President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land-Grant Act on July 2, 1862. Iowa was the first state to accept the terms of the Act. The funding went to Ames College which is now Iowa State University. Among the early female graduates of Iowa State University was young Carrie Lane (Chapman Catt). She would go on to be a major force in the women’s suffrage movement. What few know about her was that she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. After graduation, she spoke at alumnae club meetings, at chapter events, conventions and she was the keynote speaker at the Eastern Conference when the portrait of Grace Coolidge was presented to the United States.
You can read more about her and her life as a member of Pi Beta Phi in a post I wrote for Pi Beta Phi.
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