The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards took place last night.
Modern Family’s Ty Burrell, Sigma Chi, won the SAG Award for Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series. (My apologies to Mr. Burrell. I made a mistake in this entry when it was first posted.)
Matthew McConaughey, Delta Tau Delta, picked up the Golden Globe last week and is nominated for an Academy Award. Last night he won the SAG Award for Outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for his work in Dallas Buyers Club.
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Robert E. Lee was born 207 years ago, on January 19, 1807. In 1749, Augusta Academy opened a little north of Lexington, Virginia. It was a small classical school. In 1776, a momentous year for our country, the school’s trustees changed the name to Liberty Academy. In 1782, the Virginia legislature granted a charter to the school, which by then had moved a little closer to Lexington and changed its name to Liberty Hall Academy.
An endowment from George Washington helped the struggling school get on its feet. The $20,000 of James River Canal stock Washington gave the school in 1796 prompted the trustees to change the school’s name. It became Washington Academy and in 1813, Washington College.
In 1865, General Robert E. Lee accepted the presidency of the college. It was not a decision he took lightly. While he was concerned that he might bring upon the college some negative feelings, he said “I think it the duty of every citizen in the present condition of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony.”
Although Lee served only about five years, until his death in 1870, he had a significant impact on the institution. He added programs, he raised funds for new buildings, and he created an honor system, much like that of his Alma Mater, West Point. He also made an effort to recruit northern students to the school and made it his goal that they be treated well. After Lee’s death, the trustees changed the name of the school to Washington and Lee University. It is the country’s ninth oldest institution of higher education.
Women were first admitted to the law school in 1972, but it was not until 1985 that the undergraduate population included women.
The first fraternity at W&L was Phi Kappa Psi, whose chapter was founded in 1855. Beta Theta Pi’s chapter came along the following year. At least 30 other men’s fraternities have had chapters there at one time or another. The women’s fraternity system began in 1989, when Kappa Alpha Theta, Chi Omega, and Kappa Kappa Gamma chapters were chartered. Pi Beta Phi followed in 1992, Kappa Delta in 1997, and Alpha Delta Pi in 2009.
Washington and Lee University celebrates Founders’ Day on or near Lee’s birthday. This year, the celebration will take place tomorrow, Monday, January 20.
This General Lee finger puppet was under our Christmas tree. It was a gift to my husband, the W&L grad, from our daughter. She purchased it at the Missouri History Museum.
The real General Robert E. Lee
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Here’s a thought which I spent quite a bit of time pondering yesterday. I then asked this question on twitter (@GLOHistory): Anyone beside me wish you could travel back in time and be in the room where your GLO was founded and see and hear the founders?
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I was in total procrastination mode yesterday and ventured to Pinterest. I suspect the word means “giant time waster” in another language. It’s quite easy to get lost in it all. But I did set up two boards.
http://www.pinterest.com/glohistory/sorority-history/
http://www.pinterest.com/glohistory/fraternity-history/
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
