Not only does this year mark Phi Sigma Sigma’s Centennial, but it also celebrates the rebirth of its Theta Chapter at the University of Illinois. Chartered in 1923, the chapter counts among its alumnae Tatyana McFadden, Paralympic Gold Medalist, and Irna Phillips, considered the “mother of modern soap opera.” Among the soap operas Phillips created are Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives and Another World.
In October 2013, nearly 200 women were pledged to Theta Chapter. The rechartering festivities will take place on December 6 and 7, 2013. Best wishes to the Theta Chapter members who will be initiated that weekend during this Centennial year. In the fall, the chapter will move back into its home owned at 902 South Second Street in Champaign.
Bid Day, Theta Chapter, 2013
Phi Sigma Sigma was founded at New York’s Hunter College on November 26, 1913. Its ten founders are Lillian Gordon Alpern, Josephine Ellison Breakstone, Fay Chertkoff, Estelle Melnick Cole, Jeanette Lipka Furst, Ethel Gordon Kraus, Shirley Cohen Laufer, Claire Wunder McArdle, Rose Sher Seidman and Gwen Zaliels Snyder.
The organization’s original name was Phi Sigma Omega, but it was discovered that the name was already in use. Five years later, the Beta Chapter at Tufts University was founded when a friend of one of the founders expressed an interest in the organization. A third chapter was chartered at New York University.
At the 1918 convention in New York City, founder Fay Chertkoff was elected the organization’s first grand archon. A constitution was approved and a Supreme Council was elected. This past summer, Phi Sigma Sigma members from across the country traveled to New York City to attend convention and celebrate 100 years of sisterhood.
(c) Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
