Two-year college sororities

[oldu]

I am trying to locate information about several sororities that restricted their chapters to two-year institutions. Eta Gamma Upsilon & Sigma Iota Chi were the two most prominent. The last listing for them in Baird's Manual was in 1935 but there is evidence they survived for several years after that. Some of the chapters were released & became NPC chapters when a few of the institutions expanded to four-year colleges. Does anyone have information on any of these soririties?

[exlurker]

Originally Posted by oldu

I am trying to locate information about several sororities that restricted their chapters to two-year institutions. Eta Gamma Upsilon & Sigma Iota Chi were the two most prominent. The last listing for them in Baird's Manual was in 1935 but there is evidence they survived for several years after that. Some of the chapters were released & became NPC chapters when a few of the institutions expanded to four-year colleges. Does anyone have information on any of these soririties?

There was at least one more, Zeta Mu Epsilon (if I recall correctly). Those three existed into the 1960s or early 1970s. Oldu, do you have access to old issues of Leland's Fraternity Month? Their annual statistical issue included the 2-year sororities in a special section just after the NPC groups.

I can get a little more info, but I'll have to do some digging around, so please remember that patience is a virtue. I should come up with something fairly soon.

I'm delighted that someone is mentioning those 2-year groups, as they obviously filled a niche for sevveral decades.

[exlurker]

Not much as yet, but a start:

Alpha Chi Omega's Tau chapter at Brenau (GA) was formed Nov. 24, 1911 from Kappa chapter of Eta Upsilon Gamma.
So says the 1948 edition of Alpha Chi's history.

[exlurker]

Oldu,

A little more about “two-year” sororities with chapters that entered NPC groups:

Alpha Kappa Psi was a small sorority (never in NPC or AES) with chapters in a few four-year institutions and in some two-year (or so) seminaries / academies, etc. Three of its chapters entered Tri Delta, but not recently.

In 1913, AKPsi's Delta chapter at Wesleyan Female College (GA) became Alpha Gamma chapter of Tri Delta. It closed in 1916 because of faculty anti-sorority “legislation.”

Also in 1913, AKPsi's Sigma Nu chapter at Stetson (FL) became Alpha Delta chapter of Tri Delta.

In 1916 AKPsi's Eta chapter at Florida State College for Women (changed to what is now Florida State U circa 1947) became Alpha Eta chapter of Tri Delta.

Sources for the above are Baird's 7th edition (1912) and Tri Delta's 100th anniversary history (1988).

AKPsi was founded in 1904 at St. Mary's School in Raleigh NC, by the way. Its Wesleyan chapter was founded in 1907; Florida State in 1907 or 1908 depending on who you believe, Baird's or Tri Delta; and Stetson in 1909.

Sources for the above are Baird's 7th edition (1912) and Tri Delta's 100th anniversary history (1988).

Oldu, is this the kind of thing you want to know about? I wish I could find something definite and more recent about Sigma Iota Chi and Eta Upsilon Gamma.

[oldu]

My question is what happened to the two-year college groups? There are plenty of two-year colleges around today and yet you hear nothing of Greek organizations at them. I know there were some of those chapters around as late as the 1970s. Since no one seems to know of any today I assume that sometime during the last 40 years they ceased to exist. It seems odd that they would disappear so completely and without any comments in the Greek World (and I have found no word of it anywhere). It is very sad that there seems nothing of note anywhere about organizations that existed for many years. I actually have a copy of the Eta Gamma Upsilon magazine from 1913 which I found at a rare bookstore. This is the strange kind of trivia that I like to get into.

[AGDAlum]

In the early 1970's NPC had a pilot program for establishing chapters at two-year schools. I don't know the specifics, but Alpha Gamma Delta was part of it. However, we didn't charter any chapters and AFAIK the program ended. I suspect it was the challenge of leadership development, at least the way that NPC groups were structured at the time. In the 30+ years since there's been a new way to look at organizational models.

[carnation]

Most of the students I know at 2-year colleges are at those because they have something really time-consuming like a family or a full-time job. I can see where it would be hard for a sorority to colonize at a community college and get much participation from its members.

[exlurker]

I think that the type of two-year college that Sigma Iota Chi, Eta Upsilon Gamma, and so on existed at / thrived in has nearly or completely disappeared. Up until the 1960s or 1970s there were indeed regions of the country where a form of, frankly, "finishing school" for young women still enjoyed a certain popularity.

Those kinds of institutions are, I believe, gone or all but gone. Why? Changes in opportunities for, and expectations of, women, for one thing.

Funding for postsecondary institutions, for another. The kinds of two-year schools we see today tend to be either

-- public community colleges or technical schools, or

-- private, sometimes for-profit, trade schools.

Those are, I think, a far cry from the kinds of places where Sigma Iota Chi et al began and generally thrived.

Are there any top-notch histories of post-WWII postsecondary education for women that deal with the fate or identity / mission changes undegone by the early 20th century two-year womens' colleges / institutes / academies / schools? .................. ? .............? Anybody? Bueller?

[exlurker]

Phi Mu Gamma

Phi Mu Gamma was a small sorority that Baird's 1912 edition groups in the same category as Eta Upsilon Gamma.
Several of Phi Mu Gamma's chapters at four-year schools did enter NPC groups.

For example, in 1914 its Newcomb (Tulane) chapter became the Alpha Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta; see the Tulane Theta site for chapter charter members, more details:

http://www.tulane.edu/~theta/alphaphi.html

Other Phi Mu Gamma chapter news coming..............................

[exlurker]

Phi Mu Gamma -- A Couple of Other Chapters That Became Chapters of an NPC Group

The Theta chapter of Phi Mu Gamma at Judson (founded 1904) became the Delta Theta chapter of Tri Delta in 1913.

The Rho chapter of Phi Mu Gamma at Middlebury (founded 1914) became the Alpha Iota chapter of Tri Delta in 1917.

Phi Mu Gamma itself was founded at Hollins in 1898 and had chapters at two-year and four-year institutions. Phi Mu Gamma was never a member of the NPC.

[Lafayette79]

Originally Posted by exlurker

I think that the type of two-year college that Sigma Iota Chi, Eta Upsilon Gamma, and so on existed at / thrived in has nearly or completely disappeared. Up until the 1960s or 1970s there were indeed regions of the country where a form of, frankly, "finishing school" for young women still enjoyed a certain popularity.

Centenary College of New Jersey was one of these schools. It's quite close to Lafayette and before Lafayette went coed, the Centenary women were popular on campus.

Miss America 1937 and Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie went there.

From Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centena..._of_New_Jersey, Centenary College was founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church. Centenary has evolved from a coeducational preparatory school to a girls' preparatory school (1910), to a Junior college for women (1940), to a four-year women's college (1976), to a coeducational baccalaureate-degree-granting institution (1988) and finally to a master-degree-granting institution (1995).

[magnoliagirl12]

I know this post is several years old but I am excited to have found it. I have been desperately searching for information on any two-year college sororities in existence. I began my college career at a two year college 15 years ago and I always wondered why such organizations weren't around. When I was in school completing my masters I came up with the idea to establish a two-year college sorority and I did!! My website is iotaixchi.org. Lots of young women who were in two-year college with me felt the same way I did so I think there really is a need for this type of sisterhood. I was looking for more information on other organizations like mine because I literally think it's the only one around right now. I absolutely love research and I'm so excited to learn there once were two year college sororities.

Originally Posted by oldu

My question is what happened to the two-year college groups? There are plenty of two-year colleges around today and yet you hear nothing of Greek organizations at them. I know there were some of those chapters around as late as the 1970s. Since no one seems to know of any today I assume that sometime during the last 40 years they ceased to exist. It seems odd that they would disappear so completely and without any comments in the Greek World (and I have found no word of it anywhere). It is very sad that there seems nothing of note anywhere about organizations that existed for many years. I actually have a copy of the Eta Gamma Upsilon magazine from 1913 which I found at a rare bookstore. This is the strange kind of trivia that I like to get into.