Happy Founders’ Day to Chi Omega! With the help of a Fayetteville dentist, Kappa Sigma Dr. Charles Richardson, Chi Omega was founded by Ina Mae Boles, Jean Vincenheller, Jobelle Holcombe, and Alice Simonds on April 5, 1895 at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Richardson is considered a founder and is lovingly known as “Sis Doc.” He crafted the first badge out of dental gold. The founding chapter at Arkansas is the Psi Chapter.
(Photo courtesy of Lyn Harris, Chi Omega’s Archivist)
On June 28, 1930, Chi Omega presented a gift to the University of Arkansas to commemorate its founding at the university. Dr. Richardson and Mary Love Collins, Chi Omega’s National President for 42 years and NPC Chairman from 1919-1921, conceived the idea. Their vision was to create a replica of the Theatre of Dionysus which sits at the foot of the Acropolis in Greece. The cost of the theatre in 1930 was $31,225 (more than $400,000 in 2013 funds).
The theatre’s five aisles honor the five Chi Omega founders and the columns represent the fourteen original members of the Psi Chapter. Chi Omega’s ideals are expressed in the words on the frieze above the columns – KNOWLEDGE, INTEGRITY, COURAGE, CULTURE and INTELLIGENCE. A tablet bears the inscription, “Given to the University of Arkansas by Chi Omega as an expression of appreciation for its founding and as a symbol of its devotion to the human struggle for enlightenment.”
In 1992, the Chi Omega Greek Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is used for Panhellenic Council Bid Days, concerts, plays, convocations, commencements, and pep rallies during football season.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
