Helen Poole Rush enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh and became a member of the Omicron Chapter of Delta Zeta. Although she graduated in 1919, she never really left the university. Along the way, she earned a master’s degree from the institution. When she retired more than five decades later, she was the University of Pittsburgh’s first female vice chancellor. She served under eight chancellors.
The Omicron Chapter of Delta Zeta when Helen Poole Rush was a collegiate member.
The March 1952 Lamp of Delta Zeta included this tidbit from the Omicron Chapter:
Our October meeting was a dinner at the Royal York in honor of the founders of Omicron chapter, Guests included the entire membership of the college chapter and Miss Helen Poole Rush, Dean of Women and first pledge of Omicron chapter.
During her tenure, she served as Dean of Women and Dean of Students before becoming Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. She studied at Columbia University and the University of Oslo, spending several months in Norway. She received a Winifred Cullis Lecture Fellowship from the British American Association and delivered more than 35 lectures in England during 1957-58.
Pittsburgh Press, May 23, 1941
In 1963, Beaver College (now Arcadia University) awarded Rush an honorary doctorate. The following year, she was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. Upon her retirement, the university named her a Vice Chancellor Emerita.
The University of Pittsburgh awarded her a Bicentennial Medal for achievement and service in 1985. She died 1992 at the age of 94.
