Welcome!

The history of women’s fraternities has been one of my great passions. I was likely the last person anyone in my high school would have suspected would join a sorority in college. I am sure I would have agreed with them, too.

When I made my way to Syracuse University, I saw the houses with the Greek letters that edged Walnut Park – some more impressive than others – and wished I could tour them. My freshman roommate suggested I sign up for rush (as it was then called – it’s known as recruitment today) and go through the house tour round and then drop out of rush. It sounded like a terrific plan to me. I didn’t realize that I would find a chapter that I wanted to be a part of and I ended up pledging the New York Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi.

During my time in the chapter, I found the collection of bound Arrows, its magazine. I would sit in the second floor smoker – the open space between the stairs to the second floor and the stairs to the third – and read about the history of the organization.

In this blog I will share my love of the history of the women’s fraternity system. My dissertation “Coeducation and the History of Women’s Fraternities 1867-1902″ chronicles the growth of the system and the birth of the National Panhellenic Conference. I will make the dissertation available.

My masters thesis was on the history of the fraternity system at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and I will also make that available as well.

I hope you’ll follow my blog.