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History of Panhellenic at Penn State

Originally, the Council was the outgrowth of the Campus Clubs Council, an organization which existed when most of the present women’s fraternities were local groups. The Pan-Hellenic Association, in its present form, was established at Penn State in 1930 to replace the local Campus Clubs Council with the purpose of fostering a more congenial spirit among women’s fraternities and promoting a spirit of friendliness between non-fraternity and fraternity women. It was meant to create a feeling of equality among its member organizations and tries to give equal privileges to all of them. 

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The Council emphasized shared leadership. The president of the Panhellenic Council was originally chosen by rotation among the fraternities from year to year. The group was composed of one alumnae member, one senior, and one junior from each of the nine women’s fraternities. The original motto was “To work together for the good of the College and all of its women students.”

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One of the most important functions of the organization was the regulation of recruitment. The Council set the dates on which fraternities may recruit female students, placed recruitment limitations on the chapters, and decided the length of time that must elapse between recruitment and bidding. For several years, the Council prohibited first year recruitment and only permitted the recruitment of sophomores or those with sophomore status that had attended the College for at least one semester. The Council also sponsored social activities among the chapters including formal dances at the Nittany Lion Inn and an interchapter bridge tournament. 

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The first nationally recognized sorority chapter at Penn State was Chi Omega in 1926; however, the university’s first “social club”, also known as the university’s first sorority, was established in 1922 under the name “Nita Nee”. By 1930, there were eight other chapters that participated in the creation of the Panhellenic Council.

The other eight chapters were:

  • Alpha Omicron Pi (1929)

  • Delta Gamma (1930)

  • Laodelphia (later chartered as Gamma Phi Beta in 1932)

  • Nita Nee (later chartered as Kappa Alpha Theta in 1931)

  • Kappa Kappa Gamma (1930)

  • Theta Phi Alpha (1929)

  • Phi Mu (1929)

  • Oread

The chapters ranged in size from ten to twenty-six members.

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The first Panhellenic Council was led by President Edna R. Roderick (Chi Omega) and Vice President Eleanor M. Hill (Theta Phi Alpha). The following women also served on the Association Roll: E. Louise Hoffeditz and Mary Belle Zahn (Alpha Omicron Pi), M, Isabelle Yackel and Laura M. Deiser (Delta Gamma), Marjorie Hathway and Helena M. Patton (Laodelphia), Genevieve E. Kemmerer and Margaret R. Palmer (Phi Mu), Irma H. Holton (Chi Omega), M. Elizabeth Crozier and Margaret S. Hopwood (Kappa Kappa Gamma), Laura J. Griffiths and Dorothy W. Cummings (Nita Nee), and Anne E. McGuire (Theta Phi Alpha). 

National Panhellenic History

Founded over 100 years ago, the National Panhellenic Council is one of the oldest and largest women's membership organizations, representing more than four million women at over 650 college and university campuses in the U.S. and Canada. Each year, NPC affiliated collegians and alumnae donate more than $5 million to various causes, provide $2.8 million in scholarships to women, and volunteer 500,000 hours in their communities.

 

The founding of the Adelphean Society (later Alpha Delta Pi) at Wesleyan Female College in 1851 marks the establishment of the first secret society for women. Shortly after came the Philomathean Society (later Phi Mu), also founded at Wesleyan in March 1852. 

 

Early histories of sororities contain accounts of recruitment and pledging agreements or compacts among sororities on various campuses, and many stories of cooperation and mutual assistance. However, no actual Panhellenic organization existed and there were no uniform recruitment practices. The NPC's origin can be traced to 1891, when Kappa Kappa Gamma invited all seven existing sororities to a Boston meeting, with the intention to meet again in 1893. 

 

In 1902, Alpha Phi invited Pi Beta Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Chi Omega, and Chi Omega to a conference in Chicago on May 24 to set standards for collegiate sororities. Alpha Chi Omega and Chi Omega were unable to attend and joined the following year. The remaining seven groups met and the session resulted in the organization of the Inter-Sorority Conference, the first interfraternity association and the first intergroup organization on college campuses. Up to this time, no guidelines had been set, and women could declare their intended membership to groups before enrolling in college and belong to more than one group. The first few meetings resulted in several mutual agreements, especially regarding recruitment. 

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