Category Archives: Lombard College

David Starr Jordan, Lombard College, and a Forget Me Not Book

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The book from the 1870s was titled  “Forget Me Not.” It was filled with pages and pages of poems and signatures, many in ornate script, some faded by time, and others hard to decipher without a magnifying glass. The former … Continue reading →

Posted in Cornell University, Delta Upsilon, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Lombard College, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Stanford University, University of Indiana | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on David Starr Jordan, Lombard College, and a Forget Me Not Book

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

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

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 →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, National Panhellenic Conference, P.E.O., Sorority History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Happy Founders’ Day, Alpha Xi Delta (and a Connection to Carl Sandburg)

Ella Boston Leib, Alpha Xi Delta’s First NPC Chairman and a P.E.O. State President

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

I spotted the name Ella B. Leib as I was studying Illinois P.E.O. history in preparation for a session at the Illinois State P.E.O. Convention this summer. Ella Boston Leib played an important role in the early history of Alpha … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, National Panhellenic Conference, P.E.O., Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Ella Boston Leib, Alpha Xi Delta’s First NPC Chairman and a P.E.O. State President

Celebrating the Rebirth of Two NPC Alpha Chapters!

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

This spring two National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations are recolonizing their Alpha chapters. Zeta Tau Alpha is returning to its birthplace at Longwood University. Alpha Omicron Pi is revitalizing the chapter whose home will be the now co-ed Columbia University, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Barnard College, Boston University, Colby College, DePauw University, Farmville Four, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Knox College, Lombard College, Longwood University, Miami University, Mount Holyoke College, National Panhellenic Conference, Sorority History, Syracuse University, Women's Fraternities | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Knox College – the Early History of Its Women’s Fraternity System

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The birthplace of the women’s fraternity system is only a few miles west of Galesburg. Pi Beta Phi was founded on April 28, 1867 in the southwest second floor bedroom of the home of “Major “ Jacob Holt at 402 … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Delta Delta, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Knox College, Lombard College, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, P.E.O., Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, The Trident of Delta Delta Delta, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Knox College – the Early History of Its Women’s Fraternity System

Doctors Who Wore Badges: Fraternity Women in Medicine 1867-1902

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

In 1870, there were 525 female doctors in the United States (Newcomer, 1959).   Among the fraternity women who became physicians were founders of two NPC groups, Rachel Jane “Jennie” Nicol, a founder of Pi Beta Phi, and Eleanor Dorcas Pond … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Phi, Boston University, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, DePauw University, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Goucher College, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Alpha Theta (magazine), Kappa Kappa Gamma, Knox College, Lombard College, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, Northwestern University, Notable Fraternity Women, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Syracuse University, The Anchora of Delta Gamma, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma, The Trident of Delta Delta Delta, University of California at Berkeley, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, University of Vermont, Women's Fraternities, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Doctors Who Wore Badges: Fraternity Women in Medicine 1867-1902

How the P.E.O.s at Iowa Wesleyan Became Alpha Xi Deltas

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

How exactly did those P.E.O.s at Iowa Wesleyan College become the Beta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta? How was that connection made? It was such a defining moment in the history of both organizations. P.E.O. was founded as a collegiate … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Fran Favorite, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, P.E.O. | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How the P.E.O.s at Iowa Wesleyan Became Alpha Xi Deltas

We Wave Thy Colors Brave on High – Happy Founders’ Day Pi Beta Phi!

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

On April 28, 1867, a college society of women modeled after men’s Greek-letter fraternities was founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois.  Its name was I. C. Sorosis and its grip, the  handshake of its members, was accompanied by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Founders' Day, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, Monmouth College, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , | Comments Off on We Wave Thy Colors Brave on High – Happy Founders’ Day Pi Beta Phi!