Fraternity History & More

Pi Beta Phi, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Pi Beta Phi was founded on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, by 12 young women. Ten of them gathered in the southwest bedroom on the second floor of a home owned by “Major” Jacob Holt. The two who could not make the gathering agreed to abide by whatever the others decided to do. Their intention from the beginning was to create a fraternity for women based upon the men’s fraternity model.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

Charlotte Herman Kerr, M.D., was an initiate of the University of Illinois chapter.

Charlotte Herman Kerr, M.D., Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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Virginia Hunt, Ph.D., was an initiate of the University of Iowa chapter.

Virginia Hunt, Ph.D., Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Carole Ashkinaze was an initiate of the St. Lawrence University chapter.

Carole Ashkinaze, Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Madge Oberholtzer was an initiate of the Butler College (now University).

Madge Oberholtzer, Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen

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Leona Baumgartner, Ph.D., M.D., was an initiate of the University of Kansas chapter.

Leona Baumgartner, Ph.D., M.D., Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWoman, #WHM2021

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Anna Kelton Wiley was an initiate of the George Washington University chapter.

Anna Kelton Wiley, Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Mimi Baird is an alumna initiate of the University of Vermont chapter.

Mimi Baird, Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Flora Richardson Colman was a founder of the University of Kansas chapter.

Flora Richardson Colman, Pi Beta Phi, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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Lucinda Smith Buchan was an initiate of the University of Kansas chapter.

Lucinda Smith Buchan on Pi Beta Phi’s Giving Day

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Barbara Pierce Bush was an alumna initiate of the Texas A&M University chapter.

Barbara Pierce Bush, Literacy Advocate and Pi Beta Phi

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Janice Martin Benario was an initiate of the Goucher College chapter.

Janice Martin Benario, WAVE Code Breaker and Pi Beta Phi

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Margaret Truman Daniel and Jane Tunstall Lingo were initiates of the George Washington University chapter.

Margaret Truman Daniel and Jane Tunstall Lingo, Pi Beta Phi Sisters

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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

January 13, 1913, is the date upon which Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated came into being. It was founded by 22 Howard University collegians – Winona Cargile (Alexander), Madree Penn (White), Wertie Blackwell (Weaver), Vashti Turley (Murphy), Ethel Cuff (Black), Frederica Chase (Dodd), Osceola Macarthy (Adams), Pauline Oberdorfer (Minor), Edna Brown (Coleman), Edith Mott (Young), Marguerite Young (Alexander), Naomi Sewell (Richardson), Eliza P. Shippen, Zephyr Chisom (Carter), Myra Davis (Hemmings), Mamie Reddy (Rose), Bertha Pitts (Campbell), Florence Letcher (Toms), Olive Jones, Jessie McGuire (Dent), Jimmie Bugg (Middleton), and Ethel Carr (Watson). All of the sorority’s members were initiates of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, which was founded on January 16, 1908. When a disagreement about the future of the organization arose between the active chapter and the alumnae, an ultimatum was given, decisions were made, and in the end, the active members left Alpha Kappa Alpha and became Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Myra Davis Hemmings went from being the president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter to being president of the Delta Sigma Theta chapter. Many of the first meetings took place in Edna Brown Coleman’s living room. The 1913 Valedictorian and Class President, she married Frank Coleman, a founder of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Florence Letcher Toms’ hobby of collecting elephant figurines led to the animal becoming the sorority’s symbol.

Two months later, on March 3, 1913, the sorority walked in the historic suffrage march in Washington, DC. They were the only African-American women’s group to participate. Honorary member Mary Church Terrell, an ardent suffragist and civil rights activist, joined them in their march. She inspired and mentored the women. Terrell wrote the Delta Oath in 1914.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women. Beverly Danielle Boston was an initiate of the Morgan State College (now University) chapter.

Beverly Danielle Boston, Delta Sigma Theta, #WHM2024

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Gloria Tribble, Ph.D., was an alumna of Youngstown State University, Kent State University and the University of Akron.

Gloria Tribble, Ph.D., Delta Sigma Theta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Eva B. Dykes, Ph.D., was an initiate of the Howard University chapter.

Eva B. Dykes, Ph.D., Delta Sigma Theta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Dr. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was an initiate of the University of Pennsylvania chapter. Dr. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Delta Sigma Theta, #NotableSororityWoman, #WHM2021

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Vivian Osborne Marsh helped establish the collegiate chapter at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Omega Sigma (Berkeley Bay Area) Alumnae Chapter.

Vivian Osborne Marsh, Delta Sigma Theta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Leontyne Price was an Honorary Member.

Leontyne Price, Delta Sigma Theta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Mary McLeod Bethune was an Honorary Member.

Mary McLeod Bethune, Delta Sigma Theta, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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Mary Church Terrell was an Honorary Member.

Mary Church Terrell on Delta Sigma Theta’s Founding Day

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Frankie Muse Freeman was an a 1950 initiate of the St. Louis Alumnae Chapter

Frankie Muse Freeman

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Mary Frances Everhart was an initiate of the Lincoln University chapter

Mary Frances Everhart, Alpha Theta Chapter Initiate

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Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen

Posted on March 28, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the first Greek-letter organization for African-American women, was founded on January 15, 1908 by nine young female Howard University students. They were led by the vision of Ethel Hedgeman (Lyle); she had spent several months sharing her idea with her friends. During this time, she was dating her future husband, George Lyle, a charter member of the Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

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Hazel T. Nimmo became a member of the sorority at North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) in Durham.

Hazel T. Nimmo, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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Elizabeth Ross Haynes was a charter member of the Tau Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated in New York City.

Elizabeth Ross Haynes, Alpha Kappa Alpha, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Dr. Bette Catoe Strudwick became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. during her medical studies.

Dr. Bette Catoe Strudwick, Alpha Kappa Alpha, #NotableSororityWomen, #

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Merze Tate, Ph.D., was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for most of her adult life having become a member when in Indianapolis.

Merze Tate, Ph.D., Alpha Kappa Alpha, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2021

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Thelma Berlack Boozer became a member of the Lambda chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, as a New York University student.

Thelma Berlack Boozer, Alpha Kappa Alpha, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Etta Moten Barnett became a member of the sorority while a student at the University of Kansas.

Etta Moten Barnett, Alpha Kappa Alpha, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Althea Gibson was a member of the Beta Alpha chapter.

Althea Gibson was the first African American to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated

Althea Gibson, Alpha Kappa Alpha, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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The movie Hidden Figures features three National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mathematicians – Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, Dorothy Johnson Vaughan, and Mary Winston Jackson. All three were initiates of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Katherine Johnson

Dorothy Johnson Vaughan

Mary Winston Jackson

Hidden Figures on Alpha Kappa Alpha Founding Day

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Anna J. Cooper, Ph.D., was a member of the Xi Omega chapter.

Anna J. Cooper, Ph.D., on Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Founding Day

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Maudelle Brown Bousfield joined the Theta Omega graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. which was chartered on November 5th, 1922.

Maudelle Brown Bousfield, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

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Alpha Omicron Pi, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Omicron Pi was founded on January 2, 1897, at the home of Helen St. Clair (Mullan). She and three of her Barnard College friends, Stella George Stern (Perry), Jessie Wallace Hughan, and Elizabeth Heywood Wyman had pledged themselves to the organization on December 23, 1896. That first pledging ceremony took place in a small rarely used upstairs room in the old Columbia College Library.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

Harriet Cone Greve was an initiate of the University of Tennessee chapter.

Harriet Cone Greve, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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Lucy Somerville Howorth was an initiate of the Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College) chapter.

Lucy Somerville Howorth, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Wilkie Hughes was an initiate of the Indiana University chapter.

Wilkie Hughes, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Dorothy Mayo Morris, was an initiate of the University of Maine chapter.

Dorothy Mayo Morris, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHW2021

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Irma Sompayrac Willard was an initiate of the Sophie Newcomb (now Tulane University) chapter.

Irma Sompayrac Willard, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Mary Donlon was an initiate of the Cornell University chapter.

Mary Donlon, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen #WHM2019

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Gertrude Falkenhagen (Bonde) was an initiate of the University of Minnesota chapter.

Gertrude Falkenhagen (Bonde), Alpha Omicron Pi, #notablesororitywomen, #WHM2017

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Jessie Wallace Hughan, Ph.D., was a Founder of Alpha Omicron Pi

Jessie Wallace Hughan, Ph.D.

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Bertha Rembaugh was an initiate of the New York University chapter.

Bertha Rembaugh on Alpha Omicron Pi’s Founders’ Day

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Florence Lucas Sanville was a member of the Barnard University chapter.

Florence

Florence Lucas Sanville to Celebrate Alpha Omicron Pi #notablesororitywomen

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Madeleine Zabriskie Doty was an initiate of the New York University chapter.

Madeleine Zabriskie Doty, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, on Founders’ Day

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Alpha Gamma Delta, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Gamma Delta was founded at Syracuse University on May 30, 1904 at the home of Dr. Wellesley Perry Coddington, a Syracuse University professor. Alpha Gamma Delta is the youngest of the Syracuse Triad, the three NPC organizations founded at Syracuse University. The other two, Alpha Phi and Gamma Phi Beta, were founded in 1872 and 1874, respectively.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

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Mignon Good Eberhart was an initiate of the Nebraska Wesleyan chapter.

Mignon Good Eberhart, Alpha Gamma Delta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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Edith Brownsill, M.D., was an initiate of the University of California, Berkeley chapter.

Edith Brownsill, M.D., Alpha Gamma Delta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Jacqueline Jenkins-Nye, Ph.D.,was an initiate of the Goucher College chapter.

Jacqueline Jenkins-Nye, Ph.D., Alpha Gamma Delta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Dr. Nora Brandenburg was an initiate of the Nebraska Wesleyan College chapter.

Dr. Nora Brandenburg, Alpha Gamma Delta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2021

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Dr. Helen Binnie Zank, was an initiate of the University of Wisconsin chapter.

Dr. Helen Binnie Zank, Alpha Gamma Delta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Elizabeth Corbett was an initiate of the University of Wisconsin chapter.

Elizabeth Corbett, Alpha Gamma Delta, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Emily Butterfield is a Founder of Alpha Gamma Delta.

Emily Butterfield, Alpha Gamma Delta, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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Two Alpha Gamma Delta Yeomanettes were initiates of the University of Washington chapter.

Two Alpha Gamma Delta Yeomanettes, #notablesororitywomen, #WHM2017

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Dikka Bothne Brown was an initiate of the University of Minnesota chapter.

The Delta Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta

#WHM – Dikka Bothne Brown, Mezzo Soprano and Alpha Gamma Delta

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Sigma Delta Tau, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

On March 25, 1917, seven young Jewish women founded Sigma Delta Tau at Cornell University. Its founders are Dora Bloom (Turteltaub), Inez Dane Ross, Amy Apfel (Tishman), Regene Freund (Cohane), Marian Gerber (Greenberg), Lenore Blanche Rubinow, and Grace Srenco (Grossman). Bloom asked Nathan Caleb House to write the ritual. “Brother Nat” is the only man to honored with the organization’s gold membership pin.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

Dolores “Dee” Chackes Sherman Golden was an initiate of the University of Illinois chapter.

Dolores “Dee” Chackes Sherman Golden, Sigma Delta Tau, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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Marilyn Friedman Fernberger was an initiate of the University of Pennsylvania chapter.

Marilyn Friedman Fernberger, Sigma Delta Tau, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Barbara Ann Weintraub Ciongoli was an initiate of the University of Pennsylvania chapter.

Barbara Ann Weintraub Ciongoli, Sigma Delta Tau, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Regine Freund Cohane was a Founder of Sigma Delta Tau.

Regine Freund Cohane, Sigma Delta Tau, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2021

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SuEllen Weissman Fried was a charter member of the Washington University chapter.

SuEllen Weissman Fried, Sigma Delta Tau, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Jacquie E. Hirsch was an initiate of the SUNY Geneseo chapter.

Jacquie E. Hirsch, Sigma Delta Tau, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Dr. Joyce Brothers was an initiate of the Cornell University chapter.

Dr. Joyce Brothers, Sigma Delta Tau, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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Kate Arlene Goldstein Kamen was an initiate of the University of Nebraska chapter.

Kate Arlene Goldstein (Photo courtesy of the Cornhusker)

#WHM – Kate Arlene Goldstein Kamen, Sigma Delta Tau and Fashion Stylist

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Alpha Epsilon Phi, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Epsilon Phi was founded in 1909 at Barnard College in New York City. It was founded in Helen Phillips’ room. She had the inspiration for the group as a way to stay in closer contact with her friends. The other founders are Ida Beck, Rose Gerstein, Augustina “Tina” Hess, Lee Reiss, Stella Strauss and Rose Salmowitz.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

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Marcia Josel Levin, M.D. was initiated at the University of California, Berkeley.

Marcia Josel Levin, M.D., Alpha Epsilon Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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Hortense Greenman Brozman, was an initiate University of Texas chapter.

Hortense Greenman Brozman, Alpha Epsilon Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Bessie Margolin, was an initiate of the Sophie Newcomb College (now Tulane University) chapter.

Bessie Margolin, Alpha Epsilon Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Rosaline Greene, became a member of the New York University chapter and then transferred to SUNY, Albany.

Rosaline Greene, Alpha Epsilon Phi, #NotableSororityWoman, #WHM2021

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Ruth Freeman Solomon was an initiate of the Syracuse University chapter.

Ruth Freeman Solomon, Alpha Epsilon Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Lillian Copeland was an initiate of the University of Southern California chapter.

Lillian Copeland, Alpha Epsilon Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Dinah Shore was a member of the Vanderbilt University chapter.

Dinah Shore, Alpha Epsilon Phi, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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Gertrude Friedlander Markel was an initiate of the University of Pittsburgh chapter.

Getrude Friedlander and her Alpha Epsilon Phi sisters at the University of Pittsburgh

#WHM – Gertrude Friedlander Markel, Lawyer and Alpha Epsilon Phi

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an initiate of the Cornell University chapter.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alpha Epsilon Phi

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Alpha Delta Pi, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

On May 15, 1851, Alpha Delta Pi was founded as the Adelphean Society at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia, by six young women. The founders are Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald, Ella Pierce Turner, Octavia Andrew Rush, Mary Evans Glass, Sophronia Woodruff Dews, and Elizabeth Williams Mitchell. Fitzgerald, known to generations of Alpha Delta Pis as “Mother Fitzgerald,” was the leader and first president of the Adelpheans.

In 1905, the Society changed its name to Alpha Delta Phi and installed its second chapter at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A year later, a third chapter was founded at Mary Baldwin Seminary, in Staunton, Virginia. Alpha Delta Phi joined the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) in 1909. The installation of the Sigma Chapter at the University of Illinois in 1912 came shortly after the installation, on the same campus, of the Illinois Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi, a men’s fraternity founded in 1832 at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. The Illinois members made their organization aware of this duplication of name and the problems that surfaced because of it. In 1913, the convention body voted to change the name to Alpha Delta Pi.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

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Florence M. Rohr was an initiate of the Brenau College chapter.

Florence M. Rohr, Alpha Delta Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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June Wuest Becht was an initiate of the University of Missouri chapter.

June Wuest Becht, Alpha Delta Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

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Irene Roberta Price was an initiate of the Trinity College (now Duke University) chapter.

Irene Roberta Price, Alpha Delta Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Emma Harper Applegate was an initiate of the Lawrence College (now University) chapter.

Emma Harper Applegate, Alpha Delta Pi, #NotableSororityWoman, #WHM2021

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Katherine Van Winkle Palmer, Ph.D. was an initiate of the University of Washington chapter.

Katherine Van Winkle Palmer, Ph.D., Alpha Delta Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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Lois Miles Zucker was an initiate of the University of Illinois chapter.

Lois Miles Zucker, Alpha Delta Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Dr. Sara Branham was an initiate of the Wesleyan College chapter.

Dr. Sara Branham, Alpha Delta Pi, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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Jeanette Barrows was a member of the University of Washington chapter.

Jeanette Barrows, Alpha Delta Pi, #notablesororitywomen #WHM2017

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Doris Holmes Blake was an initiate of the Boston University chapter.

Doris Holmes Blake, Alpha Delta Pi

Doris Holmes Blake, Alpha Delta Pi #notablesororitywomen

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Gladys Gilpatrick was an initiate of the University of Illinois chapter.

Gladys Gilpatrick is in the top right hand corner in this 1917 photo of the Sigma Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi at the University of Illinois taken from the 1917 Illio.

#WHM – Gladys Gilpatrick, AΔΠ, and the Pillar in Memorial Stadium

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Alpha Phi, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Phi is the oldest of the Syracuse Triad, the three women’s National Panhellenic Conference organizations founded at Syracuse University in upstate New York. The triad consists of Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Gamma Delta. A chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon was established at Syracuse University in 1871. In September of 1872, Martha Foote (Crowe), Clara Sittser (Williams) and Kate Hogoboom (Gilbert) discussed the situation. Foote led the charge and pondered the thought of women having fraternal organizations comparable to the ones the men enjoyed. They invited all the college women to discuss the possibility. In September 1872, 10 women – the original three and Jane Higham, Clara Bradley (Burdette), Louise Shepherd (Hancock), Florence Chidester (Lukens), Ida Gilbert (Houghton), Elizabeth Grace (Hubbell), and Rena Michaels (Atchinson) met and pledged allegiance to the sisterhood. Minutes from the first meeting noted that Michaels was chosen president, plans were made for weekly meetings at which literary exercises would be part of the program, and a 25¢ tax was levied for the purchase of a secretary’s book. The first debate was “Resolved – that women have their rights.” Founders’ Day is celebrated on October 10. Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women. Rhoda Muriel Ivimey, M.D., was an initiate of the Barnard College chapter.

Rhoda Muriel Ivimey, M.D., Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

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Nancy Osborn Brataas was an initiate of the University of Minnesota chapter.

Nancy Osborn Brataas, Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWomen #WHM2023

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Georgia Neese Clark Gray was an initiate of the Washburn College chapter.

Georgia Neese Clark Gray, Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

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Irene Osgood Andrews was an initiate of the University of Wisconsin chapter.

Irene Osgood Andrews, Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWoman, #WHM2021

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Louise Fargo Brown, Ph.D., was an initiate of the Cornell University chapter.

Louise Fargo Brown, Ph.D., Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2020

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May Hurlburt Smith was an initiate of the Stanford University chapter.

May Hurlburt Smith, Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2019

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Mary Lockey, Alpha Phi, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

Mary Lockey, Alpha Phi, #WHM2018, #notablesororitywomen

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Eva Orrick Bandel Wilson was an initiate of the Woman’s College of Baltimore (Goucher College) chapter.

Eva Orrick Bandel Wilson, Alpha Phi, #notablesororitywomen #WHM2017

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Annie Marie Tremaine, M.D., was an initiate of the Cornell University chapter.

#WHM – Annie Marie Tremaine, M.D., Alpha Phi

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Frances Willard was an Honorary Member and served as National President from 1888-1889. She was instrumental in establishing the Beta chapter at Northwestern University.

Frances Willard on Alpha Phi’s Founders’ Day

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Clara Bradley Burdette was an Alpha Phi Founder

Clara Bradley Burdette’s Bells on Alpha Phi’s Founders’ Day

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Elizabeth Northup was an initiate of the Boston University chapter.

Elizabeth Northup on Alpha Phi’s Founders’ Day

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Ina (pronounced E-nah) Gittings was an initiate of the University of Nebraska chapter.

Ina Gittings, Alpha Phi, #NotableSororityWomen

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Jane Marie Bancroft Robinson was an initiate of the Syracuse University chapter.

Jane Marie Bancroft Robinson, Alpha Phi, Active in Deaconess Work

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Alpha Sigma Alpha, #WHM2026, #NotableSororityWomen, #IWearABadge

Posted on March 21, 2026 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Sigma Alpha was founded on November 15, 1901, at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its founders had been asked to join some of the other sororities on campus, but they wanted to stay together. The five, Virginia Lee Boyd (Noell), Juliette Jefferson Hundley (Gilliam), Calva Hamlet Watson (Wootton), Louise Burks Cox (Carper) and Mary Williamson Hundley, started their own sorority, and they called it Alpha Sigma Alpha.

Below are links to posts about previous #WHM profiles. I invite you to learn more about these interesting women.

Cynthia Coolbaugh was an initiate of the James Madison University chapter.