the “Position of the Fraternity.” Achtenhagen died on August 20, 1976 at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital in New York City. She was 77 years old. 

Olga

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Alpha Chi Omega and Zeta Tau Alpha Share a Founders’ Day

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Chi Omega and Zeta Tau Alpha celebrate Founders’ Day on October 15. How amazing is it that the first organization and the last organization on the alphabetical listing of National Panhellenic Conference members share the same Founders’ Day?

On Thursday, October 15 1885, Alpha Chi Omega was founded at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Thirteen years later, on Saturday, October 15, 1898, Zeta Tau Alpha was founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia.

Alpha Chi Omega’s seven founders are Anna Allen, Olive Burnett, Bertha Deniston, Amy DuBois, Nellie Gamble, Bessie Grooms and Estelle Leonard. They were students in the DePauw School of Music and at the beginning insisted its members possess some musical culture. With guidance and support from James Hamilton Howe, Dean of the School of Music, they created an organization. James Campbell, a member of Beta Theta Pi, offered advice in the creation of a constitution and by-laws.

Alpha Chi Omega’s first appearance was in Meharry Hall of East College. The seven women wore scarlet and olive ribbon streamers attached to their dresses to display the organization’s colors.

Zeta Tau Alpha‘s founders are Alice Maud Jones Horner, Frances Yancey Smith, Alice Bland Coleman, Ethel Coleman Van Name, Ruby Bland Leigh Orgain, Mary Campbell Jones Batte, Helen May Crafford, Della Lewis Hundley, and Alice Grey Welsh. For a short time, the group was known on the Farmville campus as ???.  An invitation sent to the two groups then on the campus read “The ??? will be delighted to receive the Kappa Delta and Sigma Sigma Sigma fraternities in the end room in Nursey Hall at 8:30 P.M.”

Both organizations installed chapters at Purdue University within a few years of one another. Mary L. Matthews, who spent most of her career at Purdue University where she served as Dean of the School of Home Economics. There were 40 females enrolled at Purdue when Matthews was hired in 1912. Nineteen men’s fraternities established chapters before the first National Panhellenic Conference organization, Kappa Alpha Theta, was chartered in 1915.

Alpha Beta of Alpha Chi Omega, 1920

Alpha Chi Omega’s Alpha Beta Chapter was installed on April 26, 1918 at Purdue University. It had been the Alpha Beta Club and it began in 1916 with four women.  The women rented a home at 115 Andrew Place. Three of Alpha Chi Omega’s founders, Olive Burnett, Estelle Leonard and Annie Allen Smith, attended the installation banquet at the  Fowler Hotel. They told of the early days of Alpha Chi.

Zeta Tau Alpha’s Alpha Theta Chapter at Purdue was installed on September 10, 1921. It had been the Phi Zeta local organization. Twenty women were initiated as members of Zeta Tau Alpha, nine of whom were alumnae and ex-students.

The charter member of the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter at Purdue University

 

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Aryness Joy Wickens on Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Founders’ Day #NotableSororityWomen

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

On October 13, 1870, Kappa Kappa Gamma made its debut at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Kappa Kappa Gamma’s founders are Mary Moore “Minnie” Stewart, Anna Elizabeth Willits, Susan Burley Walker, Hanna Jeanette “Jennie” Boyd, Mary Louise “Lou” Bennett,  and Martha Louisa “Lou” Stevenson. Some of the founders recalled that the organization was founded in March, 1870, but that the appearance was delayed until fall, because the badges had been difficult to procure.  Willet’s mother was the one who came up with the idea of using a key as the badge.  The first badges were made by the Bennett’s family jeweler who was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In order to have the badges made, 12 had to be ordered at a price of $5 each. Since the 1876 Convention, October 13 has been celebrated as Founders’ Day.

The Monmouth College Courier noted the fraternity’s debut in an October 1870 issue, “They wear a little golden key, sometimes on their foreheads, sometimes on their little blue or red jackets. . . . It has three letters on it, KKG. . . We have been able to count only six of them.”

Having walked the Monmouth campus and downtown many times, I always try to envision what life was like for those 1870 coeds. It never fails to amaze me that Kappa and its Monmouth Duo partner, Pi Beta Phi, are here today. Both were forced to cease operations when the college banned all fraternal organizations in the late 1870s. In those days, the Alpha Chapter, the Mother Chapter, was typically the head of governance of the organization. It issued charters and ran the show. Lucky for both Kappa and Pi Phi that the women who joined the other young chapters of the organizations took charge of things and continued without their respective Alpha chapters. Those who follow the founders often don’t have their status or glory, but their work as “builders” is of vital importance to the organization.

One of the young women who joined the University of Washington chapter during the 1918-19 academic year would have a hand in the creation of the Consumer Price Index. In the fall of 1918 “As soon as we were nicely registered for the first quarter’s work, word came from the authorities that the university was to close on account of the Spanish influenza which had suddenly spread to the Northwest.”

The news of the closure came “right in the middle of the two weeks planned for the entertainment of freshmen girls, the fraternities were thrown into confusion over the problem of pledging, and had to rise to the occasion by making totally different plans.  As a result, the Panhellenic Association decided to do away with all informal gatherings, and pledge immediately, this being to the best advantage of the freshmen.”

Aryness Joy (Wickens) was one of the freshmen women who accepted Kappa’s invitation. As a junior, she was chairman for the Women’s League Concert committee and planned an event that netted $600 (more than $9,000 in 2021 funds) for the cause. Wickens went on to serve as president of the Women’s League and attended  a convention of women who were serving in that capacity in colleges and universities across the country. She was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Wickens earned a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. She spent four years teaching at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. In 1928 she took a job as a research assistant with the Federal Reserve Board and she spent the next 42 years working for the Federal government.  

A statistician and economist, she served as president of the American Statistical Association. Wickens helped develop the Consumer Price Index and was an acting commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the 1958 National Convention, Kappa Kappa Gamma bestowed upon her an Alumnae Achievement Award. In addition she was also honored with a Dept. of Labor Distinguished Service Award and the Achievement Award of the District of Columbia Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Club. Wickens died in 1991.

Aryness Joy Wickens at the 1958 Kappa Kappa Gamma convention

 

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Ina Gittings, Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWomen

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Phi is the oldest of the Syracuse Triad, the three women’s National Panhellenic Conference organizations founded at Syracuse University in upstate New York. The triad consists of Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Gamma Delta. A chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon was established at Syracuse University in 1871.  In September of 1872,  Martha Foote (Crowe), Clara Sittser (Williams) and Kate Hogoboom (Gilbert) discussed  the situation. Foote led the charge and pondered the thought of women  having fraternal organizations comparable to the ones the men enjoyed.  They  invited all the college women to discuss the possibility.

In September 1872, 10 women – the original three and Jane Higham, Clara Bradley (Burdette), Louise Shepherd (Hancock), Florence Chidester (Lukens), Ida Gilbert (Houghton), Elizabeth Grace (Hubbell), and Rena  Michaels (Atchinson) met and pledged allegiance to the sisterhood.  Minutes from the first meeting noted that Michaels was chosen president, plans were  made for weekly meetings at which literary exercises would be part of the  program, and a 25¢ tax was levied for the purchase of a secretary’s book.  The  first debate was “Resolved – that women have their rights.” Founders’ Day is celebrated on October 10.

On January 14, 1885, Ina (pronounced E-nah) Gittings was born in Wilbur Nebraska. While a student at the University of Nebraska she became a charter member of the Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi.

Ina Gittings pole vaulting in 1905 as a student at the University of Nebraska.

Gittings served as an instructor at Reed College in Oregon and took training at the Reed College Reconstruction Clinic to be a reconstructive aide. A report in the Alpha Phi Quarterly quoted a newspaper article,  “(Gittings) goes to the task with the highest technical fitness. More than that she has the charm of character, the poise and the courage that will endear her to those who are privy to come to her after the shock of battle.” After serving as a reconstructive aide in France she went to Tarsus, Turkey to do relief work. 

Ina Gittings in her World War I uniform

She joined the faculty at the University of Montana in 1917 and was instrumental in helping the local Delta Phi Zeta become the Chi Chapter of Alpha Phi. She played a major role in the installation of the chapter. A report in the Quarterly gave this account:

It was in the midst of the great excitement over the baseball finals when Delta Phi Zeta was to play Delta Gamma to decide who should carry off the honors, that Miss Gittings drew one of the girls aside and, with that characteristic gleam of mirth in her eyes, as she pointed to her pocket, said, ‘Call a meeting at the house at one o’clock to hear the contents of this telegram.’ The message flew from ear to ear like lightning. Promptly at one o’clock a more restless, eager, curious, excitable group of girls than that gathered at the Zeta house could not be conceived of.

Miss Gittings drew the telegram from her pocket asking, ‘Can you keep a secret?’ ‘Yes!’ we gasped, all in one breath. Then she calmly unfolded the telegram, while we almost ceased breathing for fear we should miss one word of its contents. She read just one line and the girls burst forth in shouts of joy. Fancy keeping such thrilling news for a whole week. Why! it was written in every smile and in every glean of the eye.

Gittings joined the faculty at the University of Arizona in 1920. In 1925, she earned a Master’s degree from the university and did graduate work at Columbia University. In 1926, the Delta Delta local became the Beta Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi. Again Gittings played an integral role and she served as toastmistress at the banquet to celebrate the instillation of the chapter.

Ina Gittings

She retired in 1955 and spent retirement being just as busy as she had when she was teaching. Gittings died on March 11, 1966. A dance studio and the women’s physical education building at the University of Arizona are named in her honor.

***

It’s also Founders’ Day for these Greek-letter organizations:

October 10, 1904 – Alpha Gamma Rho, founded at Ohio State University. 

October 10, 1910 – Tau Epsilon Phi, founded at Columbia University.

October 10, 1924 – Alpha Delta Gamma, founded at Loyola University, Chicago.

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P.E.O.’s 2001 Convention of International Chapter, Nine Days After 9/11

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Two modern day Convention of International Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood (CIC) have been out of the ordinary. They were the 75tth and 65th CICs.

The 75th CIC took place virtually instead of in Portland, Oregon, as had been planned. And while business was transacted, the love and concern for each other is much harder to convey on a virtual platform. We all missed the hugs, love and laughter of an in person convention.

The 65th CIC began on September 20, 2001, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 9/11 attacks of nine days prior stopped us all in our tracks and disrupted plane travel. One can imagine the discussions that took place via phone, maybe email and likely fax, between the Executive Office in Des Moines and the Executive Board regarding the convention. I suspect there was talk of cancelling it, but ultimately the Board led by President Jane Burtis Smith,* made the decision to proceed as planned.

Of the 50 or so state, provincial and district chapters, only 11 arrived without a change in itinerary. The others scrambled to revise transportation plans. The Washington State delegation had a hard pivot when all their flights were cancelled. They had planned to fly to Kansas City first and tour Cottey College, the college in Nevada, Missouri, owned by the Sisterhood. Instead, they spent three 15-hour days aboard a bus. The 4,000 mile trip gave the delegates and officers time to become well acquainted.

The convention proceeded, but according to an attendee, it “brought us to a new level of sharing. P.E.O. hugs were firmer, and many felt that the opportunity to be together had a healing and reassuring effect at a time when were all reminded of our vulnerability.”

Approximately 1,350 delegates, 700 visitors, 250 BILs (husbands/significant others), and 1,000 volunteers from Wisconsin chapters were in attendance.  “Numerous hotel and convention center employees expressed their gratitude that the convention took place as scheduled, “according to The P.E.O. Record post-CIC article.

Convention attire usually consists of stars, P.E.O.’s symbol, and daisies (its flower is the marguerite). The 2001 CIC also featured a plethora of red, white and blue attire as well as U.S. flags and patriotic jewelry.

At the opening session, two officers from state, province and district chapters carry in their flag. When the New York State Chapter president and organizer came down the center aisle, the assembly stood in tribute. Although I was not there, I’ve heard stories about this from many who were. The next day, a  resolution of concern and support for the victims and their families was adopted.

The Washington delegation in front of the bus they road on for three days. (Photo courtesy of The P.E.O. Record)

A year ago, this article was in The P.E.O. Record. I suspect Carol Ashley wasn’t the only P.E.O. whose life was drastically changed on that ninth day of September in 2001. I thank her for honoring her daughter’s memory with this gift to the P.E.O. Foundation. It will help women who are in needs of low-cost educational loans and funds to return to college.

September-October 2020 P.E.O. Record

*Jane Burtis Smith is a Pi Beta Phi. Brenda Atchison, who presided at the virtual CIC is an Alpha Gamma Delta. The affiliations of Presidents of International Chapter are here.

 

 

 

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September 11, 2001 and the Fraternity and Sorority Members Who Perished

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

It seems like a long time ago and 2001 was a long time ago, especially to someone who is in college today. A newborn then is a full fledged adult now. Fashions that were spot on in 2001 seem very outdated. The 2001 composite in any random fraternity or sorority house probably has been rotated into the basement or attic or to the landfill. Do today’s college freshman have any sense of how earth shattering that day was? In the blink of an eye, lives were cut short and hearts were broken. Plans were crushed and futures changed.

I put together a list of the members of Greek-letter organizations who perished in the events of September 11, 2001 with some help from others. Information was cross-checked to determine the proper spelling of names; I noted college affiliations when they were available. If there are additional names, corrections, etc., please let me know.

Let us not forget their names. As Oscar Hammerstein wrote in Carousel “As long as there is one person on earth who remembers you, it isn’t over.” Please let us not forget their names.

I’ve listed the men’s social organizations alphabetically by fraternity name. The women’s organizations follow after that. The list closes with honorary and professional Greek-letter organizations and local fraternities.

Men’s Social Organizations

Alpha Delta Phi

Jeremy Glick, University of Rochester

Patrick S. Murphy, University of Virginia

Alpha Epsilon Pi

Morton H. Frank, Syracuse University

Barry Glick, Randolph Macon College

Steven Goldstein, University of Michigan

Joshua Rosenblum

Andrew Zucker

Alpha Phi Delta

Christopher Mozzillo, St. John’s University

Robert Tipaldi

Alpha Tau Omega

Robert “Rob” Lenoir, Duke University

Craig Lilore, Muhlenberg College

Donald Peterson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Beta Theta Pi

Ryan A. Kohart, University of North Carolina

Frederick Kuo, Jr., Carnegie Mellon University

Jon A. Perconti, Rutgers University

Lt. Colonel Karl W. Teepe, University of Illinois

Todd C. Weaver, Miami University 

Chi Phi

Timothy “T.J.” Hargrave, Stevens Institute of Technology

Michael Horn, Binghamton University

Eric Thorpe, Lafayette College

Chi Psi

Mark K. Bingham, University of California – Berkeley

Commander Robert A. Schlegel, Washington and Lee University

Michael A. Tanner, Cornell University

Adam S. White, University of Colorado

Delta Chi

Jayceryll M. DeChavez, Rutgers University

M. Blake Wallens, Cornell University

Delta Sigma Phi

Bart Ruggiere, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh

Delta Kappa Epsilon

David O. Campbell, Rutgers University

Delta Phi

Edward R. Pykon, Lehigh University

Delta Tau Delta

Brian Cummins, University of Colorado

Kevin D. Marlo, University of Pittsburgh

Christopher Todd Pitman, Duke University

Delta Upsilon

Thomas Duffy, Union College

Ron Fazio

Aaron Jeremy Jacobs, Colgate University

Charles Zion

Kappa Alpha Order

Robert Maxwell, University of Texas at Arlington

Christopher D. Mello, Princeton University

David Suarez, Pennsylvania State University

Kappa Alpha Psi

James D. Debeuneure, Johnson C. Smith College

Eddie Dillard, Bishop College

Kappa Delta Rho

Bradley Fetchet, Bucknell University

Mark Ryan McGinley, Bucknell University

Kappa Sigma

Fredric Gabler, Cornell University

Jeffrey Brian Gardner, Rutgers University

Andrew H. Golkin, Hobart College

Richard B. Madden, Denison University

James Robert Paul, University of Kentucky

William P. Tselepis, Jr., University of Illinois

Lambda Chi Alpha

Donald A. Delapenha, Baldwin-Wallace College

Chris Dincuff, Villanova University

Robert Higley II, University of Connecticut

Todd R. Hill, University of Massachusetts

Robert Hymel, University of Louisiana, Lafayette

Justin J. Molisani, Jr., Lycoming College

Jarrold Paskins, University of Nebraska – Omaha

Dean Thomas, University of Pittsburgh

Ken Walsh, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Phi Delta Theta

Swede Chevalier, Cornell University

Thomas R. Clark, University of Richmond

Terence Gazzani, Bentley College

Donald T. Jones, University of Richmond

Mike LaForte, Syracuse University

Edward “Ted” H. Luckett, Ohio Wesleyan University

Sean P. Lynch, Cornell University

A. Todd Rancke, Duke University

Robert  Andrew “Andy” Spencer, University of Maryland

Phi Gamma Delta

Steve Glick, Northwestern University

William Godshalk, University of Alabama 

Rajesh Mirpuri, University of Vermont 

Charles Murphy, Syracuse University

Michael Pescherine, Penn State University 

Michael San Phillip, University of Pennsylvania

Phi Kappa Psi

Douglas M. Cherry, Ohio Wesleyan University

Michael “Desi” McCarthy, University of Buffalo

Phi Kappa Sigma

Kevin Reilly, SUNY Oneonta

Stephen G. Ward, University of Maine

Brent Woodall, University of California – Berkeley

Phi Kappa Tau

Peter Mardikian, Ohio State University

Philip Parker, Muhlenberg College

Phi Kappa Theta

William Otto Casper, Kansas State University

Robert J. Ferris, Ohio State University

Phi Mu Delta

Robert LeBlanc, University of New Hampshire

Phi Sigma Kappa

Andrew Fredericks, Union College

Pi Kappa Alpha

John Grazioso, Florida Institute of Technology

James Brian Reilly, College of William and Mary

Joshua Rosenblum, University of Colorado

Davis G. “Deeg” Sezna Jr., Vanderbilt University

John “Eddie” Willett, University of Missouri

Pi Kappa Phi

Joseph Peter Anchundia, Longwood University

Peter Apollo, University of South Carolina

Edward Thomas Keane, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Leo Russell Keene, III, University of Tampa

Pi Lambda Phi

James Lee “Jimmy” Connor, II, College of William and Mary

Michael Hardy Edwards, College of William and Mary

Mark Ludvigsen, College of William and Mary

John A. Ogonowski, Lowell Technical Institute

Scott Vassel, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Psi Upsilon

Lee Adler, Kenyon College

Brandon Dolan, University of Rochester

Alexander Steinman, Union College

Richard Woodwell, Dartmouth College

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Dennis Cook, Villanova University

Michael Davidson, Rutgers University

Michael B. Finnegan, University of Richmond

Major Wallace C. Hogan, Valdosta State University

Eamon McEneaney, Cornell University

James Andrew O’Grady, University of California – Los Angeles

Robert A. Rasmussen, North Dakota State University

Sigma Alpha Mu

Nicholas C. Lassman

Laurance M. Polatsch, University of Michigan

Francis Riccardelli, New Jersey Institute of Technology (posthumously, 2025)

Gregory D. Richards, University of Michigan

Scott H. Saber, SUNY Lehigh

Brian J. Terrenzi, SUNY Oneonta

Scott J. Weingard, University of Michigan

Brian P. Williams, Columbia University

Mark Zangrilli, New Jersey Institute of Technology (posthumously, 2025)

Sigma Chi

Don Adams, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Terence E. “Ted” Adderley, Jr.,  Vanderbilt University

Kevin Cleary, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Keith Eugene Coleman, Bucknell University

John Hart, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Aram Iskenderian, Jr., University of Rochester

Glenn D. Kirwin, University of Virginia

Stephen LaMantia, Roanoke College

Todd Douglas Pelino, Colgate University

David Eliot Retik, Colgate University

Sigma Nu

Peter Christopher Frank, University of Delaware

James Andrew Gadiel, Washington and Lee University

Lt. Michael Scott Lamana, Louisiana State University

Karl Trumbull Smith, Sr., University of Delaware

Sigma Phi

Ceasar Augusto Murillo, University of Vermont

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Paul Acquaviva, Rutgers University

Daniel Afflitto, St. Joseph’s University

Thomas W. Hohlweck, Jr., Kentucky Wesleyan College

Montgomery “Monte” McCullough Hord, University of Nebraska

Christopher Larabee, University of Arizona

Terry M. Lynch, Youngstown State University

Gregory Malone, Lehigh University

Gregory Milanowyicz, St. Joseph’s University

Joshua S. Reiss, University of South Carolina

Tau Delta Phi

George John Stauch

Tau Epsilon Phi

Todd Reubin

Tau Kappa Epsilon

Douglas A. Gowell, University of Lowell

Steven D. Jacoby, Shippensburg University

Michael J. Mullin, SUNY Oneonta

Sgt. Major Larry L. Strickland, University of Washington

John C. Willett, Rockhurst University

Theta Chi

Craig M. Blass, James Madison University

Mark A. Brisman, SUNY Albany

Scott T. Coleman, Colgate University

John W. Farrell, West Virginia Wesleyan College

J. Nicholas Humber, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Gary F. Lutnick, Rider University

Mark E. Schurmeier, Wake Forest University

William C. Sugra, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Jon C. Vandevander, Lycoming College

Patrick A. Versage, Wagner College (He was a first responder and assisted with recovery efforts.  He died October 5, 2014.)

Theta Delta Chi

James Brian Reilly, College of William and Mary

Michael J. Simon, Hobart College

Triangle

Alok Metha, Colorado State University

Zeta Beta Tau

Joseph Aron

Joseph A. Della Pietra

Jason Jacobs, Syracuse University

Zeta Psi

Dennis Cook, Villanova University

Michael Davidson, Rutgers University

Gopal Varadhan, New York University

 

At each Chi Psi Convention, there is a Mark Bingham Memorial 5k. It honors the memory of Bingham, passenger onboard United Airlines flight 93 on September 11, 2001. He and three other passengers attempted to retake the plane from the hijackers which resulted in the plane crashing into a field near Shanksville, PA, thwarting the hijackers plan to crash the plane into a building in Washington D.C.

This bench near Murkland Hall at the University of New Hampshire where Robert LeBlanc, Phi Mu Delta, taught geography.

 Women’s Social Organizations

Alpha Chi Omega

Kathy Nicosia, Bowling Green State University

Alpha Kappa Alpha

Sarah Clark

Alpha Delta Pi

Lynn Edwards Angell, Auburn University

Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, University of Texas

Cathy Salter, University of Cincinnati

Alpha Phi

Kristy Irvine Ryan, University of Dayton

Delta Delta Delta

Alysia Burton Basmajian, College of William and Mary

Kirsten Thompson Christophe, Michigan State University

Jeannine Damiani-Jones, Villanova University

Mary Lou Hague, University of North Carolina

Ann Campana Judge, Ohio Wesleyan University

Bonnie Shihadeh Smithwick, Bucknell University

Delta Gamma

Melissa Candida Doi, Northwestern University

Delta Phi Epsilon

Shari Kandell, Syracuse University

Gabriela Waisman, Queens College

Delta Sigma Theta

LTC Karen Wagner

Delta Zeta

Alicia Titus, Miami University

Melissa Vincent, SUNY Oswego

Kappa Delta

Kelly Ann Booms, Miami University

Colleen Monica Supinski, Susquehanna University

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Jen Kane, Villanova University

Jean Roger, Penn State University

Kaleen Pezzutti, Cornell University

Norma Lang Steurle, Carnegie Mellon University

Phi Mu

Sneha Philip, Johns Hopkins University

Pi Beta Phi

Melissa Harrington Hughes, Dickinson College

Catherine MacRae, Princeton University

Mary Alice Shehan Wahlstrom, Ohio State University

Sigma Delta Tau

Michelle Renee Bratton, SUNY Oswego

Sigma Sigma Sigma

Alisha Levin, Hofstra University

Alpha Kappa Alpha jacket which belonged to Sarah Clark. It is in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History Culture. Photo courtesy of NMAAHC.

Photo by Ann Dahne, a Phi Mu, who was honoring the memory of her Phi Mu sister Sneha Anne Philip. The quatrefoil was placed there for the picture and is not part of the 9/11 memorial.

Honorary, Service and Professional Fraternities

I am almost certain there are more than these few who belonged to these organizations. These are the ones I found while looking for other information. If you have knowledge of others, please let me know.

Alpha Kappa Psi (Coeducational Business Fraternity)

Tom Burnett, University of Minnesota

Alpha Phi Omega

Shawn E. Bowman, Jr. SUNY Albany

Delta Sigma Pi  (Coeducational Business Fraternity)

Kelly Booms, Miami University (Ohio)

Marni Pont-O’Doherty, New York University

Sandra Teague, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Amy Toyen, Bentley College

Omicron Delta Kappa Society

Paul Ambrose, Marshall University

Phi Beta Kappa

Christopher Ciafardini, University of Colorado

Local fraternities

James Patrick Berger, Zeta Rho, Villanova University. Zeta Rho became the Kappa Zeta Chapter of Sigma Nu.

James J. Kelly, Delta Kappa Tau, SUNY Geneseo

Jeff LeVeen, Phoenix House, Dartmouth. Phoenix House had been Phi Gamma Delta.

Charles Margiotta, Delta Tau, Brown University

David Pruim, Emersonian, Hope College

Francis J. Skidmore, Jr., Kappa Sigma Phi, Duquesne University

(This list was put together using the lists of September 11, 2001 victims information as well as the information on Hank Nuwer’s www.stophazing.org website which was compiled in the days immediately after the tragedy,  Jon Williamson’s list published in the Summer 2002 Kleos of Alpha Phi Delta, and the list currently on the NIC website. I thank them all.)

 

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Theta Phi Alpha’s Michigan Roots

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Theta Phi Alpha was founded at the University of Michigan on August 30, 1912. However Founders’ Day is celebrated on April 30, it was the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena when the decision was made. (The Catholic Church has since changed the feast day but Theta Phi Alpha kept the original day.) St. Catherine is the patroness of the organization and her motto, “Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring, ” is Theta Phi Alpha’s motto as well.

At that time Theta Phi Alpha was founded, Catholics were not always welcome in the other fraternal organizations on campus. Moreover, the University of Michigan is likely the only state university which can count a Catholic priest among its founders. In 1817, Father Gabriel Richard was a co-founder of the Catholepistemiad of Michigania which later became known as the University of Michigan. He served as its Vice-President from 1817-21. In 1821 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees and served until his death in 1832. So, it is therefore interesting to note the Catholic connection between the Catholic sorority and the state university founded by a Catholic priest.  When Theta Phi Alpha was founded, the Catholic hierarchy was of the belief that Catholic women should be attending Catholic colleges and universities. Giving Catholic women the opportunity to join a Catholic sorority could provide an opportunity to keep them close to their Catholic roots at a secular institution.

In 1909, Father Edward D. Kelly, a Catholic priest and the pastor of the university’s student chapel organized Omega Upsilon. He believed that the Catholic women at the university should have the opportunity to belong to an organization  that “resembled the Catholic homes from which they came.”

After Father Kelly left campus and became the Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, Omega Upsilon was struggling.  There were no alumnae to guide the organization. Bishop Kelly’s vision that the Catholic women at Michigan should have a place to call their own was still alive even though he was not on campus. He enlisted the assistance of Amelia McSweeney, a 1898 University of Michigan alumna. Together with seven Omega Upsilon alumnae, plans were made to establish a new organization, Theta Phi Alpha.

Theta Phi Alpha’s ten founders are Amelia McSweeney, Mildred M. Connely, May C. Ryan, Selma Gilday, Camilla Ryan Sutherland, Helen Ryan Quinlan, Katrina Caughey Ward, Dorothy Caughey Phalan, Otilia Leuchtweis O’Hara, and Eva Stroh Bauer Everson.  Seven of them were Omega Upsilon alumnae and two were undergraduate members of Omega Upsilon.

Detroit Free Press, November 20, 1912

In the spring of 1918, a spring luncheon took place at the Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit. The chapter likely took the railroad from Ann Arbor to Detroit.

Detroit Free Press, June 2, 1918

 

Hotel Pontchartrain, Detroit, Michigan

During the fall 1919 semester, the members of Theta Phi Alpha provided clothing and holiday gifts for a young girl as mentioned in the article below..

Detroit Free Press, December 21, 1919

Detroit Free Press, June 12, 1920

The Cadillac Hotel as it was when the Theta Phi Alphas met in it. It was razed in 1923 and replaced with the Book Cadillac Hotel.

Theta Phi Alpha remained a local organization until 1919 when the Beta Chapter was formed at the University of Illinois. In addition, chapters at Ohio State University, Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati were chartered that year.

In 1924, the Alpha Chapter had a tea to introduce their new chaperon (the term house mother came later) to the other chaperons on campus.

Detroit Free Press. November 2, 1924

Founder Mildred Connoly’s name sometimes appears as Connolly. I’m sure it was exciting for the convention attendees to meet a founder.

Detroit Free Press, March 6, 1921

Newspapers once had society pages and news stories contained lots of details such as the effective and large Theta Phi Alpha seal constructed from lights. 

Detroit Free Press, November 9, 1924

Happy 109th, Theta Phi Alpha!

 

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Where’s an Updated Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities When You Need It?

Posted on August 28, 2021 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

William Raimond Baird published the first edition of Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities in 1879. After Baird’s death, others took on the job of editing Baird’s Manual.

The twentieth and last edition, edited by Jack Anson, Phi Kappa Tau, and Robert F. Marchesani, Jr., Phi Kappa Psi, was published in 1991. It’s a very large book (8.5 x 11 x 2.5) and if another edition were to be published, it would likely have to be twice the size, what with the changes that have taken place in ensuing three decades. Moreover, it would be outdated before publication. Carroll Lurding, Delta Upsilon, made his hobby the study of fraternities and sororities. For decades he painstakingly researched the local groups which became national organizations. He kept track of the changes that have happened in the fraternity and sorority world since the last edition of Baird’s was published in 1991. Lurding combed fraternities and sororities publications including histories, pledge manuals, magazines, and websites as well as available yearbooks. He also consulted the publications available at the University of Illinois Library’s Student Life & Culture Archives,  Indiana University’s Lurding Collection of Fraternity Material at the Lilly Library and the New York Public Library’s Baird Collection. He expanded on information offered, including the names of local organizations which became chapters of fraternities and sororities.

The Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities picks up where that 20th Edition of Baird’s Manual ended. And it includes much more! I hope you will take a look at it and use it regularly.

This from the “How to Use” section offers an overview of the Almanac as well as a listing of all the institutions where there is or once was a fraternity and sorority system:

This Almanac contains several sections. There are introductory files with the evolution of the fraternity and sorority system, founding dates, chronology, a list of the founding institutions, and largest organizations by decade.

The organizational listing is divided into three sections –Men’s, Women’s, and Co-ed, for organizations with more than three chapters. In each section, there is a listing of the manner in which an organization evolved. Information includes the name of a local if that is how it was founded, when it became a part of the organization and the chapter identifier, as well as any time the chapter may have been inactive. There is also a section dedicated to organizations which are no longer active.

 

The institutional listing encompasses more than 1,000 North American higher education institutions, listed below for easy of finding in each pdf file. It includes information about the institution’s founding, the status of housing for fraternal organizations and the chronology of the chapters. The men’s groups are listed first, followed by the women’s groups and then the co-ed organizations. Organizations that are in bold-face type are currently active on campus. There is also a section for more than 100 institutions which no longer exist.

The founding dates for two of the women’s organizations give this institution away.

Please help publicize this important resource. Thank you!

 

 

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