This has been an important week for Chi Omega. On Wednesday, the Chi Omega Greek Theatre at the University of Arkansas was rededicated after undergoing a renovation. Today, there is a groundbreaking for a new Chi Omega chapter house. My friend Lyn Harris, Chi Omega’s Archivist, is in Fayetteville reveling in all things Chi Omega. Her Facebook feeds tells of her adventures visiting the graves of founder Jobelle Holcombe and Dr. Charles Richardson. She spent some time in the University of Arkansas archives going through items with a Chi Omega connection. She’ll be speaking later today at the groundbreaking for the new Psi chapter house. Do not let the Greek letter designation fool you. The Psi chapter of Chi Omega is the founding chapter. Chi Omega was founded at the University of Arkansas on April 5, 1895.
On June 28, 1930, Chi Omega presented a gift to the University of Arkansas to commemorate its founding at the university. Dr. Richardson and Mary Love Collins, Chi Omega’s National President for 42 years and NPC Chairman from 1919-1921, conceived the idea. Their vision was to create a replica of the Theatre of Dionysus which sits at the foot of the Acropolis in Greece. The cost of the Theatre in 1930 was $31,225 (more than $400,000 in today’s funds).
The Theatre’s five aisles honor the five Chi Omega founders and the columns represent the fourteen original members of the Psi Chapter. Chi Omega’s ideals are expressed in the words on the frieze above the columns – KNOWLEDGE, INTEGRITY, COURAGE, CULTURE and INTELLIGENCE. A tablet bears the inscription, “Given to the University of Arkansas by Chi Omega as an expression of appreciation for its founding and as a symbol of its devotion to the human struggle for enlightenment.”
The Program for the Rededication (Photo courtesy of Lyn Harris)
As an outdoor venue, the Theatre has weathered 85 years of Arkansas winters and summers. It was renovated for its 50th anniversary in 1980. On June 23, 1980, a rededication ceremony was held. In 1995, in conjunction with the Centennial of Chi Omega’s founding, it went through another renovation. The semi-circular wood pergola was disassembled, preserved, and reconstructed in 2006. The most recent renovation included repairs to the columns, steps, and seats. The stucco and limestone was restored. In addition, the lighting and landscaping was updated.
In 1992, the Chi Omega Greek Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is used for Panhellenic Council Bid Days, concerts, plays, convocations, commencements, and pep rallies during football season.
The Chi Omega Amphitheater at the University of Arkansas
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According to my twitter feed, last night was Awards Night for the GLOs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Congratulations to Dr. Andy Morgan, Dean of Students at SIUC. To honor his more than 25 years of unwavering service and devotion to the SIUC fraternity and sorority community, an award was named in his honor. He was the first recipient of the Dr. Robert Andrew Morgan Engagement Award. I am certain that the clock began ticking on those 25 years when he became a new member of the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter at SIUC and not when he was officially hired as a Student Development staffer.
It was Andy’s wife Connie, although she wasn’t yet his wife when I first met her, who told me about SIUC’s College Student Personnel program. It was shortly after we moved to Carbondale and I was attending an Alumnae Panhellenic lunch at the Delta Zeta house, where Connie was a chapter adviser. I had been accepted into a graduate program in journalism, but after talking with Connie, I went and spoke with the Director of the College Student Personnel program. That’s when I started researching the history of Greek-letter organizations in earnest.
Dr. Andy Morgan, the first recipient of an award named in his honor.
Congratulations, Dr. Morgan!
Another picture made me think of Betty Lou Mitchell, who was not only a member of the SIUC English faculty but was also a long-time Alpha Gamma Delta chapter adviser. When I started my master’s thesis on the history of the fraternity system here at SIUC, she was the first person I contacted for information.
The Betty Lou Mitchell Award being presented at the SIUC IGC Awards Ceremony (Photo courtest SIUC IGC)
She lived a good deal of SIUC’s GLO history, having been a member of Delta Sigma Epsilon. In 1956, when Delta Sigma Epsilon became a part of Delta Zeta, the chapter at SIUC asked to be released from the terms of the merger since a Delta Zeta chapter had been installed on campus a few years earlier. The undergraduates were released, but the alumnae weren’t. That did not sit well with either group. After much angst and discussion and a year as a local organization, Nu Delta Sigma, as well as intervention by University President Deltye Morris, the alumnae were released from the merger terms. They chose to affiliate with Alpha Gamma Delta and a good many alumnae became initiated members when the chapter was installed. Betty Lou Mitchell was one of those women. It warms my heart to know that her legacy still lives on at the IGC Awards in the form of a scholarship presented by Alpha Gamma Delta.
Mitchell was also SIUC’s unofficial historian. She wrote several books on SIUC’s history including one on the life of Delyte Morris, who, at SIUC’s helm, transformed the institution from its normal school roots to a comprehensive university. If anyone is looking for a copy of Mitchell’s book about Morris, please let me know and I will get you a copy from the Friends of the Library book sale.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2015. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
