Category Archives: Greek-letter Organization History

Fraternity and Sorority Magazines – Preserving History, Fostering Enthusiasm and Promulgating Lifelong Loyalty

This week, I had the opportunity to read hard copies of recently published sorority magazines.* What fun it was to turn the pages and read about some of the 26 National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations! Good works are being done. … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Ida Shaw Martin, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Alpha Theta (magazine), Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa, Sorority History, The Anchora of Delta Gamma, The Angelos of Kappa Delta, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, The Eleusis of Chi Omega, The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma, The Lyre of Alpha Chi Omega, The Quill of Alpha Xi Delta, The Themis of Zeta Tau Alpha, The Trident of Delta Delta Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Fraternity and Sorority Magazines – Preserving History, Fostering Enthusiasm and Promulgating Lifelong Loyalty

May 1 – Phi Gamma Delta’s Founders’ Day and FIJI Sires and Sons Anniversary

May 1, 1848 is the date of Phi Gamma Delta’s founding. John Templeton McCarty, Samuel Beatty Wilson, James Elliott, Daniel Webster Crofts, Ellis Bailey Gregg and Naaman Fletcher – the Immortal Six – were students at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on May 1 – Phi Gamma Delta’s Founders’ Day and FIJI Sires and Sons Anniversary

Theta Phi Alpha’s Founders’ Day and Its Connection to a Saint

Theta Phi Alpha was founded at the University of Michigan on August 30, 1912.  Its 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, … Continue reading

Posted in Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Theta Phi Alpha, University of Michigan, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Theta Phi Alpha’s Founders’ Day and Its Connection to a Saint

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

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, Delta Tau Delta, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Monmouth College, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Happy Founders’ Day, My Dear Pi Beta Phi!

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

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

Fraternity and Sorority Members Lobby on Capitol Hill – April 24, 2013

On April 24, 2013, 200 fraternity and sorority members, collegiate and alumni (of the men’s groups)/alumnae (of the women’s groups), will be Washington D.C. to lobby on Capitol Hill. The Fraternal Government Relations Coalition (FGRC), is a group bringing together … Continue reading

Posted in GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Men's Fraternities, National Panhellenic Conference, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fraternity and Sorority Members Lobby on Capitol Hill – April 24, 2013

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

Posted in GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, National Panhellenic Conference, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, University of Kansas | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Early History of the Women’s Fraternity System at the University of Kansas

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

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)

Happy Founders’ Day to FarmHouse and Triangle Fraternities, 2 of the 3 NIC Organizations Without Greek Letters

Acacia, FarmHouse and Triangle Fraternities are the only members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) that do not use Greek-letters. The latter two celebrate Founders’ Day on the same day. What’s also interesting to note is that both were formed … Continue reading

Posted in FarmHouse, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Triangle, University of Illinois, University of Missouri | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Happy Founders’ Day to FarmHouse and Triangle Fraternities, 2 of the 3 NIC Organizations Without Greek Letters

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

Posted in Chi Omega, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Pi Beta Phi, Syracuse University | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Musings on a Western Union Telegram from Chi O to Pi Phi